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>Reflecting on the arc of his career, Shannon confessed, “I don’t think I was ever motivated by the notion of winning prizes, although I have a couple of dozen
by Bakary 6y ago
>Reflecting on the arc of his career, Shannon confessed, “I don’t think I was ever motivated by the notion of winning prizes, although I have a couple of dozen of them in the other room. I was more motivated by curiosity. Never by the desire for financial gain. I just wondered how things were put together. Or what laws or rules govern a situation, or if there are theorems about what one can’t or can do. Mainly because I wanted to know myself.”
This is one insight about actual geniuses that shun the "classic" trappings of life that has always intrigued me. They are essentially coerced by their own neurology to aim for academic pursuits, because anything else cannot scratch that itch. Money and power are nice (and Johnny von Neumann loved his parties and loud music) but in the end it's just not that stimulating in comparison to hard abstract problems. Social relationships still have their draw as well, but you have to hit the knowledge-pipe regularly or face withdrawal.
For people of that caliber, living in pre-modern societies must have been equivalent to torture. For the rest of us, it would have been like watching paint dry for our entire lives. Sounds like sour grapes, but in a way I am grateful not to have to deal with all of this. Looking at von Neumann's example again, the fear of death still caused him to lash out irrationally and in the end even he could not escape the human condition.
- yrimaxi 6y ago> > I don’t think I was ever motivated by the notion of winning prizes, although I have a couple of dozen of them in the other room. Being a genius is a good thing, and also not having “ego” motivations is looked upon favorably. So this is like an egoless brag. Also: look at what I managed to do indirectly/without even trying.
- olau 6y agoDon't know if he was bragging or not, but if you have achieved something, I think it's hard to talk about yourself without someone thinking you're bragging. I once got a top grade after passing an exam where I had read one page beyond what was required (can't remember if it was by accident, or because I was curious about something - but we're talking one page). After my presentation, the examiner asked a final question. This was covered in that page, so I just had to connect two dots and could give him a little proof immediately. Very little brain activity needed. Pretty sure I couldn't have come up with a proof on the spot otherwise. I sometimes bring up that story as an example of why grading is stupid, but even though the point is how arbitrary the situation was, I can't shake off the feeling that people might think I'm bragging. I think we should cut people some slack, if we don't know their intentions.
- willis936 6y agoOf course the freedom to scratch that itch means you need to have the option to not work a job you don't enjoy to meet the physical needs of living. Today it's easier to overcome, but not everyone has the privilege of clawing their way out. By the time they do, then who they are is already defined as someone who is not interested in that itch. Name one scientific genius born into poverty.
- vadansky 6y ago>Name one scientific genius born into poverty. Ramanujan
- noisy_boy 6y agoInteresting you say that because I was just reading[0] about his life: > Ramanujan (literally, "younger brother of Rama", a Hindu deity[14]:12) was born on 22 December 1887 into a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family in Erode, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu, India), at the residence of his maternal grandparents.[14]:11 His father, Kuppuswamy Srinivasa Iyengar, originally from Thanjavur district, worked as a clerk in a sari shop.[14]:17–18[15] His mother, Komalatammal, was a housewife and sang at a local temple.[16] They lived in a small traditional home on Sarangapani Sannidhi Street in the town of Kumbakonam. He wasn't born in a rich family but it wasn't poverty either. He did become very poor at certain point in his life due to his inability to focus on anything other than mathematics but then recovered financially as his genius started to be known by more. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan
- zorked 6y agoHow did you reach the conclusion that he wasn't born in poverty? According to your own quote, his father was a clerk in a shop in India.
- MisterBastahrd 6y agoMaybe learn about how times have changed. It was completely possible to be a clerk and have a middle class lifestyle in his era. His parents' home is a museum nowadays.
- cambalache 6y ago> For people of that caliber, living in pre-modern societies must have been the equivalent to torture. Why? Vitruvius, Thales, Eratosthenes, Archimedes,Euclid all lived in "pre-modern" societies and I dont think they considered their lives "torture".
- Bakary 6y agoThat is an excellent point. In this case, I still can't help but think of all those whose circumstances did not allow them to produce anything that would be remembered by history. "I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." — S. J. Gould
- clipradiowallet 6y ago> you have to hit the knowledge-pipe regularly or face withdrawal I really like your phrasing of that. That feeling of learned-a-new-thing is addictive and your analogy is apt [to me].
- JackMorgan 6y agoI'm not a genius by any stretch, but I felt that way until I was given access to the internet and enough job stability to have a few hours of free time every day. The internet became a way to easily just read about whatever interested me, which is usually a few hours a day on various subjects. Before that, life was miserable. As an adult I've realized that I need significant and varied diet of books, internet, social time, rigorous physical activity, problem solving, musical practice, and art making every day otherwise I quickly fall into a deep depression. I can see how in other times or other circumstances I'd be turning to substance abuse just to make it through the day. It feels like my mind requires constant effort or I'll be unhealthy and unhappy. Several family members of mine who are quite a bit more intelligent struggle with this even more. Some have even fallen into substance abuse as a shortcut, but one that never achieves stability, only ruin.