The phrase liberal arts (Latin: artes liberales) refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects (called the Trivium) were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy (which included the study of astrology). This extended curriculum was called the Quadrivium. Together the Trivium and Quadrivium constituted the seven liberal arts of the medieval university curriculum.

In modern times liberal arts is a term which can be interpreted in different ways. It can refer to certain areas of literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science. It can also refer to studies on a liberal arts degree program. For example, Harvard University offers a Master of Liberal Arts degree, which covers biological and social sciences as well as the humanities. For both interpretations, the term generally refers to matters not relating to the professional, vocational, or technical curricula.

Joshua Thomas "Josh" Radnor (born July 29, 1974) is an American actor, producer, director, and writer, best known for portraying the main character Ted Mosby on the popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he has received worldwide fame and recognition.

He made his writing and directorial debut with the 2010 comedy-drama film happythankyoumoreplease, for which he won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. He is producing his second film, entitled Liberal Arts, which he again wrote and directed.

Radnor was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Alan Radnor, a medical malpractice lawyer, and Carol Radnor. He has two sisters, Melanie and Joanna. He grew up in Bexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, where he attended Jewish day schools (including the Columbus Torah Academy). Radnor attended Bexley High School and later Kenyon College, where his school's theater department presented him with the Paul Newman Award, and he graduated with a B.A. in drama. Radnor received his Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress She is best known for her lead roles in the films Martha Marcy May Marlene and Silent House. Her performance in the former netted her critical acclaim and numerous award nominations. She is the younger sister of Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, and Trent Olsen, and has two younger half siblings, Taylor Olsen and Jake Olsen.

Olsen was born in Sherman Oaks, California, the daughter of Jarnette "Jarnie" Fuller (b. 1954), a personal manager, and David Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker. Olsen graduated from Campbell Hall School in 2007, and from the Atlantic Theater Company. She attended the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. As a child, Olsen took ballet and singing lessons. She auditioned for Spy Kids. Elizabeth almost quit acting in 2004 because of the media frenzy surrounding Mary-Kate's eating disorder. Mary-Kate and Ashley gave their little sister some tips for acting. In 2010 the girls' dad filed for bankruptcy.

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray. Efron has since starred in the films 17 Again, Me and Orson Welles, Charlie St. Cloud, New Year's Eve, and The Lucky One.

In 2007, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August 2007 issue.

Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant. Efron has a younger brother, Dylan, and had, as he has described it, a "normal childhood" in a middle class family. He is an agnostic, having never been religious. His surname, "Efron", means "lark" in Hebrew (his paternal grandfather was Jewish).

Tom Gardner (born April 16, 1968) is one of the three founders of The Motley Fool. He is currently CEO of The Motley Fool.

He is the author of The Motley Fool Hidden Gems newsletter, which aims to find the most promising small public companies for investment. The Hulbert Digest, a watchdog for the financial newsletter industry, scores both this letter and The Motley Fool Stock Advisor (a letter in which he competes with his brother, David) with extremely high marks.

Gardner attended Brown University, graduating in 1990 with a B.A. with honors in English and Creative Writing. He later pursued two master's degrees at the University of Montana but left the programs to return to the D.C. area as The Motley Fool was gaining momentum. He received an honorary PhD in Humane Letters from Strayer University in 2000.

In 1993, he and his older brother David Gardner started The Motley Fool as a vehicle for teaching people about saving and investment. The two had learned how to invest from their father. The Motley Fool actively uses the Internet to explore a subject undertaught in schools and universities, as well as to shed light on questionable business practices on Wall Street and in Corporate America.