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Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

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Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#51

Post by Vt71fcAqt7 »

ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

And, to add to this, we need to find and nurture these minds so they don't get bored and can grow at their natural speed.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#52

Post by zozbot234 »

paulpauper wrote: post #34
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats exactly what i mean, they made it sound like this kid was some average guy who at the age of 15 went to the public library, read books and solved some hard math problem. I bet this kid had an advanced math education and math immersion since he was a toddler.

Think of all the millions of dollars spent on immersion and tutoring by rich parents. How many of their kids produce anything of noteworthiness at any age, let alone so young as he did? This is 99% the product of IQ/talent. It's a huuuge leap to go from merely having an advanced math education to actually solving or proving important stuff. This is mathematician-caliber work, not just someone who took advanced course…

> Think of all the millions of dollars spent on immersion and tutoring by rich parents.

The kind of tutoring these provide is nowhere near as immersive as the elite one-on-one education that was historically common in upper-class households.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#53

Post by munk-a »

paulpauper wrote: post #50
munk-a wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I celebrate people who achieve memorable milestones like this or build something that revolutionizes the world - but there are a plethora of different ways to live life. For me, as long as you're happy and you're putting more happiness out into the world than you're consuming then you're achieving a pretty damn good life. We're not all responsible for the entire world - as long as you're leaving your little corner of…

It's not enough to make the world better or be happier, a lot of people also want acclaim and recognition. Why do so many people apply to Ivy League schools when 50-100 ranking schools can also provide a good education? Status is necessarily scarce.

This may just be the odd musing of a mid-thirty year old but acclaim and recognition feel pretty worthless to me. Chasing individuality through others' approval will always be more difficult than just accepting yourself as yourself and being happy with that.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#54

Post by RC_ITR »

Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #51
ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

And, to add to this, we need to find and nurture these minds so they don't get bored and can grow at their natural speed.

>Throughout high school, Kaczynski was ahead of his classmates academically. Placed in a more advanced mathematics class, he soon mastered the material. He skipped the eleventh grade, and by attending summer school he graduated at age 15. Kaczynski was one of his school's five National Merit finalists and was encouraged to apply to Harvard.[17] While still at age 15, he was accepted to Harvard and entered the university on a scholarship in 1958 at age 16.[19] A classmate later said Kaczynski was emotionally unprepared: "They packed him up and sent him to Harvard before he was ready ... He didn't even have a driver's license."[9]

But we also need to make sure that we respect the humans who possess those brains too...

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#55

Post by Vt71fcAqt7 »

paulpauper wrote: post #35
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions him discussing infinity with his mother at three. It does not try to hide his background. Also, being "privileged" in this way isn't a bad thing (not that you have said otherwsie).

we're talking even greater than Terrance Tao level of IQ. No amount of parent's help can instill that kind of talent.

>greater than Terrance Tao level of IQ

Can you describe how you arrived at this conclusion?

>No amount of parent's help can instill that kind of talent.

Totally agree here, but the use of tallent can be shaped by parenting. I think it's fair to say that his upbringing allowed him to develop an interest in mathematics at an earlier age. Not to mention being able to discuss it all the time (making some assumptions here, I can only guess).

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#56

Post by [deleted] »

MikePlacid wrote: post #15
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats exactly what i mean, they made it sound like this kid was some average guy who at the age of 15 went to the public library, read books and solved some hard math problem. I bet this kid had an advanced math education and math immersion since he was a toddler.

Dunno. My granddad was a mathematician and my mother was a mathematician (and my father was a mathematician and a computer scientist, but they divorced). Still the only “math immersion” I got was Perelman books, scattered around our apartment, like Physics for Entertainment and Algebra for Fun: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AYakov+Perelm... They are both challenging and entertaining and very simple -…

[deleted]

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#57

Post by markus_zhang »

dylan604 wrote: post #28
lo_zamoyski wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it tough? This may be worth reflecting on [0]. [0] https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3036.htm

Yeah, I have no problem admitting that there are people much smarter, more talented, better looking, etc than I am. The day that I assume I'm the top of whatever category is a sad sad day, as I must be the only one left.

I think what really bugs me is that for some hobby I chose, there is a always someone who already achieved everything I could dream to achieve in my life.

Then I figured some hobbies are better suited for my use case. For example science is better suited for me. I somehow was never bothered by the fact that some geniuses in 19th century already knew enough math/physics that I could digest in my life. Science is infinite so however much knowledge someone gained, it's zero comparing to the total amount. I guess I need that kind of comfort to commit to something. Fossil collection is also a good one because every piece I collected is MINE and unique so I don't need to compare with someone else.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#58

Post by Loughla »

nicoburns wrote: post #21
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

both his parents are mathematicians and his uncle is a fields medal winner and his grandfather is a mathematician. I'm sure this kid is very intelligent, and i could even believe he solved most of the problem himself but in the end of the article stating "“He did all this without an undergraduate education,” Grantham said." made me roll my eyes.

> He did all this without an undergraduate education I take your point, but I think it serves us to be reminded that formal education isn't the only place that one can learn things.

Yes, that is the point. But it's super cringe-inducing because this teenager benefits, what we can assume is substantially, from literal generations of formal education in his family.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#59

Post by strikelaserclaw »

paulpauper wrote: post #34
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats exactly what i mean, they made it sound like this kid was some average guy who at the age of 15 went to the public library, read books and solved some hard math problem. I bet this kid had an advanced math education and math immersion since he was a toddler.

Think of all the millions of dollars spent on immersion and tutoring by rich parents. How many of their kids produce anything of noteworthiness at any age, let alone so young as he did? This is 99% the product of IQ/talent. It's a huuuge leap to go from merely having an advanced math education to actually solving or proving important stuff. This is mathematician-caliber work, not just someone who took advanced course…

this kid is probably talented as hell but it doesn't mean he didn't have a great mathematical upbringing as well.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#60

Post by strikelaserclaw »

paulpauper wrote: post #39
4gotunameagain wrote: post #19

Getting older, sometimes it can be so tough to accept the fact that people a fraction of your age achieve things you never will. Given the extreme connectivity of the present, we are also exposed to brilliant minds with incredible capabilities, making us (me at least) feel even more incapable.. I guess it is a lesson for humility. Good job Daniel, you show us !

it's not like everyone can win the IQ lottery. Superior ability is unequally distributed.

people should measure themselves by how best they utilized their gifts and circumstances to live a life that they are happy with. No point in comparing yourself to some kid who probably inherited an amazing mathematical brain through no conscious effort, moral superiority etc.. of his own.
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