Opsimath
Encyclopedia
An opsimath can refer to a person who begins, or continues, to study
or learn
late in life. The word is derived from the Greek
οψε (opse), meaning 'late' and μανθανω (manthano), meaning 'learn'.
Opsimathy was once frowned upon, used as a put down with implications of laziness, and considered less effective by educators
than early learning. The emergence of "opsimath clubs" has demonstrated that opsimathy has shed much of this negative connotation, and that this approach may, in fact, be desirable.
Notable opsimaths include Sir Henry Rawlinson, the fictitious character Sir Henry Rawlinson, Grandma Moses
and Cato the Elder
who learned Greek
only at the age of 80.
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
or learn
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
late in life. The word is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
οψε (opse), meaning 'late' and μανθανω (manthano), meaning 'learn'.
Opsimathy was once frowned upon, used as a put down with implications of laziness, and considered less effective by educators
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
than early learning. The emergence of "opsimath clubs" has demonstrated that opsimathy has shed much of this negative connotation, and that this approach may, in fact, be desirable.
Notable opsimaths include Sir Henry Rawlinson, the fictitious character Sir Henry Rawlinson, Grandma Moses
Grandma Moses
Anna Mary Robertson Moses , better known as "Grandma Moses", was a renowned American folk artist. She is often cited as an example of an individual successfully beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age. Although her family and friends called her either "Mother Moses" or "Grandma Moses,"...
and Cato the Elder
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
who learned Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
only at the age of 80.