This is something that I have been wondering about for some time: what does the modern Renaissance man look like?
Or does he even exist?
What skills would a person have to have to be regarded something like the new Da Vinci?
Or has our society with its specialized education and jobs virtually eliminated the possibility of such a title?
How would a person in search of such a title educate himself in the 21st century?
Your thoughts and comments are much appreciated.
Billy the Mountain?
A Renaissance man should be a poet, a philosopher, a conversationalist and bold in thought and deed. Maybe Harper then?
The nearest I got was about 1989 when I climbed all of the Welsh 3,000s in winter conditions and also read all of Jane Austen’s novels in one year. It seemed like a big thing at the time.
Unicycling is a must, I would say.
Snowdon, crib goch, triffin, the glyders, pen-y-fan, cribbin. Are there many more?
Oh, blimey, after all this time? I think there is some dispute over whether there are 14 or 15, with some semantics about what counts as a “peak” and what counts as a “top”.
Wikipedia lists 15, distributed across the 3 massifs:
That sounds about right.
Seeing that the record for doing all 15 is 4 hours 20 minutes, and it took me and my then wife several weekends, I feel less of a (former) renaissance man now. Is there such a thing as a remortance man?:o
Strange, I was sure some of the Brecon Beacons counted. Also strange that I’ve done every one in the Snowdon and Glyderau massifs (ok didn’t tehcnically summit Tryfan but I was cloase enough), but have never heard of any in the Carneddau. Time for a trip I think.
Ornette Coleman?
If I remember correctly, the Carneddau have the longest continuous stretch of land above 3,000’ in the UK, south of the Scottish border. They are less well known than Snowdon and the Glyders too, so less crowded.
Good thing you don’t have metric system in UK, it makes you feel like you’ve got mountains (3000 is a good figure, even if it’s 3000 feet):D:D
Ok, I’m leaving:o:o
Maybe a musician’s Renaissance man…
well, what’s your definition?
I think music is as valid a field as anything else.
Music is a valid field, but my definition is a person who excels in a wide variety of fields, not just one.
Okay then.
Salvador Dali.
Was he also a scientist?
It seems all of Dali’s exploits were all within the realm of art.
I think a renaissance man needs to be versed in art and science
Yeah, or pretty much any other area of learning.
Does philosophy count?
He didn’t make any huge revelations or anything but he had some very intelligent and insightful comments on the world… anyway, he was a genious…
Da Vinci is kind of the touchstone for our discussion: a man who was very knowledgeable in a vast array of fields and greatly admired for his his skills, mental and physical.
Da Vinci had the distinctly unfair advantage that he actually lived during the Renaissance.
No, no, no, you’ve all got it wrong. Modern renaissance man needs to be well versed in child care so that he can look after the children while his wife goes unicycling! End of.
Hence “modern.” I’m wondering what a Da Vinci type would look like in our day.
That’s one way of looking at it. 