Becoming a mathematician - how important is IQ?

[deRham]

no i mean how can you learn your specific strengths

Yes, that's what I was answering. You have to observe yourself and what works for you, and be pretty brutally honest with yourself, then be proactive about how you can turn some seeming weaknesses into strengths. It's not always possible, but it is many times.

"how do you develop this skill?"

I think it's definitely not formulaic. Or everyone would be doing it.

Related to the point I make above, I think it isn't quite the *same skill* that every single person is developing, because people achieve the same thing through different thought processes and strategies.

Some general, non-specific things do include challenging your mind a lot with nearly anything it can possibly find; being humble is also very helpful, because the moment you accept you're not a genius, you take one step towards pursuing actual science, math or whatever, as opposed to pursuing glory; mastering the basic skills definitely -- Feynman invented a lot of things, but he also learned a lot of basic skills needed to express his thoughts; and of course, what I said above: observe yourself and notice what works for you.


One other thing: Feynman did not seem to like to glorify complicated ways of explaining things. Of course, his work is immensely complex, but he believed in explaining it with immense clarity. He was supposedly not afraid to boldly ask questions that other academics usually wouldn't.

I think a lot of people underestimate how much that sort of thing can help. Almost none of the scholarly individuals I know have that kind of boldness, though some are better than others. I think over the course of decades, that kind of attitude *greatly* can affect the kinds of discoveries a mind can make.

I do NOT believe everyone can necessarily develop the same level of skill in everything. It isn't to say that the skill is genetic, but it is to say that the way different minds develop is influenced by so many things (in fact, the same person probably could develop very differently). So above all, forgetting about forcing brilliance or skill and pursuing a subject with genuine interest and being proactive about using *your* specific skills wisely seems the best bet.

 

[deRham]

I remember being impressed by an account by Feynman of winning a school level Mathematics contest through an incredibly flexible approach to a problem - how do you develop that kind of flexibility? Are you just born with it? I

It appears to me that one is neither born with it NOR can one necessarily carefully orchestrate one's life so as to become a genius. A combination of genetics, lots of randomness, one's "personality" (this is NOT fully explained by genetics, at least not our current knowledge), etc etc all contribute.

I think people should note that an individual, whether Feynman, Einstein, or whoever, spends ALL his life with himself. Every moment counts to make him who he is. Surely we all know that not everybody recognized just how brilliant these people would become eventually. I don't even think they themselves did. There is so much unwritten, unspoken, unknown info about what went through these minds at various points in time, what exactly was easy for them, when they had their moments of discovery, etc etc. All we hear are a few stories and that they got internationally recognized.

The complexity of what makes such a brilliant scientist or mathematician is surely immensely beyond what anyone I know has come close to explaining, but I don't doubt that it's still nice (and potentially instructive) to think about it some.

 

[diamond58]

Why did you scared?! How many tests for getting your IQ did you passed?! - with just one test you will not know your right intelligence quotient, need pass more its. Maybe you need to try to improve your self, because for to know your true IQ isn`t enough just math. Yes! -that is important, maybe most important ingredient for success, but exist and more-its, how can be your visual memory, your intuition, how you manifest your-self in real life - not just in numbers.
That is great - that you are so smart at your age, but is not so late to change-it, to improve your-self. You can read maybe more information about how improve your self besides math - why not!?
I found a site that`s help me, and caused me to emphasize to another point for be stronger. Maybe it will help you and your-self, try it http://www.getiq.net/info.jsp, here you will find more information about math intelligence, motivation significantly influences IQ test results! and more.

 

[phy_freak]

If you really like it as you seem to be, then don't hesitate to enter that field, you might do great success in this field, who knows? life is full of risks, if you aren't willing to take any risk then stay at home, although you should think wisely before taking any risk.. in your case, you look more than ready for it!

 

[diamond58]

It`s right, just read any information, a good information about how to improve your intelligence, and after try to pass another test, and we wait your answer... I think that you will be happier when will do it! If you want to be batter, work for that! Don`t worry...