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Newest child prodigy

I don't know if he's a special kid, but his parents seem to be pathetic with all these Youtube videos.
 
Feynman's score of 126 is an embarrassment not to Feynman but to the IQ industry.
Not to imply that Feynman was less than brilliant, but...

Feynman was rational, brash, and unapologetic. He also knew many dazzling numerical tricks. These personality based factors would easily cause most people to over-estimate his IQ.
 
It's the logical culmination of vector calculus (via Stokes' theorem and differential forms).

Yes, it was pretty much at this point, at the tender age of 18, that I really got the memo that I am not a mathematician. I can hack my way through it, but it isn't pretty.

Fortunately, I've also found that you don't have to be a mathematician to make yourself useful in finding a good mathematical tool for a particular job that needs to be done. In fact, in certain instances it may help quite a bit not to be one....
 
Yes, it was pretty much at this point, at the tender age of 18, that I really got the memo that I am not a mathematician. I can hack my way through it, but it isn't pretty.

If you got stuck on de Rham cohomology at the age of 18, then perhaps you were being a bit harsh on yourself. Even Stokes' theorem in its proper version (i.e., using differential forms on manifolds) is quite respectable.
 

No need to act all hurt and frowny.

Step 1: Pick your head up.
Step 2: Stop diverting the discussion every other post to brag about what you did before you were old enough to go to your first high school dance.
Step 3: It sounds like you have a bright future. Try to focus more on what you want to learn and accomplish rather than spending so much time trying to convince everybody what a swell guy you are.
 
I wonder when people will finally read the writing on the wall and realise that IQ has almost dick-all to do with how successful you'll be in life. I feel sorry for this kid, because when you start getting into maths and being proud of it the way he has, you stop doing the things that you should really be doing at aged 12, like playing football and hanging out with your mates - he'll pay for that in the long-run.
 
I wonder when people will finally read the writing on the wall and realise that IQ has almost dick-all to do with how successful you'll be in life. I feel sorry for this kid, because when you start getting into maths and being proud of it the way he has, you stop doing the things that you should really be doing at aged 12, like playing football and hanging out with your mates - he'll pay for that in the long-run.

Ruth Lawrence has said she's not going to raise her children the way she was raised (i.e., in a hothouse, taking her 'A' levels at 11 and her degree at 14).

Agree with the part on IQ. Went to my local Mensa society a few years ago and saw them all parading their high IQs (since they had no other accomplishment to boast of). They sneered at me, saying I might be able to integrate sin^2 x but that since my IQ was but 60, I was beneath contempt.
 
since my IQ was but 60, I was beneath contempt.

Of course, the real story is that you took an IQ test, scored only in the 130s to 140s--good, but nothing to write home about these days--and so went in the mocking direction of trumpeting a "low IQ" in contrast to your obvious knowledge and skills.

Next time say 105. It's more believable ;)
 
Of course, the real story is that you took an IQ test, scored only in the 130s to 140s--good, but nothing to write home about these days--and so went in the mocking direction of trumpeting a "low IQ" in contrast to your obvious knowledge and skills.

Next time say 105. It's more believable ;)

Okay, 105 then. You only need 135 for Mensa.
 
For an example of raw ability -- the kind you can't BS your way around -- take a look at the last Melody Amber blindfold chess tournament in Monaco. Blindfold is when a player announces his moves and has his opponent's moves announced to him -- but has to hold the position in his mind, as no board is allowed. These are some of the positions where the players found winning tactical shots. Even with the advantage of looking at the board they're not trivial to find.
 
For an example of raw ability -- the kind you can't BS your way around -- take a look at the last Melody Amber blindfold chess tournament in Monaco. Blindfold is when a player announces his moves and has his opponent's moves announced to him -- but has to hold the position in his mind, as no board is allowed. These are some of the positions where the players found winning tactical shots. Even with the advantage of looking at the board they're not trivial to find.

Again, you need a minimum amount of fliud intelligence to be a great chess player. But studies on grandmaster chess players shows that most of what is going on is not actual intense computational analysis of each move, but simply looking into their memories, recognizing similar positions they've been in before and remembering the outcomes...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/20/us-chess-brain-idUSTRE70J62T20110120
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=brain-study-shows-grandma
 
But studies on grandmaster chess players shows that most of what is going on is not actual intense computational analysis of each move, but simply looking into their memories, recognizing similar positions they've been in before and remembering the outcomes...

When elite player plays elite player, it's a mix of pattern recognition and intense computational analysis, at least in certain stages of the game -- past the opening and in the middlegame. Even here, there tend to be certain postions -- "critical positions," the "climax of the game" -- when non-routine intense computational analysis dominates and is required in the search for non-trivial moves, ideas, and plans. Recognising which positions are critical is itself a sign of real talent. Much of the rest of the game can be played on a mix of pattern recognition and the calculation of pertinent short variations (4- to 8-ply) to corroborate or refute naive judgement. Also, it's not a case of either/or: pattern recognition is operating in concert with computation. Thus a particular branch on a tree of analysis may be stopped if a strong player recognises the resulting position as technically won (e.g., superior rook ending or advantageous pawn structure). Conversely, pattern recognition informs a player on what to calculate -- thus a master player is often calculating less than an amateur in many positions because the amateur is calculating lines not pertinent to the position, that a master can dismiss almost automatically. So the master calculates less (and conserves energy and time) or devotes energy and time to delving deeper into the lines that do matter.
 
When elite player plays elite player, it's a mix of pattern recognition and intense computational analysis, at least in certain stages of the game -- past the opening and in the middlegame. Even here, there tend to be certain postions -- "critical positions," the "climax of the game" -- when non-routine intense computational analysis dominates and is required in the search for non-trivial moves, ideas, and plans. Recognising which positions are critical is itself a sign of real talent. Much of the rest of the game can be played on a mix of pattern recognition and the calculation of pertinent short variations (4- to 8-ply) to corroborate or refute naive judgement. Also, it's not a case of either/or: pattern recognition is operating in concert with computation. Thus a particular branch on a tree of analysis may be stopped if a strong player recognises the resulting position as technically won (e.g., superior rook ending or advantageous pawn structure). Conversely, pattern recognition informs a player on what to calculate -- thus a master player is often calculating less than an amateur in many positions because the amateur is calculating lines not pertinent to the position, that a master can dismiss almost automatically. So the master calculates less (and conserves energy and time) or devotes energy and time to delving deeper into the lines that do matter.

I agree.

EDIT: How do I stop email alerts? I could have sworn I turned it off in the preferences.
 
No need to act all hurt and frowny.

Step 1: Pick your head up.
Step 2: Stop diverting the discussion every other post to brag about what you did before you were old enough to go to your first high school dance.
Step 3: It sounds like you have a bright future. Try to focus more on what you want to learn and accomplish rather than spending so much time trying to convince everybody what a swell guy you are.
Step 1: Realize that I am just kidding around. Why would I care if I am in a newspaper? Why would I care if someone disses me over the internet? Obviously, I am just being sarcastic. I'm sorry if it doesn't convey well over the internet.
Step 2: That's basically it.
 
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