My grandpa Steinklauber used to read me Carl Sagan as a kid. Albeit, I really didn't understand much of what he read, we did have great discussions. Though he was never college educated, he was one of the smartest man I knew. When he arrived to this country he was 12 and did not know a lick of English. His family moved to the US and he was placed in Kindergarten to learn English. He said he learned English really fast because he was so sick of singing nursery rhymes. Anyhow, my grandpa's self-taught brillance always inspired me.
I often struggled in college. I am the first in my family to go. As such while back in college, I was thinking of my grandpa and missing him dearly I started buying his favorite books...Carl Sagan's books being among them. I'd often read them while at the laundry mat. I remember especially Carl Sagan's The Dragon's of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence and he list of polymaths of his time. Needless to say, all the polymaths were men. So, I wondered where were the female polymaths? And honestly I had a hard time thinking of very many.
A polymath is described as a person who is well versed in a variety of subjects and is otherwised called a Renaissance man. But what about the female polymaths?
Hypatia of Alexandria was a polymath well versed in many disciplines. In Ecclesiastical History Socrates Scholasticus portrays her as follows:
"There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self-possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more."
Unfortunately, she had a tragic ending and much of her writings were destroyed.
All throughout history there are such stories of gifted women. There is the tall poppy syndrome and often gifted women try to hide their talent. They do this as a defense mechanism as not to stand out. Also, they often hide their talent in exchange for social acceptance within their community. Gifted girls learn this skill young. When I taught gifted math and science 4th grade, I saw gifted talent girls trying to hide their smarts. This saddened me as a teacher.
Thus, one could wonder what of the female polymaths today?
What I've seen is that many gifted girls take their smarts online. Many students will take their smarts online and will talk with experts from given fields to learn more and more...so as not to have that annoying cognitive dissonance...to solve puzzles, so to speak. Indeed, gifted girls' intellects are being nurtured online. As such, I believe that we shall see an emergence of female polymaths. After all, why ask the teacher in a class that one may get ostracized by peers for being smart, when you can ask any expert in any given field online. Frankly, I don't blame them.