The Polymath Soldier is any person choosing the Australian Army profession.

Polymath Soldiers are empowered to determine, through self-education and organisationally-supported education, how to realise and maintain the benefits of learning. This learning is achieved through diverse experience, critical thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and conceptual skills in a world that, increasingly incentivises, even demands, hyperspecialisation.

Why the Polymath Soldier?

For the Australian Army, the nature of war and success in the retention of highly skilled people are both enduring and interdependent requirements. As Clausewitz argues, ‘in war, the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.’[1]

This means war, as an intimate and violent human endeavour, and the need for highly skilled people, are complementary. People fight wars, and highly skilled people – through purpose, caring, flexibility, talent, and trust – excel in warfighting. The Polymath Soldier enables and empowers ‘uniquely human skills, such as empathy, critical thinking, and creativity.’[2]

Polymaths are rare. Most humans do not live long enough to master more than a few disciplines.[3] However, Waqas Ahmed argues:

"…polymaths are not members of an exclusive club, order or society – every human has the potential to become one. In fact, ‘becoming’ is perhaps less accurate than ‘reverting’. We are all inherently multifaceted beings and clearly demonstrate this disposition during childhood; whether or not we remain that way into adulthood is determined by a cornucopia of cultural, educational, political and economic influences."[4]

This article argues that Polymath Soldiers – if motivated – self-select, self-reflect, self-motivate, and self-determine their own personal, professional, and cultural journeys.

In supporting the realisation of Polymath Soldiers, this article recommends that the Australian Army deliberately nurture Polymaths through empowering Army’s people – soldiers, junior non-commissioned officers, senior non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and officers – through a comprehensive education program known as the Polymath Soldier.

This deliberate Australian Army action is recommended for two reasons. First, the assessment that Australia no longer enjoys the benefit of a ten-year window of strategic warning time for conflict.[5]Second, taking advantage of democratised information and practically unlimited self-education opportunities, enabling the ‘reconditioning [of people’s] minds to think and operate like the polymath.’[6]

In Part 1, this article explores: Education: the strategic imperative.

In Part 2, this article recommends Four attributes for Polymath Soldiers: (1) creative achievers; (2) learning in multiple contexts; (3) flexible knowledge; and (4) analogical thinking.

Part 1: Education: the strategic imperative

The National Defence Strategy, 2024 and the Australian Army Contribution to the National Defence Strategy, 2024, judge that Australia no longer enjoys the benefit of a ten-year window of strategic warning time for conflict.[7] In addition, both policies identify multiple challenges for Defence and Army, including workforce, skills, expertise, specialisation, uplift in capability, knowledge, experience, collaboration, problem solving, and decision making.

To these challenges, both policies offer few solutions. Importantly, both policies also bias training over education at a ratio of six to one; with 18 strategic statements on training and only three statements on education.[8]

The Australian Defence Glossary defines training and education:

Training: a planned process to inculcate and modify knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours through a learning experience to achieve effective performance in a specified activity or range of activities.

Education: provides individuals with the enabling skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to undertake military tasks and includes activities which aim at developing communication, thinking and decision-making skills.

In summary, training teaches people what to do – through learning and effective performance experiences. Complementing training, education teaches people how to think – through communication, creativity and decision-making skills.

For the Australian Army profession – complementing training – education requires intellectual leadership, independence of action, lethality, and ingenuity enabling the ‘art and science of warfighting, deepening our knowledge of history while embracing new technology and techniques to counter competitors.’[9] Education also ‘builds trust and interoperability across the [Australian Defence Force, whole-of-government, and national stakeholders] and with allied and partner nations.’[10]

Revised Australian Army Education Fundamentals

Polymath Soldiers are developed through, frequently individualised, self-education and professional self-empowerment. Education is readily accessible and democratised. For example, there are now ‘hundreds of thousands of online courses and billions of online education videos. This is the golden era for people who value learning, are willing to invest in themselves, and who are disciplined enough to take action on their own.’[11]

As Michael Simmons notes: ‘In an environment of accelerating change, we’re going to have to become polymaths to survive. We’re going to have a dozen careers. Each one is going to require new skills.’[12] A comprehensive education system begins empowering the Polymath Soldier through the fundamentals of education.

