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108-533: Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen ( Norwegian: [ˈfrɪ̂tːjɔf ˈnɑ̀nsn̩] ; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the Fatherland League . He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing

216-400: A specialist —is used to describe a person with a general approach to knowledge. The term universal genius or versatile genius is also used, with Leonardo da Vinci as the prime example again. The term is used especially for people who made lasting contributions in at least one of the fields in which they were actively involved and when they took a universality of approach. When a person

324-513: A centre of scientific research and education. Nansen's chosen area of study was the then relatively unexplored field of neuroanatomy , specifically the central nervous system of lower marine creatures. Before leaving for his sabbatical in February 1886 he published a paper summarising his research to date, in which he stated that "anastomoses or unions between the different ganglion cells" could not be demonstrated with certainty. This unorthodox view

432-531: A committee consisting of three justices who decide what cases shall be tried in the Supreme Court. The same committee decides in procedural questions appealed from the lower courts. Once approved, the case is heard and decided by 5 justices. A case may be decided in grand chamber, set with 11 justices, if the court decides that clear precedence needs to be set. In rare circumstances, a case may be heard in plenary session by all 20 justices. This happens when

540-479: A comprehensive historical overview of the ascension and decline of the polymath as, what he calls, an "intellectual species". He observes that in ancient and medieval times, scholars did not have to specialize. However, from the 17th century on, the rapid rise of new knowledge in the Western world—both from the systematic investigation of the natural world and from the flow of information coming from other parts of

648-470: A detailed plan for a polar venture after his triumphant return from Greenland. He made his idea public in February 1890, at a meeting of the newly formed Norwegian Geographical Society. Previous expeditions, he argued, approached the North Pole from the west and failed because they were working against the prevailing east–west current; the secret was to work with the current. A workable plan would require

756-454: A few minutes later saw the figure of a man approaching. It was the British explorer Frederick Jackson , who was leading an expedition to Franz Josef Land and was camped at Cape Flora on nearby Northbrook Island . The two were equally astonished by their encounter; after some awkward hesitation Jackson asked: "You are Nansen, aren't you?", and received the reply "Yes, I am Nansen." Johansen

864-513: A formal examination at the university, which had agreed to receive his doctoral thesis. In accordance with custom, he was required to defend his work before appointed examiners acting as "devil's advocates" . He left before knowing the outcome of this process. The sealer Jason picked up Nansen's party on 3 June 1888 from the Icelandic port of Ísafjörður . They sighted the Greenland coast

972-482: A fundraising effort organised by students at the university. Despite the adverse publicity, Nansen received numerous applications from would-be adventurers. He wanted expert skiers, and attempted to recruit from the skiers of the Telemark region, but his approaches were rebuffed. Nordenskiöld had advised Nansen that Sami people , from Finnmark in the far north of Norway, were expert snow travellers, so Nansen recruited

1080-441: A headland as Cape Felder on the western edge of Franz Josef Land. Towards the end of August, as the weather grew colder and travel became increasingly difficult, Nansen decided to camp for the winter. In a sheltered cove, with stones and moss for building materials, the pair erected a hut which was to be their home for the next eight months. With ready supplies of bear, walrus and seal to keep their larder stocked, their principal enemy

1188-480: A marked degree of self-reliance. He became an accomplished skier and a highly proficient skater . Life was disrupted when, in the summer of 1877, Adelaide Nansen died suddenly. Distressed, Baldur Nansen sold the Store Frøen property and moved with his two sons to Christiania. Nansen's sporting prowess continued to develop; at 18 he broke the world one-mile (1.6 km) skating record, and in the following year won

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1296-459: A matter that "could not have been more remote from [Nansen's] thoughts at that moment." The team accomplished their crossing in 49 days. Throughout the journey, they maintained meteorological and geographical and other records relating to the previously unexplored interior. The rest of the team arrived in Godthaab on 12 October. Nansen soon learned no ship was likely to call at Godthaab until

1404-580: A mix of occupations or of intellectual interests, Ahmed urges a breaking of the "thinker"/"doer" dichotomy and the art/science dichotomy. He argues that an orientation towards action and towards thinking support each other, and that human beings flourish by pursuing a diversity of experiences as well as a diversity of knowledge. He observes that successful people in many fields have cited hobbies and other "peripheral" activities as supplying skills or insights that helped them succeed. Ahmed examines evidence suggesting that developing multiple talents and perspectives

1512-436: A new model of education that better promotes creativity and innovation: "we must focus education on principles, methods, and skills that will serve them [students] in learning and creating across many disciplines, multiple careers, and succeeding life stages". Peter Burke , Professor Emeritus of Cultural History and Fellow of Emmanuel College at Cambridge, discussed the theme of polymathy in some of his works. He has presented

