[spindritf]

What I find truly remarkable about polymaths is that they don't seem to be crippled in other regards. There is no trade-off. Actually, abilities seem to positivly correlate rather than displace each other.

It seems like there's a free lunch somewhere. Which is unusual for living beings, for evolution to miss it.

[lifeisstillgood]

Niels Bohr - Nobel Prie winner, Quantum THeoretician, Olympic athlete.

I think you might be onto something - I suspect its that genius is not genetic, which indicates it might be nurture not nature - which means things might be really cool for humans in a hundred years.

[eggoa]

Well, he only had one kid. That makes him a pretty lousy performer from evolution's point of view.

[walterbell]

He did improve the evolutionary odds of most people on HN, so that counts for something.