Is Multipotentialite an Unnecessary Word?

I like the brevity of multipod, but I prefer the connotation of multipotentialite. Scanner feels a bit surfacey to me. Polymath is a new one to me, that one doesn’t feel quite right.

Whatever the nomenclature I’m grateful to those of you who have stood up to say “This is a THING! Stop trying to make us what we are not designed to be! Stop trying to make us feel inferior for being something you don’t understand!” And even more importantly, “Let’s stop beating OURSELVES up for being who and what we are, and start embracing it and running with it, instead.”

I feel the same about the words. I don’t like polymath also because it has the word “math” in it and I hate math 😀 It sounds all in all like something technical, like agriculture (dunno why I feel like that).

Multipotentialite is not my favorite word either, though. It’s long and not very easy to write when you just woke up, but it has the “potential” word in it which is what really matters. It’s that you have the potential to become whoever you want to be, if you wanted. That you have it in you. I love that idea.

For me, being a MULTIPOTENTIALITE is the first step to be a SUCCESSFUL MULTI-SPECIALIST. I added the word successful to connote the existence of both happiness and achievement.

I agree that polymath sounds so technical, a person who ACQUIRED knowledge and technical skills in many subjects. While multipotentialiate is a person who is curious in many subjects, with many passions and potentials that can be DEVELOPED.

Language evolves and after the missing part of your TED talk – I’m an Einstein, so happily now use the term ‘Einsteintialite’ which to me says I’ve got a day job and this allows me to experiment with my other passions.

I’ve used PolyMath to describe what I do and when asked what it means, say its about counting parrots. The old ones are the best ones 🙂

Emilie, you’re fine. I like that you ignore the detractors. However, in response to them, there is another TED talk by lexicographer Erin McKean in which she encourages all people to make up words to our hearts’ content. Check it out, you tiresome old detractors. The language changes constantly – get over it already. https://www.ted.com/talks/erin_mckean_go_ahead_make_up_new_words

Hi Emilie. I like your word. My therapist says it describes me well. I also refer to myself as a dilettante…but only in private. Describing one’s self as such in public seems pretentious. Being a misunderstood multipotentialite is already stressful enough without drawing the ire of the semantics police.
You are a brave soul! Thanks for giving me the courage to be myself.

You said it clearly in your TED talk that multipotentialites themselves don’t agree on a label! All of the words that describe us can be used as much or as little as we like. I personally like the sense of belonging, even though I hate to be put into a box or labelled.

Someone said to me that they didn’t need a fancy word when I said Mutlipotentialite, but they thought they were one – I’m not so sure they were. But who am I to judge?

Curiousity is what drives me. I have actually started making up my own language, it’s silly fun, but currently I have a few words that have multiple meanings depending on the context and tone.

It can’t be an unnecessary word if it is so liberating/validating/encouraging to so many people. It has, at times, been all of those to me since I heard it. If they don’t need the word or like the word, let them use a different one. I’m grateful to have choices to express what I need in a given situation. Synonyms are, indeed, a thing!

I mean haters gonna hate.

I just found out about multipotentiality after struggling my whole life to find out if there is something wrong with me. I tried to find out as much as I could, there are so many terms out there and MULTIPOTENTIALITE is a word I can most relate myself to. I can’t relate to “Renaissance person” because I didn’t time travel from that period in history, “Polymath” makes me feel like I’m just set of numbers, symbols or formulas because I’m not, I’m a multipotentialite.

I am not using multipotentialite to please anyone. This isn’t about you. I am a multipotentialite because this is how I identify myself and embrace who I am and live my life to the best I can. To me, MULTIPOTENTIALITE is such a straightforward and clear term. It shines in so much positive light and carries strength, encouragement and motivation. So, what’s so bad about it?

Multipotentialite is a terrific word, but I prefer to call myself a Renaissance Man. Multipotentialite to me implies multiple interests, but little development or expertise. Renaissance Man denotes development, knowledge, experience and application. I am older, so maybe it’s developmental and transitional.

I don’t particularly like any of the terms for it, but I get it, and feel so much more comfortable knowing that others are as curious and drawn in different directions as I am, and that is all that matters.