1620-577: A niece of Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg who had helped frame the Norwegian constitution of 1814 and was later the Swedish king's Norwegian Viceroy . Baldur and Adelaide settled at Store Frøen, an estate at Aker, a few kilometres north of Norway's capital city, Christiania (since renamed Oslo). The couple had three children; the first died in infancy, the second, born 10 October 1861, was Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen. Store Frøen's rural surroundings shaped

1728-402: A pair, Samuel Balto and Ole Nielsen Ravna . The remaining places went to Otto Sverdrup , a former sea-captain who had more recently worked as a forester; Oluf Christian Dietrichson , an army officer, and Kristian Kristiansen , an acquaintance of Sverdrup's. All had experience of outdoor life in extreme conditions, and were experienced skiers. Just before the party's departure, Nansen attended

1836-462: A post as curator in the zoological department of the Bergen Museum . He was to spend the next six years of his life there—apart from a six-month sabbatical tour of Europe—working and studying with leading figures such as Gerhard Armauer Hansen , the discoverer of the leprosy bacillus, and Daniel Cornelius Danielssen , the museum's director who had turned it from a backwater collection into

1944-423: A single issue. Ahmed cites biologist E. O. Wilson 's view that reality is approached not by a single academic discipline but via a consilience between them. One argument for studying multiple approaches is that it leads to open-mindedness . Within any one perspective, a question may seem to have a straightforward, settled answer. Someone aware of different, contrasting answers will be more open-minded and aware of

2052-408: A society, company, community, guild, corporation , etc". At this time, universities did not specialize in specific areas, but rather trained students in a broad array of science, philosophy, and theology. This universal education gave them a grounding from which they could continue into apprenticeship toward becoming a master of a specific field. When someone is called a "Renaissance man" today, it

2160-415: A southerly drift, and that distances travelled did not necessarily equate to distance progressed. On 3 April, Nansen began to doubt whether the pole was attainable. Unless their speed improved, their food would not last them to the pole and back to Franz Josef Land . He confided in his diary: "I have become more and more convinced we ought to turn before time." Four days later, after making camp, he observed

2268-489: A stubby appearance, justified by Archer: "A ship that is built with exclusive regard to its suitability for [Nansen's] object must differ essentially from any known vessel." It was christened Fram and launched on 6 October 1892. Nansen selected a party of twelve from thousands of applicants. Otto Sverdrup , who took part in Nansen's earlier Greenland expedition was appointed as the expedition's second-in-command. Competition

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2376-400: A sturdy and manoeuvrable small ship, capable of carrying fuel and provisions for twelve men for five years. This ship would enter the ice pack close to the approximate location of Jeannette's sinking, drifting west with the current towards the pole and beyond it—eventually reaching the sea between Greenland and Spitsbergen. Experienced polar explorers were dismissive: Adolphus Greely called

2484-463: A typology of polymathy, ranging from the ubiquitous mini-c polymathy to the eminent but rare Big-C polymathy, as well as a model with some requirements for a person (polymath or not) to be able to reach the highest levels of creative accomplishment. They account for three general requirements—intelligence, motivation to be creative, and an environment that allows creative expression—that are needed for any attempt at creativity to succeed. Then, depending on

2592-472: A week later, but thick pack ice hindered progress. With the coast still 20 kilometres (12 mi) away, Nansen decided to launch the small boats. They were within sight of Sermilik Fjord on 17 July; Nansen believed it would offer a route up the icecap. The expedition left Jason "in good spirits and with the highest hopes of a fortunate result." Days of extreme frustration followed as they drifted south. Weather and sea conditions prevented them from reaching

2700-405: Is a court of appeal, i.e. cases cannot be brought before the court if they have not been tried in a district court ( Norwegian : tingrett ) and in most cases also in a regional court ( Norwegian : lagmannsrett ). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has the prerogative to decide itself which cases of appeal it shall hear. This leads the court to hear cases of principal importance, where clarification

2808-437: Is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Embodying a basic tenet of Renaissance humanism that humans are limitless in their capacity for development, the concept led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. This is expressed in the term Renaissance man , often applied to

2916-418: Is considered the principal responsible for rekindling interest in polymathy in the scientific community. His works emphasize the contrast between the polymath and two other types: the specialist and the dilettante. The specialist demonstrates depth but lacks breadth of knowledge. The dilettante demonstrates superficial breadth but tends to acquire skills merely "for their own sake without regard to understanding

3024-411: Is contrasted with the idea of narrowness, specialization, and the restriction of one's expertise to a limited domain. The possession of comprehensive knowledge at very disparate areas is a hallmark of the greatest polymaths. Depth refers to the vertical accumulation of knowledge and the degree of elaboration or sophistication of one's sets of one's conceptual network. Like Robert Root-Bernstein, Araki uses

3132-551: Is described as having encyclopedic knowledge , they exhibit a vast scope of knowledge. However, this designation may be anachronistic in the case of persons such as Eratosthenes , whose reputation for having encyclopedic knowledge predates the existence of any encyclopedic object . Supreme Court of Norway Section 21 of the Norwegian Constitution grants the King of Norway sole authority to appoint judges to

