| Individuals are given the label “versatile” when their creative achievements extend beyond their most commonly cited domain—achievements indicative of remarkable and varied interests and abilities (e.g., Aristotle, Darwin, Da Vinci, Goethe). The present work examines the rarely studied construct of versatility as well as the versatile genius by exploring the relationship between eminent individuals (i.e., personality characteristics, life achievements, etc.) and the richness of the products that they produce (i.e., topical or thematic diversity). I begin the present work with (a) a discussion of various definitions and facets of versatility as well as its measurement, (b) a review of the relevant theory as well as the empirical and anecdotal evidence linking versatility to aspects of the creative product, and (c) a review of possible personality correlates of versatility. Next, I introduce and detail the present historiometric study conducted using a sample of 70 eminent scientists, creative writers, philosophers, and scholars from the history of Western Civilization.; As predicted, data analyses reveal that versatile individuals produce thematically richer works than their non-versatile counterparts. Specifically, versatility appears to raise an individual's thematic “ceiling,” allowing for works of maximal thematic diversity. Assuming that the richest work in an individual's repertoire represents the peak of his or her range of creativity, versatility might be a crucial ingredient in the production of an individual's magnum opus. Contrary to expectations, however, the personality characteristic of Openness did not emerge as the dominant trait in the versatile individual's personality profile. A broad but weak pattern of personality characteristics did emerge that describes the versatile individual as generally unconscientious, unable to deal with ego-related threats, rather narcissistic, and not particularly well adjusted. Also, analyses reveal that an Open orientation does positively predict the topical diversity of an individual's works. Specifically, Openness positively predicts the overall diversity of an individual's body of work. Finally, exploratory analyses reveal that scientists, unlike individuals in other professions, appear to become more psychologically erratic with increasing levels of versatility. The limitations, implications, and directions for future versatility research are discussed. |
