A degree of economic security strikes me as one, so that the would-be opsimath is not hustling extra shifts at work to keep the lights on. Another, access to in

A degree of economic security strikes me as one, so that the would-be opsimath is not hustling extra shifts at work to keep the lights on. Another, access to information, is easier than ever--what is available through the Gutenberg Project, the Perseus Project, and many other such is just stunning to one who remembers the limitations of even good public libraries, the metropolises maybe excepted. Another, the attention of persons willing to hear them out and respond may be somewhat harder to get. Thirty years ago one had to write on paper and post a letter to send a message to someone.