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An autodidact is a self-taught person (also known as an automath). Throughout history, individuals have sought to master subjects from outside the mainstream of conventional education. Many of these have been self-deluding dilettantes, akin to the autodidact of Jean Paul Sartre's Nausea. However, some have mastered their disciplines and despite, perhaps even because of, their lack of ordinary formation, have excelled and made innovative contributions.