The Odd Athenæum
The original Athenæum (athen-E-um) was an ancient Roman school devoted to the study of the arts & sciences. As the Romans “borrowed” from the Greeks, it was a Roman school but named for the Greek goddess Athena, the goddess of the arts, war, and wisdom.
Over time, “athenaeum” has become a word used for places of learning in general. Libraries, museums, and social clubs devoted to learning have all been called athenaeums.
Zhuang Zhou & the Jack of all Trades
So how much can you reasonably hope to learn? Zhuang Zhou was a 4th century BCE Chinese philosopher who, among his teachings, had the realization that our time in life is limited but the knowledge we could acquire is infinite. Therefor it is foolish to use the finite to chase the infinite.
So while you can’t learn everything there is still some amount of information between learning everything and learning nothing that’s the right amount of knowledge to learn. When it comes to learning there are a few approaches.
Subject matter expert
A subject matter expert has a deep dive knowledge in a single topic but doesn’t know much else outside of their field of expertise.
Jack of all trades
The Jack of All Trades is one who knows a little about many topics but don’t necessarily specialize in anything.
Our aim
You should be diverse. Learn a little about lots of things and take deep dives into the topics that you find interesting.
Subject matter expert
A subject matter expert has a deep dive knowledge in a single topic but doesn’t know much else outside of their field of expertise.
Jack of all trades
The Jack of All Trades is one who knows a little about many topics but don’t necessarily specialize in anything.
Our aim
You should be diverse. Learn a little about lots of things and take deep dives into the topics that you find interesting.