3240-475: Is helpful for success in a highly specialised field. He cites a study of Nobel Prize-winning scientists which found them 25 times more likely to sing, dance, or act than average scientists. Another study found that children scored higher in IQ tests after having drum lessons, and he uses such research to argue that diversity of domains can enhance a person's general intelligence. Ahmed cites many historical claims for

3348-519: Is meant that rather than simply having broad interests or superficial knowledge in several fields, the individual possesses a more profound knowledge and a proficiency, or even an expertise, in at least some of those fields. Some dictionaries use the term "Renaissance man" to describe someone with many interests or talents, while others give a meaning restricted to the Renaissance and more closely related to Renaissance ideals. Robert Root-Bernstein

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3456-401: Is needed or where standards need to be set. Rulings set substantial precedence for the lower courts as well as for the Supreme Court itself. As a subject to Norwegian law, one has no right to be heard in the Supreme Court, as the universal Human Rights article on a fair trial is believed to be satisfied with the district courts and as courts of appeal the regional courts. The Supreme Court has

3564-516: Is presented in a 2018 article with two main objectives: The model, which was designed to reflect a structural model, has five major components: Regarding the definition of the term polymathy, the researcher, through an analysis of the extant literature, concluded that although there are a multitude of perspectives on polymathy, most of them ascertain that polymathy entails three core elements: breadth, depth and integration. Breadth refers to comprehensiveness, extension and diversity of knowledge. It

3672-584: The Jeannette expedition . In June 1881, USS  Jeannette was crushed and sunk off the Siberian coast—the opposite side of the Arctic Ocean. Mohn surmised the location of the artefacts indicated the existence of an ocean current from east to west, all the way across the polar sea and possibly over the pole itself. The idea remained fixated in Nansen's mind for the next couple of years. He developed

3780-781: The American Philosophical Society in 1897. Nansen studied zoology at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania and later worked as a curator at the University Museum of Bergen where his research on the central nervous system of lower marine creatures earned him a doctorate and helped establish neuron doctrine . Later, neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on

3888-581: The Diatribae upon the first part of the late History of Tithes of Richard Montagu in 1621. Use in English of the similar term polyhistor dates from the late 16th century. The term "Renaissance man" was first recorded in written English in the early 20th century. It is used to refer to great thinkers living before, during, or after the Renaissance . Leonardo da Vinci has often been described as

3996-693: The Nansen International Office for Refugees to ensure that his work continued. This office received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1938. His name is commemorated in numerous geographical features, particularly in the polar regions. The Nansen family originated from Denmark . Hans Nansen (1598–1667), a trader, was an early explorer of the White Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. In later life he settled in Copenhagen, becoming

4104-504: The gifted people of that age who sought to develop their abilities in all areas of accomplishment: intellectual, artistic, social, physical, and spiritual. In Western Europe, the first work to use the term polymathy in its title ( De Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum ) was published in 1603 by Johann von Wowern , a Hamburg philosopher. Von Wowern defined polymathy as "knowledge of various matters, drawn from all kinds of studies ... ranging freely through all

4212-601: The Greenland icecap grew in Nansen's mind throughout his Bergen years. In 1887, after the submission of his doctoral thesis , he finally began organising this project. Before then, the two most significant penetrations of the Greenland interior had been those of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1883, and Robert Peary in 1886. Both had set out from Disko Bay on the western coast, and had travelled about 160 kilometres (100 mi) eastward before turning back. By contrast, Nansen proposed to travel from east to west, ending rather than beginning his trek at Disko Bay. A party setting out from

4320-607: The Norwegian naval engineer Colin Archer to design and build a ship. Archer designed an extraordinarily sturdy vessel with an intricate system of crossbeams and braces of the toughest oak timbers. Its rounded hull was designed to push the ship upwards when beset by pack ice. Speed and manoeuvrability were to be secondary to its ability as a safe and warm shelter during their predicted confinement. The length-to-beam ratio—39-metre-long (128 ft) and 11-metre-wide (36 ft)—gave it

4428-592: The Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII ), and addressed a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). The RGS president, Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff , said that Nansen had claimed "the foremost place amongst northern travellers", and later awarded him the Society's prestigious Patron's Medal . This was one of many honours Nansen received from institutions all over Europe. He

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4536-592: The Supreme Court. In Norwegian tradition, however, this section is interpreted as delegating the privilege to the Council of State , i.e. the cabinet. The cabinet makes their appointments on the advice of the Judicial Appointments Board, a body whose members are also appointed by the Council of State. The Supreme Court is Norway's highest court. It has the entire Kingdom as its jurisdiction. It

