Hello hive mind - I’m currently writing my MA thesis on the gig economy and polymathic freelancers in the creative industries. Basically, I’m looking to interview freelancers (ideally London/UK-based) who are multi-talented, and work in a diverse set of creative disciplines… such as a writer/illustrator/animator etc. Perhaps you have had an interesting portfolio career, or you’ve created a unique job role/business that combines all your skill-set and interests.

If this sounds like you or someone you may know, I’d LOVE a brief chat about your experiences over email/phone/Skype/person, whichever suits best.

Contact me here, or email me: [email protected]

Thank you very much! 

The “For Beginners” Series

The series covers a range of topics including: African American Studies, Art & Music, Gender Studies, History, Philosophy & Literature, Science, Women, Politics & Social Sciences.

The books are useful as primers for autodidacts and polymaths.

The books feature several illustrations throughout to engage the reader and make concepts memorable.

The series was founded and published by (the now late) Glenn Thompson, an African-American man and Harlem native who didn’t learn to read until the age of 12. (more)

Their website

Z-Library Project

Autodidact Tag (Revived Edition of the “I’m Studying” tag)

Autodidact (n.): a self-taught person; someone who lives an intellectual life without the necessity of a teacher, school, or tutor

(newer autodidacts are also welcome to do this tag!)

The Rules: [Part 1] share your recent studies (in class and/or independent) and specify the last topic/text you covered in the class. Make up your own course and topic names if you need. Remember books, podcasts, and documentaries apply (and are a good gateway into a subject too). There is no academic standard to uphold here. “Lowbrow” or informal topics are also very welcome! [Part 2] bold the topics in the list which you have studied and italicize those which you want to study and star (*) your favorite areas of study

Who I’m Tagging: everyone who sees this!

Part 1: Recent Studies

1. Care Ethics: Empathy, Morality, and Ethical Action
2. Elderly Wellness: Dementia, Diabetes, and Depression
3. Self-Development: Psycho-Cybernetics
4. Art History: Egon Schiele (for example)
5. History of Hip-Hop: The Pioneers
6. Philosophy of Aesthetics: Leo Tolstoy’s What Is Art
7. Pseudoscientific Psychology: Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Socionics Theories

Part 2: Study Topics Inventory (inspired by this Wikipedia link)

Humanities

• Arts: Music Theory, Film Theory, Theatre, Music, Dance, Studio Art*, Photography/Videography, Animation, Architecture, Interior Design
• History: Ancient, Colonial,World, Medieval, African, Asian, European, Latin American, West Indian, Indigenous, Art History
• Languages:Linguistics, Philology, Phonetics, Grammar,Natural Language Processing,Etymology,Conversational/Fluency-driven/Foreign*
• Literature: Writing, Poetry, Literary Theory*,Classics, World, Medieval, Post-colonial, Modern,Post-modern*
• Law: Administrative, Canon, Civil, Criminal, Jurisprudence
• Philosophy:Aesthetics,Applied Philosophy,Ethics,Logic,Metaphysics*, Social/Political
• Theology: Biblical, Buddhist,Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Mystical, Other

Social Sciences

• Anthropology: Biological, Cultural, Linguistic, Social
• Archaeology: Historical, Ethnoarchaeology, Archaeometry, Experimental, Cultural Resources Management
• Economics: Applied Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Public Finance, Socioeconomics, Consumer Economics
• Human Geography: Behavioral, Historical, Political, Population, Urban, Other
• Political Science: American, Canadian, European, International Relations, Civics, Comparative Politics
• Psychology:Abnormal,Applied, Clinical, Criminal, Cognitive*,Developmental,Humanistic*,Psychoanalysis*
• Sociology:Analytical, Gender/Sex, Cultural, Conflict Theory, Other
• Social Work: Clinical, Community, Family, Mental Health

Natural Sciences

• Biology:Anatomy, Botany, Developmental, Ecology, Evolutionary,Genetics,Molecular*,Immunology, Pathology, Systematics,Systems Biology, Zoology
• Chemistry: Chemical Engineering, Organic,Inorganic,Flow Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Pharmacology, Theoretical, Thermochemistry*
• Earth Science: Environmental Science, Gemology, Physical Geography, Geophysics, Paleontology
• Space Science: Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics
• Physics: Aerodynamics, Computational, Electricity, Mechanics, Molecular,Quantum*, Theoretical, Thermodynamics

Formal Sciences

• Computer Science: Logic, Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Communications, Operating Systems, Programming, Security, Software Engineering, Theory
• Mathematics: Logic, Algebra, Analysis, Probability, Geometry,Calculus,Trigonometry*,Number Theory,Game Theory,Dynamical Systems*,Mathematical Physics, Graph Theory, Combinatorics
• Statistics

Applied Sciences

• Business: Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing, Operations Management
• Engineering and Technology: Chemical, Civil, Educational, Electrical, Materials Science, Mechanical, Systems Science*
• Medicine and Health: Alternative,Clinical Science, Research Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Specialty (eg. Dermatology, Podiatry, Surgery), Nursing,Nutrition*,Physical Fitness,Health Informatics,Medical Toxicology, Traditional Medicine, Therapy (Speech, Occupational, Physical, etc.), Public Health