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I was generally regarded as math prodigy. I got my first algebra book when I was 4 years old, and mastered the material quickly. I eventually got a mathematics

I was generally regarded as math prodigy. I got my first algebra book when I was 4 years old, and mastered the material quickly. I eventually got a mathematics PhD from Harvard when I was 19 years old. Traditional mathematics classrooms contributed very little to that learning, except for the portion of a university education directed toward mathematics major. And I even have my doubts about that part. Meanwhile, the best bit of math teaching I've ever done may have come when I was helping my stepdaughter with her algebra homework. I noticed her applying on over-specific rule to a class of formula simplification problems. So I deliberately changed the problem she was working on to one where the bogus rule didn't apply ... :) I've come to believe that for students of all levels, the most important part of mathematics education is when you coach them through problem-solving. Yes, the formalities are wonderfully powerful and fun, at least to my taste. But they should be a last resort, whether for solving a problem or checking the soundness of a result. Formalities-first is exactly the wrong way to approach things, for math users and math teachers alike.

kenjackson 14y ago
I'm interested in how you mastered algebra at 4. Were you already strong at arithmetic when you got the algebra book (and algebra was just a continuation of your already acceleratd progress) or was algebra just very intuitive and the start of a great math career?
- yaks_hairbrush 14y ago
  Can't speak for OP, but I started learning algebra at 5. It happened that I really liked playing with calculators at age 2-3, and that helped give me an extremely solid mental arithmetic foundation. Essentially, the special thing about me probably wasn't some super-human neural circuitry for understanding math. It was the fact that I was wired, somehow, to enjoy playing with a calculator. I had more arithmetic practice by age 4 than most kids have by age 11.
  - prezjordan 14y ago
    I feel like I can relate to this (a little). I'm no prodigy, but even as a young kid (6 or 7) I would write down algebra problems all day and solve them. I did a ton of mental math, too, writing down several dozen 2-digit numbers and adding them all in my head. Haven't really thought about that in a long time. Playing with a calculator also got me into programming (TI-Basic on the TI-83 in middle school).

kenjackson 14y ago

I'm interested in how you mastered algebra at 4. Were you already strong at arithmetic when you got the algebra book (and algebra was just a continuation of your already acceleratd progress) or was algebra just very intuitive and the start of a great math career?

yaks_hairbrush 14y ago
Can't speak for OP, but I started learning algebra at 5. It happened that I really liked playing with calculators at age 2-3, and that helped give me an extremely solid mental arithmetic foundation. Essentially, the special thing about me probably wasn't some super-human neural circuitry for understanding math. It was the fact that I was wired, somehow, to enjoy playing with a calculator. I had more arithmetic practice by age 4 than most kids have by age 11.
- prezjordan 14y ago
  I feel like I can relate to this (a little). I'm no prodigy, but even as a young kid (6 or 7) I would write down algebra problems all day and solve them. I did a ton of mental math, too, writing down several dozen 2-digit numbers and adding them all in my head. Haven't really thought about that in a long time. Playing with a calculator also got me into programming (TI-Basic on the TI-83 in middle school).