4644-431: The advantages of polymathy. Some of these are about general intellectual abilities that polymaths apply across multiple domains. For example, Aristotle wrote that full understanding of a topic requires, in addition to subject knowledge, a general critical thinking ability that can assess how that knowledge was arrived at. Another advantage of a polymathic mindset is in the application of multiple approaches to understanding

4752-549: The aesthetic and structural/scientific connections between mathematics, arts and the sciences. In 2009, Sriraman published a paper reporting a 3-year study with 120 pre-service mathematics teachers and derived several implications for mathematics pre-service education as well as interdisciplinary education. He utilized a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to recreate the emotions, voices and struggles of students as they tried to unravel Russell's paradox presented in its linguistic form. They found that those more engaged in solving

4860-522: The archetype of the Renaissance man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". Many notable polymaths lived during the Renaissance period, a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th through to the 17th century that began in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spread to the rest of Europe. These polymaths had a rounded approach to education that reflected

4968-744: The basis of creative giftedness ask not 'who is creative?' but 'what is the basis of creative thinking?' From the polymathy perspective, giftedness is the ability to combine disparate (or even apparently contradictory) ideas, sets of problems, skills, talents, and knowledge in novel and useful ways. Polymathy is therefore the main source of any individual's creative potential". In "Life Stages of Creativity", Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein suggest six typologies of creative life stages. These typologies are based on real creative production records first published by Root-Bernstein, Bernstein, and Garnier (1993). Finally, his studies suggest that understanding polymathy and learning from polymathic exemplars can help structure

5076-550: The big picture—and for analysis. He says: "It takes a polymath to 'mind the gap' and draw attention to the knowledges that may otherwise disappear into the spaces between disciplines, as they are currently defined and organized". Bharath Sriraman , of the University of Montana, also investigated the role of polymathy in education. He poses that an ideal education should nurture talent in the classroom and enable individuals to pursue multiple fields of research and appreciate both

5184-404: The broader applications or implications and without integrating it". Conversely, the polymath is a person with a level of expertise that is able to "put a significant amount of time and effort into their avocations and find ways to use their multiple interests to inform their vocations". A key point in the work of Root-Bernstein and colleagues is the argument in favor of the universality of

5292-468: The chances are ten to one that he will ... uselessly throw his own and perhaps others' lives away". The Norwegian parliament refused to provide financial support, believing that such a potentially risky undertaking should not be encouraged. The project was eventually launched with a donation from a Danish businessman, Augustin Gamél; the rest came mainly from small contributions from Nansen's countrymen, through

5400-408: The change of plan with acclamation." They continued climbing until 11 September and reached a height of 2,719 metres (8,921 ft) above sea level. Temperatures on the summit of the icecap dropped to −45 °C (−49 °F) at night. From then on, the downward slope made travelling easier. Yet, the terrain was rugged and the weather remained hostile. Progress was slow: fresh snowfalls made dragging

5508-535: The city's borgmester in 1654. Later generations of the family lived in Copenhagen until the mid-18th century, when Ancher Antoni Nansen moved to Norway (then in a union with Denmark ). His son, Hans Leierdahl Nansen (1764–1821), was a magistrate first in the Trondheim district, later in Jæren . After Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814, he entered national political life as the representative for Stavanger in

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5616-442: The coast through the ice floes for the next 12 days. They encountered a large Inuit encampment on the first day, near Cape Steen Bille. Occasional contacts with the nomadic native population continued as the journey progressed. The party reached Umivik Bay on 11 August, after covering 200 kilometres (120 mi). Nansen decided they needed to begin the crossing. Although they were still far south of his intended starting place,

5724-466: The complex organisation and heavy manpower of other Arctic ventures, and instead planned his expedition for a small party of six. Supplies would be manhauled on specially designed lightweight sledges. Much of the equipment, including sleeping bags, clothing and cooking stoves, also needed to be designed from scratch. These plans received a generally poor reception in the press; one critic had no doubt that "if [the] scheme be attempted in its present form ...

5832-447: The concept of dilettancy as a contrast to the idea of profound learning that polymathy entails. Integration, although not explicit in most definitions of polymathy, is also a core component of polymathy according to the author. Integration involves the capacity of connecting, articulating, concatenating or synthesizing different conceptual networks, which in non-polymathic persons might be segregated. In addition, integration can happen at

5940-590: The court needs to decide if legislation conflicts with the constitution or a case involves fundamental questions. The court is chaired by a Chief Justice together with 19 other justices. The current Chief Justice is Toril Marie Øie . To be eligible to apply for the position as a Supreme Court justice, the Constitution of Norway states that one must be a Norwegian citizen, have a law degree with excellent academic record and be at least 30 years old. Justice may only be removed by impeachment through conviction in

6048-499: The creative process. That is, although creative products, such as a painting, a mathematical model or a poem, can be domain-specific, at the level of the creative process, the mental tools that lead to the generation of creative ideas are the same, be it in the arts or science. These mental tools are sometimes called intuitive tools of thinking. It is therefore not surprising that many of the most innovative scientists have serious hobbies or interests in artistic activities, and that some of

