Case in point, i'm taking a break from my reading of an introduction to relativity theory to write this post. I wrote this in a hurry becus i felt in the flow. I cleaned out the worst mistakes. Q: How do i become a polymath? There are various ways to learn stuff. The current method used in universities is a combination of verbal instructions and reading. One can do either in isolation if one wishes. Some people find reading too boring (i.e. they can't keep focus) but still want to learn. Altho learning is generally much faster if one only reads, there is still hope for people to learn by listening only or nearly so.