# Autodidacticism (self-taught; self-study) **URL:** \ **Category:** Code Reading\ **Created:** [May 23, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://pluralist.net/t/autodidacticism-self-taught-self-study/277 "2025-05-23T13:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![delyan](https://pluralist.net/user_avatar/pluralist.net/delyan/32/245_2.png) [@delyan](https://pluralist.net/u/delyan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://pluralist.net/t/autodidacticism-self-taught-self-study/277/1 "2025-05-23T13:09:37Z")
What drives autodidacts: motivation, curiosity, discipline, perseverance, drive - Finding [books taught/used at MIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/mit/comments/15cpyfy/find_books_that_are_taught_and_used_at_mit/) * * * Here’s a list of some of the most famous autodidacts—self-taught individuals—across various fields: ### Science & Technology - **Leonardo da Vinci** – Mastered anatomy, engineering, and art without formal education. - **Michael Faraday** – Pioneered electromagnetism; had little formal schooling. - **Charles Darwin** – Left medical school; largely self-taught in natural science. - **Thomas Edison** – Homeschooled and self-educated inventor of the light bulb and phonograph. - **Ada Lovelace** – Self-taught in mathematics; wrote the first algorithm. ### Literature & Philosophy - **Benjamin Franklin** – Educated himself through voracious reading; scientist, inventor, and author. - **Jorge Luis Borges** – Taught himself multiple languages; widely influential writer. - **Jean-Jacques Rousseau** – Major Enlightenment thinker; largely self-educated. ### Music & Art - **Jimi Hendrix** – Never formally trained; learned guitar by ear. - **Frida Kahlo** – Trained herself in painting during long recoveries. ### Business & Innovation - **Steve Jobs** – Dropped out of college; learned calligraphy, design, and tech on his own. - **Elon Musk** – Taught himself programming, rocket science, and more via reading.