6156-486: The crossing had preceded its arrival, and Nansen and his companions were feted as heroes. This welcome, however, was dwarfed by the reception in Christiania a week later, when crowds of between thirty and forty thousand—a third of the city's population—thronged the streets as the party made its way to the first of a series of receptions. The interest and enthusiasm generated by the expedition's achievement led directly to

6264-555: The domain of choice, more specific abilities will be required. The more that one's abilities and interests match the requirements of a domain, the better. While some will develop their specific skills and motivations for specific domains, polymathic people will display intrinsic motivation (and the ability) to pursue a variety of subject matters across different domains. Regarding the interplay of polymathy and education, they suggest that rather than asking whether every student has multicreative potential, educators might more actively nurture

6372-476: The fields of the disciplines, as far as the human mind, with unwearied industry, is able to pursue them". Von Wowern lists erudition, literature, philology , philomathy , and polyhistory as synonyms. The earliest recorded use of the term in the English language is from 1624, in the second edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton ; the form polymathist is slightly older, first appearing in

6480-500: The first Storting , and became a strong advocate of union with Sweden. After suffering a paralytic stroke in 1821 Hans Leierdahl Nansen died, leaving a four-year-old son, Baldur Fridtjof Nansen, the explorer's father. Baldur was a lawyer without ambitions for public life, who became Reporter to the Supreme Court of Norway . He married twice, the second time to Adelaide Johanne Thekla Isidore Bølling Wedel-Jarlsberg from Bærum ,

6588-506: The following spring. Still, they were able to send letters back to Norway via a boat leaving Ivigtut at the end of October. He and his party spent the next seven months in Greenland. On 15 April 1889, the Danish ship Hvidbjørnen finally entered the harbour. Nansen recorded: "It was not without sorrow that we left this place and these people, among whom we had enjoyed ourselves so well." Hvidbjørnen reached Copenhagen on 21 May 1889. News of

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6696-651: The formation that year of the Norwegian Geographical Society . Nansen accepted the position of curator of the Royal Frederick University's zoology collection, a post which carried a salary but involved no duties; the university was satisfied by the association with the explorer's name. Nansen's main task in the following weeks was writing his account of the expedition, but he found time late in June to visit London, where he met

6804-473: The ice close to an unexplored section of the Greenland coast; Nansen longed to go ashore, but this was impossible. However, he began to develop the idea that the Greenland icecap might be explored, or even crossed. On 17 July the ship broke free from the ice, and early in August was back in Norwegian waters. Nansen did not resume formal studies at the university. Instead, on Collett's recommendation, he accepted

6912-399: The ice to break up. On 22 June, the pair decided to rest on a stable ice floe while they repaired their equipment and gathered strength for the next stage of their journey. They remained on the floe for a month. The day after leaving this camp, Nansen recorded: "At last the marvel has come to pass—land, land, and after we had almost given up our belief in it!" Whether this still-distant land

7020-472: The ice were frustrating, as the drift moved unpredictably; sometimes north, sometimes south. By 19 November, Fram's latitude was south of that at which she had entered the ice. Only after the turn of the year, in January 1894, did the northerly direction become generally settled; the 80°N mark was finally passed on 22 March. Nansen calculated that, at this rate, it might take the ship five years to reach

7128-544: The idea "an illogical scheme of self-destruction". Equally dismissive were Sir Allen Young , a veteran of the searches for Franklin's lost expedition , and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker , who had sailed to the Antarctic on the Ross expedition . Nansen still managed to secure a grant from the Norwegian parliament after an impassioned speech. Additional funding was secured through a national appeal for private donations. Nansen chose

7236-490: The ideals of the humanists of the time. A gentleman or courtier of that era was expected to speak several languages, play a musical instrument , write poetry , and so on; thus fulfilling the Renaissance ideal . The idea of a universal education was essential to achieving polymath ability, hence the word university was used to describe a seat of learning. However, the original Latin word universitas refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body,

7344-702: The individual and wider society. It suggests that the complex problems of the 21st century need the versatility, creativity, and broad perspectives characteristic of polymaths. For individuals, Ahmed says, specialisation is dehumanising and stifles their full range of expression whereas polymathy "is a powerful means to social and intellectual emancipation" which enables a more fulfilling life. In terms of social progress, he argues that answers to specific problems often come from combining knowledge and skills from multiple areas, and that many important problems are multi-dimensional in nature and cannot be fully understood through one specialism. Rather than interpreting polymathy as

7452-457: The inhabited west coast would, he reasoned, have to make a return trip, as no ship could be certain of reaching the dangerous east coast and picking them up. By starting from the east—assuming that a landing could be made there—Nansen's would be a one-way journey towards a populated area. The party would have no line of retreat to a safe base; the only way to go would be forward, a situation that fitted Nansen's philosophy completely. Nansen rejected