Hello! This is my first comment and I’m italian, so maybe not precise as a native english speaker.
I have a little theory about words: to me each word has a semantic sphere around it, with a “meaning” coefficient. The least meaning coefficient is 1, for words we can use only in one situation with one meaning. For example selfie. I don’t like these words, they are poor, they contain low energy and information.
I like the words with greater semantic spheres, in contexts with a lot of synonyms, so that you can choose the acceptation, the nuance you are looking for.
I loved the term “multipotentialite” from the beginning, it’s a neologism (and I’m seeking to find one that I like to translate it in Italian!), and has a big semantic sphere. Differently from “polymath” or “genius” it has in the meaning the acceptation “potential”. This means, you don’t have to excel like a polymath in a lot of fields (which in our world with our knowledge now it’s very difficult), and you don’t have the pressure to deepen one area of knowledge and be recognized as a genius. You have the potential to do a lot of things, to know all the new stuffs you desire, without the pressure to climb the hierarchy for years in the same field to be recognized as a polymath or a genius. That means to me, you can enjoy your life, taking the opportunities you want to, and you have only be careful to manage your talent, in order not to waste it.
Since when I know this word, this philosophy and its perspectives (10 days), I’m calmer, I know I don’t have to push only in one area anymore to be considered good, I can use this characteristic as a talent and not as a problem or a source of dispersion! Because they told me also this, I do a self-sabotage. That’s why I find this word brilliant. It’s about the potential, the fact you don’t have to have a single “vocation” in life to realize yourself, and you don’t have to push yourself to be considered as a genius. You can only play with your skills, enjoy them, and work in a synergetic way with the complementary people around you!

Still chuckling at the notion that you can’t just invent a word. How else have all the words in our language come about? Someone somewhere made a suggestion, and it caught on. That’s why we have a field of study called “linguistics,” and it’s what makes it so much fun to look things up in the Oxford English Dictionary. Language is a living process!

Like many have said in this thread: we are creative people and have many interests. We probably know more about many things than the “non-multis”. But that’s US! Polymaths, by definition, are folks who are experts in multiple fields. Perhaps in a scholarly way. We may not be “professionals” in our respective “fields” but we take great interest in them. We just can’t stay still and not to mention be bored!

Emilie it was you who made me realise why I’d had so many exciting starts over the past 40 years while completely failing to stick at anything, and ending up on a very low income with a raft of qualifications and experience getting me precisely nowhere.
It’s your framing of the idea that’s helped me, and while I’m still struggling to focus, I have an aim and it encompasses many aspects of my interests, and I have hope. So thank you!
Some people exist only to shoot down others with interesting ideas whom they find threatening, where they don’t even have to face the objects of their ire in person. I hereby name these people ‘scaredy-multi-trolls’.

I think it’s very helpful you came up with this word!
When watching your TED talk, I got this awesome feeling of recognition and acceptance. And that was great, but then when you introduced the term multipotentialite, it also made being a multi a much more positive thing! And gave me the possibility to proudly acclaim ” I am a multipotentialite”, and that feels so empowering.
Judging by the reaction of the audience it made more people feel the same way. It is a very positive word, but also a fun word, it doesn’t seem to take itself too serious, but it’s also an empowering word. I think it is very clever.

Your Ted talk caused a shift in the way I think about myself – and love the term “multipotentialite”! It’s full of potential, optimism and action. I would never in 100 years describe myself as a polymath or a renaissance woman because to me, these terms sound pretentious.

When I was growing up, I lived all over the the US and Europe because my father was in the military and we moved every 2-3 years. One of my least favorite questions is, “Where are you from?” My answer is always everywhere and nowhere. I can’t really claim my birthplace or any of the other places I lived because they have all informed my world view.

My second least favorite question is, “What do you do?” I could drone on and on about all the things that I do and interest me, but I’m pretty sure the person asking would zone out. I think I’ve used the term dabbler before, but that seems to imply someone who isn’t serious about any one thing. From now on I intend to answer with, “I am a multipotenialite.” It’s a great quirky term and conversation starter.