These fundamentals provide options for Polymath Soldiers to challenge the ‘domain of hyper-specialisation and incorporate disciplines such as artistic creation or sports practice [or medicine], moving from the STEM paradigm (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to STEAMM, incorporating the Arts and Medicine into the formula.’[13] Notably, the arts component of STEAMM includes critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, cooperation, creativity, and adaptation to change.

Emphasising the interdependencies of science and the arts, Leonardo Da Vinci spoke of the need to ‘develop a complete mind: study the science of art; study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.’[14] For the Polymath Soldier, STEAMM delivery is, in part, through a revitalised Royal Australian Army Education Corps (RAAEC).

This revitalisation includes moving RAAEC away from their contemporary role as ‘educational best practice, training systems, synthetic learning environments…[and] strategic education,’ to, instead, leading STEAMM courses for all ranks.[15]

RAAEC can also lead the Polymath Soldier’s education fundamentals through revitalising now discarded Army education opportunities including the Promotion Course, or Subject 3, for education (corporals & sergeants)[16] and the full-time Year 12 education program.[17] Notably, the full-time Year 12 education program that Army conducted at Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, in the 1990s, and which produced many competent officers directly from the ranks of soldiers, has been replaced by virtually-managed, distributed, and outsourced part-time Year 12 programs.

Polymath Soldiers are empowered through Defence continuing to fund, and expand, the Defence Assisted Study Scheme (DASS)[18] and the Army Tertiary Education Program (ATEP)[19] for senior non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and junior officers while also developing pathway programs enhancing effective writing, critical thinking, and decision making for all ranks.

Army can also offer Polymath programs, through enhanced and expanded Makerspace facilities and capabilities to further realise ‘Army’s initiative providing a place for learning-by-making and education in innovative approaches, creative thinking, and agile methodologies.’[20]

Finally, artificial intelligence may become ‘the ultimate polymath, pushing the boundaries of discovery, from nanotechnology to outer space, and unconstrained by human fears or biological limitations.’ The development of ‘artificial intelligence could be humanity’s highest achievement...yet it could end up replacing—and subjugating—its own inventors.’[21]

Part 2: Four attributes for Polymath Soldiers

1.       Creative achievers: [22]

Creative achievers, who are experts in their designated trade, feel encouraged and empowered to sample a variety of other skills and experiences offered through self-education and organisationally-supported education. For example, armoured crews undertaking tailored education programs in logistic planning or communications specialists undertaking broad education programs in human resources.

2.       Learning in multiple contexts:

Learning in multiple contexts empowers learners in making ‘connections and correlations’ with broad concepts, instead of mechanically using procedures to solve problems.[23] Making connections includes Polymath Soldiers adapting and creating ‘unseen interconnectedness.’[24] In turn, synthesising information and critical thinking enables a learner to create abstract models without relying on specific examples or learning prompts.[25]

3.       Flexible knowledge:

Roger Hausheer argues that ‘insight and knowledge consist in comparing and contrasting the like and the unlike to the widest possible extent’.[26]Flexible knowledge creates Polymath Soldiers who are self-directed, autonomous learners and independent enquirers. Autonomy and enquiry ensure that Polymath Soldiers fluently retrieve, transfer, cross-pollinate, integrate, and apply their knowledge, skills, and capabilities across multiple, flexible pathways and disciplinary boundaries.[27]

4.       Analogical thinking:[28]

Analogical thinking interrogates wicked problems enabling Polymath Soldiers to expand their intellectual aperture and reason through problems they have never seen, particularly in unfamiliar contexts. Analogical thinking is empowered through Cal Newport’s concept of ‘deep work.’[29] As Newport explains, ‘for a session to count as deep work there must be zero distractions. Even a quick glance at your phone or email inbox can significantly reduce your performance due to the cost of context switching.’[30]

Conclusion

In two parts: Education: the strategic imperative and Four attributes for Polymath Soldiers – creative achievers; learning in multiple contexts; flexible knowledge; and analogical thinking – this article responds to the challenges identified by Defence and Army, through illuminating a path for our profession to reenergise education in the Australian Army through the Polymath Soldier.

In supporting the realisation of Polymath Soldiers, this article recommends that the Australian Army deliberately nurture Polymaths through empowering Army’s people – soldiers, junior non-commissioned officers, senior non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and officers – through a comprehensive education program known as the Polymath Soldier.

Ultimately, Polymath Soldiers self-select, self-reflect, self-motivate, and self-determine their own journeys.