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Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

quantamagazine.org

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Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#11

Post by [deleted] »

babyent wrote: post #8
NAHWheatCracker wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people are, they're called nootropics. Whether they are successful and whether they are mostly a bunch of snake oil is another question...

I feel way more productive since going sxe. I am naturally so tired around 9pm when I shut the lid of my laptop that I fall asleep within minutes of getting in bed. On a side note.. Somehow my dreams have been insane and I’ve low key enjoyed the vivid worlds I find myself in over the past few months. Wake up around 5 or 6, go for a stroll and then eat some breakfast. Then I can work taking only breaks for lunch and d…

[deleted]

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#12

Post by nordsieck »

babyent wrote: post #5

That was a fun read. What really stuck out to me was how R failed in a bunch of other subjects except math because he wasn’t interested in them. I know society and norms expect students to learn all these other subjects. But what if those just aren’t interesting to someone? I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework and getting through boring classes is busywork and memorization for th…

IMO, you're thinking about this backwards.

It's good that public school exposes children to many subjects - hopefully most of them. So that they can discover if they click with one of them. The real danger is that someone never gets exposed to a subject at all. College is the place to specialize in a subject.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#13

Post by muixoozie »

babyent wrote: post #8
NAHWheatCracker wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people are, they're called nootropics. Whether they are successful and whether they are mostly a bunch of snake oil is another question...

I feel way more productive since going sxe. I am naturally so tired around 9pm when I shut the lid of my laptop that I fall asleep within minutes of getting in bed. On a side note.. Somehow my dreams have been insane and I’ve low key enjoyed the vivid worlds I find myself in over the past few months. Wake up around 5 or 6, go for a stroll and then eat some breakfast. Then I can work taking only breaks for lunch and d…

> sxe

Weird. First time I've ever seen that (abbreviation?) For straight-egde. Thought you were talking about some supplement at first.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#14

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

NAHWheatCracker wrote: post #4
datavirtue wrote: post #2

Why aren't we working on drugs to make people smart?

Lots of people are, they're called nootropics. Whether they are successful and whether they are mostly a bunch of snake oil is another question...

[flagged]

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#15

Post by brutal_true_101 »

nordsieck wrote: post #12
babyent wrote: post #5

That was a fun read. What really stuck out to me was how R failed in a bunch of other subjects except math because he wasn’t interested in them. I know society and norms expect students to learn all these other subjects. But what if those just aren’t interesting to someone? I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework and getting through boring classes is busywork and memorization for th…

IMO, you're thinking about this backwards. It's good that public school exposes children to many subjects - hopefully most of them. So that they can discover if they click with one of them. The real danger is that someone never gets exposed to a subject at all. College is the place to specialize in a subject.

Most colleges now inundate students with painful core classes that go on into senior year. It's getting ridiculous.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#16

Post by [deleted] »

aspenmayer wrote: post #10
babyent wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel way more productive since going sxe. I am naturally so tired around 9pm when I shut the lid of my laptop that I fall asleep within minutes of getting in bed. On a side note.. Somehow my dreams have been insane and I’ve low key enjoyed the vivid worlds I find myself in over the past few months. Wake up around 5 or 6, go for a stroll and then eat some breakfast. Then I can work taking only breaks for lunch and d…

For those unfamiliar with the abbreviation sxe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge > Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some adherents refrain from engaging in promiscuous or casual sex, follow a vegetarian or veg…

[deleted]

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#17

Post by [deleted] »

nordsieck wrote: post #12
babyent wrote: post #5

That was a fun read. What really stuck out to me was how R failed in a bunch of other subjects except math because he wasn’t interested in them. I know society and norms expect students to learn all these other subjects. But what if those just aren’t interesting to someone? I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework and getting through boring classes is busywork and memorization for th…

IMO, you're thinking about this backwards. It's good that public school exposes children to many subjects - hopefully most of them. So that they can discover if they click with one of them. The real danger is that someone never gets exposed to a subject at all. College is the place to specialize in a subject.

[deleted]

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#18

Post by m463 »

babyent wrote: post #5

That was a fun read. What really stuck out to me was how R failed in a bunch of other subjects except math because he wasn’t interested in them. I know society and norms expect students to learn all these other subjects. But what if those just aren’t interesting to someone? I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework and getting through boring classes is busywork and memorization for th…

your thought reminded me of the radio program about Jean Shepherd getting his Class A radio license.

https://www.rfcafe.com/miscellany/factoids/Jean-Shepherd-Cla...

on youtube as well

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#19

Post by makeitdouble »

datavirtue wrote: post #2

Why aren't we working on drugs to make people smart?

I wonder what effects do you expect from that on a societal scale in the long term (at least 3,4 decades) ?

For instance we banned meth and other drugs that have tremendous productivity effects at the expense of the individual and how we had to deal with them, so it's not a rhetoric question.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#20

Post by wyre »

RandomWorker wrote: post #6
datavirtue wrote: post #2

Why aren't we working on drugs to make people smart?

Caffeine is the most used drug in academia.

Surely the most used because of its affordablity and easy access. Coffee, energy drinks, tea, caffiene pills, etc.

I wonder what academia would look like if adderall, vyvanse, modafinil were just as accessible, or even less controlled substances that are considered to enhance mental performance like L-tyrosine, alpha-GPC, Lion's Mane mushroom, Bacopa, or Ginko.

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