Earlier quoted context omitted.
Feel free to share the better phrasing!
eh, I'll let my comment stand on its own ;-)
It isn’t really standing then. ;)
Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
221–230 of 264 posts
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
Letting them get ahead is usually the best way to respect an intelligent student. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in one classmate's opinion about someone's emotional state, and a driving license is hardly the be all and end all (I didn't have one when I went to university, and never missed it). "Don't put students of any age through interrogation-style experiments that are designed to stress them" is probably a better…
Sure if you want the student to never be around same aged peers and struggle to develop a social life so they instead focus on their work, I agree.
Would they have success at developing a social life if they were surrounded by same-aged peers of average intellect? It'd be a crapshoot.
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 infin…
> 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 think this is important to consider. Anyone even cursorily interested in science can know (just via public information, libraries, etc.) so much more about "everything-exce…
Yeah. I kinda feel like a medieval monk: we are all equal under God (in the case he is the Cosmos/Natural)
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Since then, I don't feel bad if someone achieves more than me, because clearly there are some people out there that are born to solve certain classes of problems (maybe their brain structure is better for those, or something, who knows). As a math teacher, I very much like every part of your comment except for this. There are way too many people who decide never to try mathematics because they weren't born to it. I…
In school I essentially hated all math beyond Algebra, because it started to become something less tangible and more rote. Which is a sensible way to teach it as a pure subject, but it completely undercuts it's utility and connection to real world problems and the intrigues that go along with them. Once I started to really want to understand and write audio processing code, I suddenly had a framework to not only care…
It's interesting how opposite people's interests in math can be. I hated elementary arithmetic and its focus on memorization and speed. Once the focus switched to solving equations and became less about concrete numbers, that's when I shot from "severely underperforming his potential" to "a natural at math"
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#225Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#226Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Since then, I don't feel bad if someone achieves more than me, because clearly there are some people out there that are born to solve certain classes of problems (maybe their brain structure is better for those, or something, who knows). As a math teacher, I very much like every part of your comment except for this. There are way too many people who decide never to try mathematics because they weren't born to it. I…
Maryam Mirzakhani is a lovely 3xamoke of somebody who didn't find mathematics effortlessly easy as a child. On the other hand, there definitely are people for whom mathematics is much easier than others. I found mathematics effortless at school and even to an extent at university in a way that other people clearly didn't. I did work at the Olympiad type stuff at school I guess but that felt like fun. I didn't become…
> Maryam Mirzakhani is a lovely 3xamoke of somebody who didn't find mathematics effortlessly easy as a child.
"3xamoke" is "example", right? If I seemed to claim that good mathematicians found mathematics effortless, I definitely didn't mean to! Rather I meant to claim the opposite: that doing truly deep mathematics (or anything) is deeply effortful even for those who wind up excelling most at it; those people are just the ones who feel such a passion that they can't stop putting in that effort.
> On the other hand, there definitely are people for whom mathematics is much easier than others. I found mathematics effortless at school and even to an extent at university in a way that other people clearly didn't. I did work at the Olympiad type stuff at school I guess but that felt like fun.
I don't claim anything as absurd as that there is no difference in mathematical ability between different people, only that (1) I think the relevance of ability compared to effort is overstated, and (2) even to the extent to which ability is relevant, looking at certain people and declaring them as just good at math (a) undervalues the effort that they put in and (b) discourages people who struggle with it, and who think that means that they cannot do well at it.
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This isn't eugenics. People are allowed to choose their mates for their phenotypes The fact that something is allowed doesn't make it not eugenics. Choosing your mate for their phenotype is eugenics.
No - eugenics is by definition arranged. If a government nudged you to pair up with someone, that would be eugenics, but if you choose a mate of your own free will, it's not.
> if you choose a mate of your own free will, it's not
If you're choosing mates at all, it means you're judging the value of other human beings. You're accepting some and rejecting others based on what you think or feel is best. It's just eugenics practiced by the general population according to highly variable personal criteria.
This is not inherently superior to some explicit eugenics program. It's about the principle of individual autonomy.
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
Letting them get ahead is usually the best way to respect an intelligent student. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in one classmate's opinion about someone's emotional state, and a driving license is hardly the be all and end all (I didn't have one when I went to university, and never missed it). "Don't put students of any age through interrogation-style experiments that are designed to stress them" is probably a better…
Sure if you want the student to never be around same aged peers and struggle to develop a social life so they instead focus on their work, I agree.
Being at the same ability level matters way more than being at the same age. Speaking from personal experience, the whole "let's try to pretend that this kid is normal and that with enough time he will fit in" has had terrible consequences on my mental health, and even on my social ability with the rare people that I feel comfortable with.
I think that in many case, trying to pretend that people are the same when they are not is causing a lot of pain for everyone involved. Holding a conversation with a normal person requires me to expand a lot of energy to not be myself, because if I am I will quickly be hurt and/or rejected. And just like I often hurt people by being myself, other people hurt me by being themselves. Trying to explain it to them has been pointless in all situation, and most of the time makes the situation worse.
Why would any of us have to endure that, when we could instead be with groups of like-minded people and enjoy life more? I don't feel superior to those people, and spending more time with them leads me to develop more negative sentiments towards them. I think the sane option is to avoid them as much as possible, while making sure that I treat them with respect. I can't change fundamentally who I am, they can't change who they are. I can't understand why you advocate for a situation that creates so much suffering for everyone involved.
Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes
#230My daughter is in 3rd grade and is bored with her math lessons, so I started to do my own nightly math lessons. Long division was a big hit, but what I really want is to find some accessable number theory material, preferably about interesting patterns. Any recommendations? Probably something in the 10-15 age range, or 8-10 and originally in Russian
My best friend was a child prodigy at math and his parents started him on "The Number Devil" which I believe is number theory