7560-401: The institution of marriage, Otto Sverdrup assumed he had read the message wrongly. The wedding took place on 6 September 1889, less than a month after the engagement. Nansen first began to consider the possibility of reaching the North Pole after reading meteorologist Henrik Mohn 's theory on transpolar drift in 1884. Artefacts found on the coast of Greenland were identified to have come from

7668-445: The intellectual climate, it has since then been more common to find "passive polymaths", who consume knowledge in various domains but make their reputation in one single discipline, than "proper polymaths", who—through a feat of "intellectual heroism"—manage to make serious contributions to several disciplines. However, Burke warns that in the age of specialization, polymathic people are more necessary than ever, both for synthesis—to paint

7776-418: The island on cross-country skis . He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893–1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. He was elected an International Member of

7884-728: The limitations of their own knowledge. The importance of recognising these limitations is a theme that Ahmed finds in many thinkers, including Confucius , Ali ibn Abi Talib , and Nicolas of Cusa . He calls it "the essential mark of the polymath." A further argument for multiple approaches is that a polymath does not see diverse approaches as diverse, because they see connections where other people see differences. For example da Vinci advanced multiple fields by applying mathematical principles to each. Aside from Renaissance man , similar terms in use are homo universalis ( Latin ) and uomo universale ( Italian ), which translate to 'universal man'. The related term generalist —contrasted with

7992-514: The most innovative artists have an interest or hobbies in the sciences. Root-Bernstein and colleagues' research is an important counterpoint to the claim by some psychologists that creativity is a domain-specific phenomenon. Through their research, Root-Bernstein and colleagues conclude that there are certain comprehensive thinking skills and tools that cross the barrier of different domains and can foster creative thinking: "[creativity researchers] who discuss integrating ideas from diverse fields as

8100-547: The multicreative potential of their students. As an example, the authors cite that teachers should encourage students to make connections across disciplines, use different forms of media to express their reasoning/understanding (e.g., drawings, movies, and other forms of visual media). In his 2018 book The Polymath , British author Waqas Ahmed defines polymaths as those who have made significant contributions to at least three different fields. Rather than seeing polymaths as exceptionally gifted, he argues that every human being has

8208-486: The national cross-country skiing championship, a feat he would repeat on 11 subsequent occasions. In 1880 Nansen passed his university entrance examination, the examen artium . He decided to study zoology , claiming later that he chose the subject because he thought it offered the chance of a life in the open air. He began his studies at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania early in 1881. Early in 1882 Nansen took "...the first fatal step that led me astray from

8316-464: The nature of Nansen's childhood. In the short summers the main activities were swimming and fishing, while in the autumn the chief pastime was hunting for game in the forests. The long winter months were devoted mainly to skiing, which Nansen began to practice at the age of two, on improvised skis. At the age of 10 he defied his parents and attempted the ski jump at the nearby Huseby installation. This exploit had near-disastrous consequences, as on landing

8424-487: The northern coast of Siberia. Progress was impeded by fog and ice conditions in the mainly uncharted seas. The crew also experienced the dead water phenomenon, where a ship's forward progress is impeded by friction caused by a layer of fresh water lying on top of heavier salt water. Nevertheless, Cape Chelyuskin , the most northerly point of the Eurasian continental mass, was passed on 10 September. Heavy pack ice

8532-547: The paradox also displayed more polymathic thinking traits. He concludes by suggesting that fostering polymathy in the classroom may help students change beliefs, discover structures and open new avenues for interdisciplinary pedagogy. Michael Araki is a professor at the UNSW Business School at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He sought to formalize in a general model how the development of polymathy takes place. His Developmental Model of Polymathy (DMP)

8640-430: The personality level, when the person is able to integrate their diverse activities in a synergic whole, which can also mean a psychic (motivational, emotional and cognitive) integration. Finally, the author also suggests that, via a psychoeconomic approach, polymathy can be seen as a "life project". That is, depending on a person's temperament, endowments, personality, social situation and opportunities (or lack thereof),

8748-409: The pole. As the ship's northerly progress continued at a rate rarely above a kilometre and a half per day, Nansen began privately to consider a new plan—a dog sledge journey towards the pole. With this in mind, he began to practice dog-driving, making many experimental journeys over the ice. In November, Nansen announced his plan: when the ship passed latitude 83°N, he and Hjalmar Johansen would leave

8856-486: The potential to become one: that people naturally have multiple interests and talents. He contrasts this polymathic nature against what he calls "the cult of specialisation". For example, education systems stifle this nature by forcing learners to specialise in narrow topics. The book argues that specialisation encouraged by the production lines of the Industrial Revolution is counter-productive both to

8964-594: The project of a polymathic self-formation may present itself to the person as more or less alluring and more or less feasible to be pursued. James C. Kaufman , from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, and Ronald A. Beghetto, from the same university, investigated the possibility that everyone could have the potential for polymathy as well as the issue of the domain-generality or domain-specificity of creativity. Based on their earlier four-c model of creativity, Beghetto and Kaufman proposed

