4 ms·

Your son is a goddamn genius.

by white_dragon88 3y ago

cduzz 3y ago
Maybe; he still needs to finish his damned homework and remember to turn it in. And eat some vegetables.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  Just quit school and join YC now :-)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- SpaceNoodled 3y ago
  But his homework is boring
- nopromisessir 3y ago
  All those things sound very boring to me. I can offer no concrete solutions. However, I have a friend who graduated from high school #1 of a big class and 2 years early. His mom explained that if he made at least a 1400(of 1600) on his SAT, she would buy him a new gaming computer. He then proceeded to make exactly a 1400. No more. No less. I recommend if you haven't tried already, an iteration to this approach using a sliding scale reward system. Perhaps a gaming pc with nvidia 4060ti up to *insert parental budget* in event of a perfect SAT score. Ofc this only works if he's a gamer. I feel this type of system can be applied in many areas though. In my view, the clever component his mother applied is that the computer he earned was not just a desirable reward... It was VERY desirable. My parents also tried this system with me. It didn't work as well. The reward was not sizable enough. It just didn't seem worth it. Too low value. Also, I already had a job and bought my own. My parents were unwilling to budget a sufficient reward. It's gotta be something he more or less is unlikely to be able to get via other means. Now my friend is a physician. He graduated top of his class from med school. I think he's pretty content with life. The bored ones can be a little more trouble sometimes. Fun breed though. Best of luck.
  - aaronax 3y ago
    I scored 32 on the Act which was one of the highest scored in the high school, if not the highest. My parents thought I could do better and that it would be worth it, so they offered a new hunting rifle if I improved my score. Got a 35 on the retake and got a super nice Sako rifle and scope--IIRC a little over $1000 in 2005.
    - nopromisessir 3y ago
      Haha well done. I like the iterative approach. Perhaps we can ammend the test case with advice to keep the receipt for the first video card and offer an upgrade to a 4070ti on the retake or whatnot. Or bigger/better boom stick on the retake or whatnot.
  - konart 3y ago
    >reward system Is a good idea if you need a (relatively) constant result because your brain adapts to the idea of getting a satisfying reward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5geuTf8nqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5geuTf8nqo (+ some other of his videos about rewards)
  - konschubert 3y ago
    Be careful with reward systems, as it can destroy internal motivation. Additionally, one very important thing to learn as a young adult is how to motivate yourself to do things that have only long term payoffs. Of course I also understand that you can take SAT only once, so as bad as that is, it’s maybe not the best time to learn a life lesson.
    - 93po 3y ago
      Is it a recent thing that you can only take it once? when I was a teenager you could take it as many times as you wanted
      - konschubert 3y ago
        I was wrong. I was making assumptions
n6242 3y ago
Not saying the kid can't be a genius, but grandparent discussing math with the kid and incentivising him to learn is probably a massive boost to his development. It's not the same as having to go to the library and teach yourself. Still, props to the kid though.
fleischhauf 3y ago
plot twist, his son is 38 and has a physics degree
- tokai 3y ago
  His name? Albert Einstein.
mewpmewp2 3y ago
I'm going to be this guy, but isn't it just Pythagoras theorem with a slight twist which is taught at 11 - 14 year old levels? It only sounds complicated because of the words used like "complex", "imaginary", "real". So if you studied Pythagoras at school and someone (a YouTube video) says you just have to do Pythagoras on the i multiplier and the other number, it would be fairly easy if you understand Pythagoras?
- Garvi 3y ago
  I remember some time ago watching an episode of the Joe Rogan show(it had some comedic value back then) He and his friends were talking about the MIT admittance exam, pointing out the square root in the maths problem as an indication that this math problem was really hard. And I thought to myself "that's what primary school children learn around here at age 12 in my literally 3rd world country". Pythagoras was around the same time. I'd like to warn people that not understanding these basic math concepts makes you appear uneducated to many people internationally.
  - mewpmewp2 3y ago
    I put "absolute value of complex numbers" in YouTube, and the first video within 30 seconds says it's root of a squared + b squared. So all the kid has to know is to multiply a with itself, and b with itself and add them together.
  - Exoristos 3y ago
    I'm in the U.S., and we learned those things around that age too, maybe a little older.
    - Garvi 3y ago
      That's interesting. Was that in a public school? Would you be willing to share your state and if you believe your experience represents a national average or is above/below the national average in regards to "at what age do children learn about square root"?
data-ottawa 3y ago
Alternatively, he watches youtube videos about math, and if you’re a young math geek what’s cooler than “here’s a type of number they won’t teach you until the really advanced classes” Not to dismiss this kid at all, I love that there are channels like 3Blue1Brown to share math to people in a way that really connects with them and builds intuition. When I was a student you basically just had your math teacher and textbooks to learn from, which meant if you weren’t on the same page as them you’d get left behind. If you went to the library, most math books assume you’re familiar with the language of mathematics, so it can be tough to learn for that alone. I bet a lot of innumeracy is due to that style of teaching, often “I just don’t get math” is “I missed learning this connection and the class just moved on”.

