> I've never encountered anyone who understood typical second year graduate level mathematics without formal training. I've known one such person. He skipped M

> I've never encountered anyone who understood typical second year graduate level mathematics without formal training. I've known one such person. He skipped Math 55 at Harvard as a freshman because it was too basic for him. He's such an extreme outlier though that there's almost nothing to learn from his case other than to marvel at it.