[rweba]

Well, he WAS a child prodigy who published his first major paper at 18 and got his PhD when he was 20, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he actually did independently come up with the idea of hashing at age 13.

In general I think people should just stop being triggered by Wolfram's comments.

Yes, he does go out of his way to emphasize what he feels are his personal contributions.

Yes, in some cases some of his claims do appear to be a bit exaggerated (e.g. some of his cellular automata stuff)

But at the end of the day, he is still a pretty smart guy who actually writes about math/science topics fairly well, and I think that is far more important than raging every single time he gives himself credit for something or emphasizes his own work on a topic.

[bhouston]

Most people who are smart learn that emphasizing that you are smarter than others leads people to hate you and it generally makes one's life more difficult. How did Wolfram not realize this?

Actually, I am sure he did, he's too smart to not have realized this, but I think he has one of those incredibly fragile egos where he needs to validate himself all the time to random people, even if doing has negative impacts on him.

Zuckerberg doesn't do this, Musk doesn't do, Gates doesn't do this, the Google guys do not do this. I could go on and on. So many smart successful people do not have to do this all the time, but Wolfram does. It is so self-inflicted.

[hatchback176]

Zuckerberg, Gates, Musk and the Google guys aren't as smart as Wolfram, period.

[BiancaDelRio]

> Most people who are smart learn that emphasizing that you are smarter than others leads people to hate you and it generally makes one's life more difficult. How did Wolfram not realize this?

That also speaks tons about people who take offence at (hate) others for giving themselves generous credit.

[bhouston]

> That also speaks tons about people who take offence at (hate) others for giving themselves generous credit.

Maybe, but if someone was really beautiful and they had to keep pointing this out to you, would you like to hang around them? Or would you think they are vain and self-centered and basically avoid them because they fit the definition of "obnoxious."

[BiancaDelRio]

I usually roll my eyes or have a chuckle (if they are particularly funny) and move on :)

[ganzuul]

As with any child prodigy, they are guaranteed to fall short of expectations. Either those of others or their own.