For high level abstract, symbolic reasoning, low cache and ram is a critical impairment. At that level SAT math really means nothing. In fact, college math at 1

For high level abstract, symbolic reasoning, low cache and ram is a critical impairment. At that level SAT math really means nothing. In fact, college math at 13 doesn't even seem that impressive -- I believe after Kumon level J you get into calculus and plenty of grade-school kids take this. It could have been a genuine problem for him, but even with the best drugs, I wouldn't expect some kind of "unlocking your potential" moment. I remember reading a study that found the biggest difference between high-performers and their peers precisely that of attention control. It involved looking at lights moving in a particular pattern. When the pattern was detected, normal people showed increased brain activity. High-performing individuals showed decreasing brain activity, presumably because they optimized the pattern recognition process, and focused all the resources there.