I have never heard of the terms Polymath, scanner or generalist, so your TED really struck a chord with me. The term “Jack of all trades” for me, always seemed to apply to someone who was able to repair things….many types of things. Scanner and generalist don’t sound particularly flattering. Would a scanner be someone who searches for opportunities to jump into a situation? This could be a helpful person or someone who thinks he knows everything about everything and really knows very little about anything. The term “Renaissance person” implies a well balanced person who has formal education, culture and perhaps a degree of physical achievements. This would not apply to me because my passion for continued education is not with verification, I’d prefer to help my children finance their travel and 5 or 6 laps through the forest at the dog park keeps me healthy,wealthy and wise (have you seen the studies on walking and neurogenisis?)

Multipotentialite is a powerfull word if someone doesn’t like could choose another word , don’t worry Emily the criticism is a signal that you are in the right way, I learnt not argue with people that just need liberate emotions, the silence is my answer in this case.

There are critics on every single topic under the sun. No matter what anyone says, critics revel in criticizing.

On the positive side, criticizing just opens new doors of exploration and an opportunity for us all to understand that, as much as we are alike, we are different. Some critics just like to tell others “they’re stupid” or in some other way flawed. Good critics voice their opinions and the reasons they see the topic in their own way.

Though criticism can sting, making “friends” with criticism can be a way to expand our views and assist in refining our thoughts even further. It’s not easy – ever.

Critics should definitely hold the title for “the oldest “profession” in the world!”. Let’s face it, Emilie, the greatest inventors, artists and thinkers in our history have been criticized costing them more than words on a blog but, sometimes, their livelihoods or their lives, only to be hailed later for their breakthroughs.

If your ideas are being criticized, it’s a good thing – at least you had the courage of your convictions and stuck your nose out there as so many critics will not.

You’ve done the rest of us a great service through your courage because society, in general, sees people like us as “flakes” rather than treasure our special gift.

Our resumes don’t look like other people’s – a straight line – but ours are jaggered. We are made to feel we “don’t fit” the “typical” and HR claim they don’t have the time to figure it out. What they don’t have is the ability to see the benefits of a unique perspective and how it could help their business. Yes, that’s a criticism – well-founded by the experiences many multipotentialites have had.

Emilie – keep on keeping on – for all of us in your “tribe”. Your gift to us is immense!

Who says you can’t make a word? We’ve been making words for well, as soon as we got past grunting. I make up words all the time… Friends call me a wordsmith. The way people vote on whether words stick or not is by adopting them or not. This I the evolution of language. So whining about new words is a bit small in my opinion …especially in these times.

And PS- I use the word multipotentialite when I share the concept with others

Hi Emilie,
since English is not my mother tongue I fall short in talking nuances about these wordings. I respect each term mentioned above.
I myself, when pitching to other people about my multi-facet professional path, find it always as an uncomfortable situation. People are confused with my path.
Recently in an article about future developing professions two words, among others, were mentioned: Generalist and Fusionist (bingo!). I relate much to the latter, which accurately portrays my way of working/being 🙂
At the end of the day, each of us will make use of the term that describes one’s best. Regards to all fellow Fusionists!

I like the difference between curiosity and accomplishment. Go with the word! ‘Potential’ sed to be a ‘sad’ word, as in something you don’t ‘live up to.’ I wonder what you think?

It seems to me some of the ‘issue’ is of allowance, or permission.

What happened when I first came upon this idea of the multipotentialite (I’d not heard of scanners, and would never have had the audacity to call myself a polymath, to put myself in the same realm as Leonardo), was I felt finally I was given some kind of permission to see myself as something other than a scattered dreamer who couldn’t realize her potential. The word I had the biggest battle with was right there in this new word/idea (new to me, anyway), and this new way of thinking of myself was surprisingly emotionally moving.

What the naysayers are doing is in effect removing or denying that permission. Their reasons may be ‘multi’, but their potential-block is potent, and speaks to exactly what is frustrating about the world multis/scanners/polymaths live in: Things must be done this way, as they always have been, because there can only be one, maybe two if you’re binary-focused, ways to do things.

The difference since I started to embrace my multi-ness is that I don’t permit ‘them’ to filter my perspective anymore. It’s been quite a revelation. To just boldly live the life I want to, to figure out a way to make it work, to let go of the learned ‘should’ and ‘this way only, dear’ approach, has meant even the most hard-lined one-pathers in my life have begun to accept my new approach as the right one for me.

