I just found a link to Alan Kay's reading list. He is one of those legendary people at MIT and is credited with inventing the graphical user interface for computers (while at Xerox).
The subjects covered in his reading list include:
- Technology and media
- Learning and creativity
- Anthropology and psychology
- Philosophy
- Art and perception
- Design
- Science
- Political
- Computers
What is interesting to me is that so many genius level people start in either mathematics (Kay, Minsky) or economics (Simon, Hayek), move into computer science or AI and end up in cognitive learning or psychology. Note that Kay reads in all those subjects except economics but I suspect that the reading in "political" involves some economics.
I believe the evolutionary path is mathematics--computer science--artificial intelligence--cognitive learning. If you have not progressed to reading and thinking about cognitive learning or psychology, perhaps you still have a ways to go in your study of economics or computer science. Both Herbert Simon and Marvin Minsky, generally credited as the founders of artificial intellligence, spent the end of their careers in psychology/cognitive learning. Simon, who won a Nobel Prize in economics ended his career at Carnegie Mellon as a professor in the psychology department.
Obviously there are other paths. For example, Hayek started in economics, probably founded behavioral economics and finished his career in psychology.
My sample data is small but everyone mentioned is at least a Nobel Prize winner, a genius or both.