I once met a man who, though no longer young and a well-to-do family man, spent all his time learning every skill he could—languages, which he never employed, superb dancing, which he never pursued; accomplishments of every sort, which he never made use of and did not even want to use. This characteristic is precisely that of the miser: satisfaction in the complete possession of a potentiality with no thought whatsoever about its realization.

XREF: Parallels the modern phenomenon of learning for learning's sake in the age of endless online courses — the 'consumption' of knowledge without application.

XREF: Recalls the Renaissance ideal of the polymath and modern self-improvement culture — this reframes broad learning as potentially acquisitive rather than virtuous. SEED: The 'knowledge miser' framing is a compelling essay angle contrasting mastery-as-accumulation vs. mastery-as-use in the age of infinite online courses.

Georg Simmel, on individuality and social…, loc. 450