In a strong way, I consider this acceptance as one of my successes this past year-and-a-half.

Hi Emilie, i like multipotentialite. I used to call myself a jack-of-all-trades (master of none!) but it sounds a bit sad and down at heel. Multipotentialite says i have potential! At 44 yay! Changed how i view myself for the better. Like you i think polymath is those big achievers in lots of disciplines, and fails to catch the idea of curiosity that i have about everything, without necessarily achieving anything, just indulging. If some people don’t like multipods and potentialites they can just move along 🙂

Emilie – until I watched your TED talk, I had always felt like the loser (albeit a successful-in-many-different-and-wildly-varied-projects type of loser) because to others, I was the one who didn’t ‘fit’. To them, I seemingly couldn’t make up my mind and grow up. Why couldn’t I be sensible and (particularly after having two kids) get a ‘proper’ job – but that was never it. They, and I were missing the point completely. Thanks to you, I now OWN this, and am proud of what ‘this’ is – I don’t care what name you give it, it’s completely irrelevant (although multipotentialite is pretty darn cool!) – like you say, it’s the idea behind it that counts.

I think multipotentialite is a GREAT word!!
Like you, I feel that I’m more than the sum of my abilities…
I’m more than the achievements I list on my resume…
I’m more than most people can imagine (and I find it a struggle to work in their limited vocabulary)…
The key part of this term for me is POTENTIAL. I see my potential (as well as the potential in others) and I know that 1+1=3 or more!

Oh, and math was my WORST subject in school. Polymath? Ummmm, no. 🙂

You are stirring energies and emotions within your critics… who are more than likely more critical of themselves than you,so don’t take their nasty or snide remarks personally. Just keep being you. Your multipotentilite model to the world may just be the one glimmer of hope that your critics have to finding his/her own hidden multipotentilite with him/herself,yet are afraid to look for or face..it’s less painful for them to bash you than face him/herself. Stay strong and know that your words and works are getting through to the multipotentilite hearts and souls of the ones choosing to be critical.

You rock. You also rule, dominate, represent, testyfy, signify, and pone!
Thanks for all you do, and synonyms ARE a thing!
Also, calling one’s self a polymath can sound a little hifalutin even (or especially) if true. Yours is a more nuanced term that leaves just enough to the beholder. BRAVA!

Mac,
Polymath, Mmultipotentialite,Renaissance Man, and Much, Much More!

I love the word Multipotentialite. It resonates with me so happily.

I had read Barbara Sher’s work before yours, and it clearly applied to me, but Scanner didn’t resonate–that feels like the opposite of what I do, I sequentially go deep. And I agree with your impression of Polymath, I don’t feel like I have the credentials (although my list of random-seeming impressive credentials is long).

Multipotentialite is how I feel, like I’m bubbling over with multitudes of potentials.
It’s empowering for those of us it applies to!

Also, making up words for new concepts is how language develops. I know, I have a BA in English (#3 on Random-Seeming Impressive Credentials List).

You can’t invent a word? Really? So the 2016 version of Webster’s dictionary was the same size 10,000 years ago? New words and ways of communicating are growing exponentially. I would suspect new words are created (maybe not “approved”) daily in multiple languages. I for one appreciate your words and encouragement Emilie. I come from a pack of siblings that are well known for their specific potentials. Me? I’ve always been the one that didn’t fit in any one box. Just didn’t know how great that was until I turned 62.

Well, unnecessary isn’t in itself a bad thing. It must be up to every person themselves, if they find it necessary or not. If it motivates people, then that in itself is all the reason you need.

However, I do think that all the labeling in general, that people put on themselves here, is actually in contrast with the concept itself.

i.e. “I am an web designer, an artist, a writer, a cook, a photographer, a traveler, a speaker, etc”.

In my understanding, the concept is about not having to fit into boxes, but when people label themselves like that, with every hobby/skill they have, they are exactly putting themselves into boxes

I understand the need, both professionally and socially, but I think it’s wise to keep it to a few relevant labels, or it can have a counter productive effect.