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Reminds me of a friend from high school who was one of the smartest people I've ever known. In multivariable calculus we weren't required to do the HW if we di
by jeffreyrogers 6y ago
Reminds me of a friend from high school who was one of the smartest people I've ever known. In multivariable calculus we weren't required to do the HW if we didn't want to. He never did homework and never studied outside of paying attention in class and still got 100s on all the quizes/exams. He went to MIT and failed most of his classes his first semester there. He'd never had to study before so he didn't know how. Like Terence Tao though he's doing fine now.
- ISL 6y agoIf we live long enough, we all find our limits. Learning to work within those limits and succeed in spite of them seems like one of the great leveling-ups of life.
- gdoptimizer 6y agoWell said
- MaxBarraclough 6y agoStrictly speaking, I don't think that's true if you're the smartest person in the world. John von Neumann springs to mind, who did his mathematics PhD at the same time as his chemical engineering degree, with a friend of his commenting that Evidently a Ph.D. thesis and examination did not constitute an appreciable effort. [0] To my knowledge he never really failed at any of his intellectual pursuits, but I could be mistaken. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann#University_studies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann#University_st...
- cyberdrunk 6y agoYou had multivariable calculus in high school? Was it some kind of special programme?
- jeffreyrogers 6y agoIt was an advanced class for kids who'd done single-variable calculus early.