> I like solving problems and I would just solve every problem in the book ploddingly and stubbornly. Maybe that is all it takes to be a "gifted" math student?

> I like solving problems and I would just solve every problem in the book ploddingly and stubbornly. Maybe that is all it takes to be a "gifted" math student? Tangental: I have always hated the term gifted. I will not deny there are some absolute phenoms out there in regards to any domain. Those individuals are few and far between and should be celebrated because of it. Maybe I am being semantical, but being "slightly better" does not make one gifted. Learning a subject that is being taught to someone quicker than their peers does not make them gifted. Show me what they have created or discovered with their alleged "gift," and then we will see. Von Neumann is not remembered because of how much quicker he learned math than others or how easy the subjects were for him. He is remembered for what he discovered and what he created -- that is what makes one truly gifted in my opinion.