Shen Kuo

Born in Qiantang, Shen Kuo was, by all accounts, an overachiever. During the Song Dynasty, he didn't just pick a lane; he built the entire highway system, contributing significantly to fields ranging from mathematics and astronomy to engineering, geology, and medicine. He was a true polymath, which in those days meant he probably knew how to fix a leaky roof while calculating the precise position of Mercury. Talk about life skills.

His most famous work, the