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by mlinsey
6585 days ago
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I don't think this is true - or at minimum, higher math/theory certainly comes easier to some people than others, and there probably comes a level of intelligence where you were progressing slowly enough that it really wouldn't make a good career option for you. I hit my brick wall in theoretical classes when I felt like I would understand everything I had been taught up to that point, but to actually construct a proof to solve certain problems I had to come up with some flash of insight which just wouldn't come to me. I simply wouldn't know where to start. I don't think that this is uncommon. When many people write about famous mathematicians and how they solve extremely difficult problems, it usually happens that they have a certain intuition or insight which didn't really follow logically from the problem as stated up until that point. Perhaps anybody could put enough effort into these problems that these insights would come to them as well, but I think this is doubtful considering just how brilliant these insights are. Put another way, when you reach a certain level of math it starts requiring a large degree of a particular kind of creativity, which simply not everyone has. |
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Our made-for-tv histories usually show a lone scientist toiling away for years, making huge discoveries. But in reality, most discoveries are incremental. The stories we are taught about these discoveries are usually mythologized.
It is true that there is some level of creativity needed. But it's probably way more common than our histories would lead you to believe. The recurring theme you will hear from scientists is that "chance favors the prepared mind."