Polymaths especially like to write, which is the same as serious thinking. Polymaths eventually surpass all their peers in academic performance even though they often find what they are forced to learn in formal schooling to be trivial. Successful polymaths always respect the opinions and the person of others, especially teachers, who are usually very dedicated people. There is no greater ignorance than the presumption to look down on someone else. It is a truism perhaps, but you can learn something from almost anybody.
Polymaths have common sense too, are practical as well as intellectual.
This is the natural result of a broad interest, studying many people as well as many things. Know the person as well as you know the abstraction. The polymath takes command of his or her own intellectual development from an early age, usually no later than high school, and continues to learn throughout life. Not only is this enjoyable as a lifestyle, it has practical survival value in the information age. Any set of skills we have, or what we think we know, can become obsolete overnight.