In defence of ‘unnecessary’ activities …

If you have ever wondered if you should spend the time and money on getting your child to learn skills that they may not use as an adult, this is for you. For example, you may wonder, “Why these guitar classes? Is he really going to be a musician when he grows up?” Or, “What is the practical purpose of learning charcoal sketching?” Or even, “Why is my child being forced to learn Kannada when we don’t plan to stay in Karnataka for long?”


The age we live in is an age of specialisation. We believe in streamlining our time and efforts in one direction. The general opinion is that the more specialised we are, the better our prospects in life are. So, we start looking at all activities from a perspective of “how useful” it is. If it is not useful, it is a waste of time. The child is nudged to choose one profession that they want to pursue. “What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor or an architect?” The emphasis is on finding out what that ‘one’ profession is going to be and then start investing all efforts in that direction.


There is a school of thought that specialisation may not be the best advice, not just for career but for life itself. Polymaths (persons who have knowledge of many subjects) are more likely to succeed than those who have dedicated themselves to just one area of study from early on. The reason for this is that different subjects use different parts of the brain. The more parts you activate, the better you will be at anything you choose to do.


Modern corporate heads are more likely to be polymaths who have strong interests outside the field of their profession. It could be a hobby, or a second profession that feeds their success in their primary profession. Historically too, most inventors and influencers have been good at doing more than one thing. It comes down to encouraging a curiosity for anything, without limiting it to what seems ‘useful’ right now.


Being a polymath increases your job security more than specialisation does. You have more than one area of expertise to depend on for your livelihood. It is also the antidote for the boredom that comes from having just one specialised skill which makes your job monotonous. Most modern-day problems need a multi-disciplinary approach to finding a solution. This means the solver of the problem needs to be able to view it from a multi-disciplinary point of view. That’s when being a polymath becomes more ‘useful’ than being highly specialised.


So let’s get allow the space for all ‘unnecessary’ learning like classical dance, embroidery, chess and painting. They will make the ‘necessary’ learning easier and more meaningful.