An opsimath is a person who begins, or continues, to study or learn late in life.[1] The word is derived from the Greek ὀψέ (opsé), meaning 'late', and μανθάνω (manthánō), meaning 'learn'.[2]
Opsimathy was once frowned upon, used as a put-down with implications of laziness,[3] and considered less effective by educators than early learning.[4] The emergence of "opsimath clubs"[5] has demonstrated that opsimathy has shed much of this negative connotation.[6]
Notable opsimaths include 19th century army officer and Orientalist Sir Henry Rawlinson, Vivian Stanshall's fictitious character Sir Henry Rawlinson, Grandma Moses, mathematician Paul Erdős (who published papers until his death at age 83), Rabbi Akiva (according to the Talmud he began studying at age 40), and Cato the Elder, who learned Greek only at the age of 80.
References
- ^ The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, page 2010. Oxford University Press, 2002.
- ^ Bowler, Peter: The Superior Person's Book of Words, page 101. Bloomsbury, 2002.
- ^ FirstThings.com essay regarding "exposure" of opsimathy, implying negativity. (URL accessed April 15, 2006) Archived March 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ nifl.gov thread concerning opsimathy. (URL accessed April 15, 2006) Archived April 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Fraser News reports an "opsimath club". (URL accessed April 15, 2006) Archived November 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Glasgow Caledonian University speech aggrandizing opsimathy. (URL accessed April 15, 2006) Archived November 18, 2005, at the Wayback Machine