Your son is a goddamn genius.

cduzz 3y ago

Maybe; he still needs to finish his damned homework and remember to turn it in. And eat some vegetables.

quickthrower2 3y ago
Just quit school and join YC now :-)
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
SpaceNoodled 3y ago
But his homework is boring
nopromisessir 3y ago
All those things sound very boring to me. I can offer no concrete solutions. However, I have a friend who graduated from high school #1 of a big class and 2 years early. His mom explained that if he made at least a 1400(of 1600) on his SAT, she would buy him a new gaming computer. He then proceeded to make exactly a 1400. No more. No less. I recommend if you haven't tried already, an iteration to this approach using a sliding scale reward system. Perhaps a gaming pc with nvidia 4060ti up to *insert parental budget* in event of a perfect SAT score. Ofc this only works if he's a gamer. I feel this type of system can be applied in many areas though. In my view, the clever component his mother applied is that the computer he earned was not just a desirable reward... It was VERY desirable. My parents also tried this system with me. It didn't work as well. The reward was not sizable enough. It just didn't seem worth it. Too low value. Also, I already had a job and bought my own. My parents were unwilling to budget a sufficient reward. It's gotta be something he more or less is unlikely to be able to get via other means. Now my friend is a physician. He graduated top of his class from med school. I think he's pretty content with life. The bored ones can be a little more trouble sometimes. Fun breed though. Best of luck.
- aaronax 3y ago
  I scored 32 on the Act which was one of the highest scored in the high school, if not the highest. My parents thought I could do better and that it would be worth it, so they offered a new hunting rifle if I improved my score. Got a 35 on the retake and got a super nice Sako rifle and scope--IIRC a little over $1000 in 2005.
  - nopromisessir 3y ago
    Haha well done. I like the iterative approach. Perhaps we can ammend the test case with advice to keep the receipt for the first video card and offer an upgrade to a 4070ti on the retake or whatnot. Or bigger/better boom stick on the retake or whatnot.
- konart 3y ago
  >reward system Is a good idea if you need a (relatively) constant result because your brain adapts to the idea of getting a satisfying reward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5geuTf8nqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5geuTf8nqo (+ some other of his videos about rewards)
- konschubert 3y ago
  Be careful with reward systems, as it can destroy internal motivation. Additionally, one very important thing to learn as a young adult is how to motivate yourself to do things that have only long term payoffs. Of course I also understand that you can take SAT only once, so as bad as that is, it’s maybe not the best time to learn a life lesson.
  - 93po 3y ago
    Is it a recent thing that you can only take it once? when I was a teenager you could take it as many times as you wanted
    - konschubert 3y ago
      I was wrong. I was making assumptions

n6242 3y ago

Not saying the kid can't be a genius, but grandparent discussing math with the kid and incentivising him to learn is probably a massive boost to his development. It's not the same as having to go to the library and teach yourself. Still, props to the kid though.

fleischhauf 3y ago

plot twist, his son is 38 and has a physics degree

tokai 3y ago
His name? Albert Einstein.

mewpmewp2 3y ago

I'm going to be this guy, but isn't it just Pythagoras theorem with a slight twist which is taught at 11 - 14 year old levels? It only sounds complicated because of the words used like "complex", "imaginary", "real". So if you studied Pythagoras at school and someone (a YouTube video) says you just have to do Pythagoras on the i multiplier and the other number, it would be fairly easy if you understand Pythagoras?

Garvi 3y ago
I remember some time ago watching an episode of the Joe Rogan show(it had some comedic value back then) He and his friends were talking about the MIT admittance exam, pointing out the square root in the maths problem as an indication that this math problem was really hard. And I thought to myself "that's what primary school children learn around here at age 12 in my literally 3rd world country". Pythagoras was around the same time. I'd like to warn people that not understanding these basic math concepts makes you appear uneducated to many people internationally.
- mewpmewp2 3y ago
  I put "absolute value of complex numbers" in YouTube, and the first video within 30 seconds says it's root of a squared + b squared. So all the kid has to know is to multiply a with itself, and b with itself and add them together.
- Exoristos 3y ago
  I'm in the U.S., and we learned those things around that age too, maybe a little older.
  - Garvi 3y ago
    That's interesting. Was that in a public school? Would you be willing to share your state and if you believe your experience represents a national average or is above/below the national average in regards to "at what age do children learn about square root"?

data-ottawa 3y ago

Alternatively, he watches youtube videos about math, and if you’re a young math geek what’s cooler than “here’s a type of number they won’t teach you until the really advanced classes” Not to dismiss this kid at all, I love that there are channels like 3Blue1Brown to share math to people in a way that really connects with them and builds intuition. When I was a student you basically just had your math teacher and textbooks to learn from, which meant if you weren’t on the same page as them you’d get left behind. If you went to the library, most math books assume you’re familiar with the language of mathematics, so it can be tough to learn for that alone. I bet a lot of innumeracy is due to that style of teaching, often “I just don’t get math” is “I missed learning this connection and the class just moved on”.