9072-497: The quiet life of science." Professor Robert Collett of the university's zoology department proposed that Nansen take a sea voyage, to study Arctic zoology at first hand. Nansen was enthusiastic, and made arrangements through a recent acquaintance, Captain Axel Krefting, commander of the sealer Viking . The voyage began on 11 March 1882 and extended over the following five months. In the weeks before sealing started, Nansen

9180-403: The rest of the winter of 1894 preparing clothing and equipment for the forthcoming sledge journey. Kayaks were built, to be carried on the sledges until needed for the crossing of open water. Preparations were interrupted early in January when violent tremors shook the ship. The crew disembarked, fearing the vessel would be crushed, but Fram proved herself equal to the danger. On 8 January 1895,

9288-494: The same subject. After 1896 his main scientific interest switched to oceanography ; in the course of his research he made many scientific cruises, mainly in the North Atlantic, and contributed to the development of modern oceanographic equipment. As one of his country's leading citizens, in 1905 Nansen spoke out for ending Norway's union with Sweden , and was instrumental in persuading Prince Carl of Denmark to accept

9396-410: The season was becoming too advanced. After they landed at Umivik, they spent the next four days preparing for their journey. They set out on the evening of 15 August, heading north-west towards Christianhaab on the western shore of Disko Bay—600 kilometres (370 mi) away. Over the next few days, the party struggled to ascend. The inland ice had a treacherous surface with many hidden crevasses and

9504-400: The ship with the dogs and make for the pole while Fram , under Sverdrup, continued its drift until it emerged from the ice in the North Atlantic. After reaching the pole, Nansen and Johansen would make for the nearest known land, the recently discovered and sketchily mapped Franz Josef Land . They would then cross to Spitzbergen where they would find a ship to take them home. The crew spent

9612-658: The ship's position was 83°34′N, above Greely's previous record of 83°24′N. With the ship's latitude at 84°4′N and after two false starts, Nansen and Johansen began their journey on 14 March 1895. Nansen allowed 50 days to cover the 356 nautical miles (660 km; 410 mi) to the pole, an average daily journey of seven nautical miles (13 km; 8 mi). After a week of travel, a sextant observation indicated they averaged nine nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) per day, which put them ahead of schedule. However, uneven surfaces made skiing more difficult, and their speeds slowed. They also realised they were marching against

9720-414: The shore. They spent most time camping on the ice itself—it was too dangerous to launch the boats. By 29 July, they found themselves 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the point where they left the ship. That day they finally reached land but were too far south to begin the crossing. Nansen ordered the team back into the boats after a brief rest and to begin rowing north. The party battled northward along

9828-414: The skiers from the mountainous region of Telemark , where a new style of skiing was being developed. "I saw this was the only way", wrote Nansen later. At school, Nansen worked adequately without showing any particular aptitude. Studies took second place to sports, or to expeditions into the forests where he would live "like Robinson Crusoe " for weeks at a time. Through such experiences Nansen developed

9936-497: The skiing resort of Frognerseteren , where Nansen recalled seeing "two feet sticking out of the snow". Eva was three years older than Nansen, and despite the evidence of this first meeting, was an accomplished skier. She was also a celebrated classical singer who had been coached in Berlin by Désirée Artôt , one-time paramour of Tchaikovsky . The engagement surprised many; since Nansen had previously expressed himself forcefully against

10044-412: The skis dug deep into the snow, pitching the boy forward: "I, head first, described a fine arc in the air ... [W]hen I came down again I bored into the snow up to my waist. The boys thought I had broken my neck, but as soon as they saw there was life in me ... a shout of mocking laughter went up." Nansen's enthusiasm for skiing was undiminished, though as he records, his efforts were overshadowed by those of

10152-481: The sledges like pulling them through sand. On 26 September, they battled their way down the edge of a fjord westward towards Godthaab. Sverdrup constructed a makeshift boat out of parts of the sledges, willows, and their tent. Three days later, Nansen and Sverdrup began the last stage of the journey, rowing down the fjord. On 3 October, they reached Godthaab , where the Danish town representative greeted them. He first informed Nansen that he had secured his doctorate,

10260-627: The throne of the newly independent Norway. Between 1906 and 1908, he served as the Norwegian representative in London, where he helped negotiate the Integrity Treaty that guaranteed Norway's independent status. In the final decade of his life, Nansen devoted himself primarily to the League of Nations , following his appointment in 1921 as the League's High Commissioner for Refugees . In 1922 he

10368-581: The watches based on Nansen's guess they were at 86°E. From then on they were uncertain of their true position. The tracks of an Arctic fox were observed towards the end of April. It was the first trace of a living creature other than their dogs since they left Fram . They soon saw bear tracks and by the end of May saw evidence of nearby seals, gulls and whales. On 31 May, Nansen calculated they were only 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) from Cape Fligely , Franz Josef Land's northernmost point. Travel conditions worsened as increasingly warmer weather caused

