[3] With degrees in Economics, International relations and Neuroscience, he has previously worked as a diplomatic journalist and editor (editing reports of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings), investment analyst, and fitness trainer.

[8] As research for the book, he interviewed notable polymathic figures from around the world including Noam Chomsky, Story Musgrave, Douglas Hofstadter, Hamlet Isakhanli, Raymond Tallis, and Nathan Myhrvold.

[11] The prologue is by the Oxford University professor Martin Kemp, author of many books on the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci.

[12] For individuals, Ahmed says, specialisation is dehumanising and stifles their full range of expression whereas polymathy "is a powerful means to social and intellectual emancipation" which enables a more fulfilling life.

[16] Ahmed examines evidence suggesting that the developing of multiple talents and perspectives is helpful for success in a highly specialised field.

[17] Another study found that children scored higher in IQ tests after having drum lessons, and he uses such research to argue that diversity of domains can enhance a person's general intelligence.

The importance of recognising these limitations is a theme that Ahmed finds in many thinkers, including Confucius, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and Nicolas of Cusa.

Like Ahmed, he decries specialisation for promoting "neglect of hobbies, withering of skills, stagnation of talent, and willful ignorance of wider opportunities.

[12] The magazine Jocks & Nerds describes The Polymath as a "fascinating" book that "makes a compelling argument that we should all realise our multifaceted selves and in doing so build a better and more exciting world together".

He praises the case Ahmed makes for polymathy both as an approach to personal fulfilment and as an urgently needed set of reforms to education and the workplace.

[22] The Globsyn Management Journal writes that Ahmed "has tracked the topmost people in the world including celebrity scientists, historians, philosophers and futurists and has woven together a narrative of history and vision for times ahead so that the existing system of super-specialization can be reversed.

[4] In response to interest in the book from cultural and educational institutions, Ahmed organised a Polymath Festival "designed to celebrate many-sided human potential and explore interdisciplinary solutions to complex world problems.