10476-534: The way ahead was "... a veritable chaos of iceblocks stretching as far as the horizon." Nansen recorded their latitude as 86°13′6″N—almost three degrees beyond the previous record—and decided to turn around and head back south. At first Nansen and Johansen made good progress south, but suffered a serious setback on 13 April, when in his eagerness to break camp, they had forgotten to wind their chronometers , which made it impossible to calculate their longitude and accurately navigate to Franz Josef Land. They restarted

10584-417: The weather was bad. Progress stopped for three days because of violent storms and continuous rain one time. The last ship was due to leave Christianhaab by mid-September. They would not be able to reach it in time, Nansen concluded on 26 August. He ordered a change of course due west, towards Godthaab , a shorter journey by at least 150 kilometres (93 mi). The rest of the party, according to Nansen, "hailed

10692-399: The world—was making it increasingly difficult for individual scholars to master as many disciplines as before. Thus, an intellectual retreat of the polymath species occurred: "from knowledge in every [academic] field to knowledge in several fields, and from making original contributions in many fields to a more passive consumption of what has been contributed by others". Given this change in

10800-475: Was Franz Josef Land or a new discovery they did not know—they had only a rough sketch map to guide them. The edge of the pack ice was reached on 6 August and they shot the last of their dogs—the weakest of which they killed regularly to feed the others since 24 April. The two kayaks were lashed together, a sail was raised, and they made for the land. It soon became clear this land was part of an archipelago. As they moved southwards, Nansen tentatively identified

10908-582: Was able to concentrate on scientific studies. From water samples he showed that, contrary to previous assumption, sea ice forms on the surface of the water rather than below. His readings also demonstrated that the Gulf Stream flows beneath a cold layer of surface water. Through the spring and early summer Viking roamed between Greenland and Spitsbergen in search of seal herds. Nansen became an expert marksman, and on one day proudly recorded that his team had shot 200 seals. In July, Viking became trapped in

11016-403: Was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the displaced victims of World War I and related conflicts. Among the initiatives he introduced was the " Nansen passport " for stateless persons, a certificate that used to be recognized by more than 50 countries. He worked on behalf of refugees alongside Vidkun Quisling until his sudden death in 1930, after which the League established

11124-501: Was confirmed by the simultaneous research of the embryologist Wilhelm His and the psychiatrist August Forel . Nansen is considered the first Norwegian defender of the neuron theory, originally proposed by Santiago Ramón y Cajal . His subsequent paper, The Structure and Combination of Histological Elements of the Central Nervous System , published in 1887, became his doctoral thesis. The idea of an expedition across

11232-459: Was invited by a group of Australians to lead an expedition to Antarctica, but declined, believing that Norway's interests would be better served by a North Pole conquest. On 11 August 1889 Nansen announced his engagement to Eva Sars , celebrated mezzo-soprano singer, a pioneer of women's skiing and the daughter of Michael Sars , a theologian and zoology professor who had died when Eva was 11 years old. The couple had met some years previously, at

11340-404: Was not hunger but inactivity. After muted Christmas and New Year celebrations, in slowly improving weather, they began to prepare to leave their refuge, but it was 19 May 1896 before they were able to resume their journey. On 17 June, during a stop for repairs after the kayaks had been attacked by a walrus , Nansen thought he heard a dog barking as well as human voices. He went to investigate, and

11448-676: Was picked up and the pair were taken to Cape Flora where, during the following weeks, they recuperated from their ordeal. Nansen later wrote that he could "still scarcely grasp" their sudden change of fortune; had it not been for the walrus attack that caused the delay, the two parties might have been unaware of each other's existence. Polymath A polymath ( Greek : πολυμαθής , romanized :  polymathēs , lit.   'having learned much'; Latin : homo universalis , lit.   'universal human') or polyhistor ( Greek : πολυΐστωρ , romanized :  polyīstor , lit.   'well-learned')

11556-413: Was sighted ten days later at around latitude 78°N, as Fram approached the area in which USS  Jeannette was crushed. Nansen followed the line of the pack northwards to a position recorded as 78°49′N 132°53′E  /  78.817°N 132.883°E  / 78.817; 132.883 , before ordering engines stopped and the rudder raised. From this point Fram's drift began. The first weeks in

11664-525: Was so fierce that army lieutenant and dog-driving expert Hjalmar Johansen signed on as ship's stoker, the only position still available. Fram left Christiania on 24 June 1893, cheered on by thousands of well-wishers. After a slow journey around the coast, the final port of call was Vardø , in the far north-east of Norway. Fram left Vardø on 21 July, following the North-East Passage route pioneered by Nordenskiöld in 1878–1879, along

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