<p><em>Terence Tao </em>, one of the greatest mathematicians ever asserts that one does not have to be genius to do general science/math contrary to what is shown in movies.He says , in order to make good ,useful contributions to mathematics, one does need to <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/work-hard/">work hard</a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-and-relearn-your-field/">learn one’s field well</a>, learn <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/don%E2%80%99t-be-afraid-to-learn-things-outside-your-field/">other fields</a> and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-the-power-of-other-mathematicians-tools/">tools</a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/ask-yourself-dumb-questions-and-answer-them/">ask questions</a> and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/think-ahead/">think about the “big picture”</a> with reasonable amount of intelligence, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-patient/">patience</a>, and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-professional-in-your-work/">maturity</a>  but one does <strong>not</strong> need some sort of magic “genius gene” that spontaneously generates <em>ex nihilo</em> deep insights, unexpected solutions to problems, or other supernatural abilities.</p>

Does one have to be genius to do science?

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<p>Updates on my research and expository papers, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics. By Terence Tao </p>

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Does one have to be a genius to do maths?

<p><i>Better beware of notions like genius and inspiration; they are a sort of magic wand and should be used sparingly by anybody who wants to see things clearly. </i>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset">José Ortega y Gasset </a>, “Notes on the novel”) </p>

<p>Does one have to be a genius to do mathematics? </p>

<p>The answer is an emphatic <b>NO </b>. In order to make good and useful contributions to mathematics, one does need to <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/work-hard/">work hard </a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-and-relearn-your-field/">learn one’s field well </a>, learn <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/don%E2%80%99t-be-afraid-to-learn-things-outside-your-field/">other fields </a>and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-the-power-of-other-mathematicians-tools/">tools </a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/ask-yourself-dumb-questions-and-answer-them/">ask questions </a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/attend-talks-and-conferences-even-those-not-directly-related-to-your-work/">talk to other mathematicians </a>, and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/think-ahead/">think about the “big picture” </a>. And yes, a reasonable amount of intelligence, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-patient/">patience </a>, and <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-professional-in-your-work/">maturity </a>is also required. But one does <b>not </b>need some sort of magic “genius gene” that spontaneously generates <i>ex nihilo </i>deep insights, unexpected solutions to problems, or other supernatural abilities. </p>

<p>The popular image of the lone (and possibly slightly mad) genius – who ignores the literature and other conventional wisdom and manages by some inexplicable inspiration (enhanced, perhaps, with a liberal dash of suffering) to come up with a breathtakingly original solution to a problem that confounded all the experts – is a charming and romantic image, but also a wildly inaccurate one, at least in the world of modern mathematics. We do have spectacular, deep and remarkable results and insights in this subject, of course, but they are the hard-won and cumulative achievement of years, decades, or even centuries of steady work and progress of many good and great mathematicians; the advance from one stage of understanding to the next can be highly non-trivial, and sometimes rather unexpected, but still builds upon the foundation of earlier work rather than starting totally anew. (This is for instance the case with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wiles">Wiles </a>‘ work on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat%27s_last_theorem">Fermat’s last theorem </a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman">Perelman </a>‘s work on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poincar%C3%A9_conjecture">Poincaré conjecture </a>.) </p>

<p>Actually, I find the reality of mathematical research today – in which progress is obtained naturally and cumulatively as a consequence of hard work, directed by intuition, literature, and a bit of luck – to be far more satisfying than the romantic image that I had as a student of mathematics being advanced primarily by the mystic inspirations of some rare breed of “geniuses”. This “<a href="http://cosmicvariance.com/2007/02/25/the-cult-of-genius/">cult of genius </a>” in fact causes a number of problems, since <b>nobody </b>is able to produce these (very rare) inspirations on anything approaching a regular basis, and with reliably consistent correctness. (If someone affects to do so, I advise you to be <i>very </i>sceptical of their claims.) The pressure to try to behave in this impossible manner can cause some to become <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/dont-prematurely-obsess-on-a-single-big-problem-or-big-theory/">overly obsessed with “big problems” or “big theories” </a>, others to lose any <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-sceptical-of-your-own-work/">healthy scepticism in their own work </a>or <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-the-limitations-of-your-tools/">in their tools </a>, and yet others still to become <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-patient/">too discouraged </a>to continue working in mathematics. Also, attributing success to innate talent (which is beyond one’s control) rather than effort, planning, and education (which are within one’s control) can lead to <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/">some other problems as well </a>. </p>

<p>Of course, even if one dismisses the notion of genius, it is still the case that at any given point in time, some mathematicians are faster, more experienced, more knowledgeable, more efficient, more careful, or more creative than others. This does not imply, though, that only the “best” mathematicians should do mathematics; this is the common error of mistaking absolute advantage for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage">comparative advantage </a>. The number of interesting mathematical research areas and problems to work on is vast – far more than can be covered in detail just by the “best” mathematicians, and sometimes the set of tools or ideas that you have will find something that other good mathematicians have overlooked, especially given that even the greatest mathematicians still have weaknesses in some aspects of mathematical research. As long as you have education, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/enjoy-your-work/">interest </a>, and a reasonable amount of talent, there will be some part of mathematics where you can make a solid and useful contribution. It might <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/don%E2%80%99t-base-career-decisions-on-glamour-or-fame/">not be the most glamorous part of mathematics </a>, but actually this tends to be a healthy thing; in many cases the mundane nuts-and-bolts of a subject turn out to actually be more important than any fancy applications. Also, it is necessary to “cut one’s teeth” on the non-glamorous parts of a field before one really has any chance at all to tackle the famous problems in the area; take a look at the early publications of any of today’s great mathematicians to see what I mean by this. </p>

<p>In some cases, an abundance of raw talent may end up (somewhat perversely) to actually be <i>harmful </i>for one’s long-term mathematical development; if solutions to problems come too easily, for instance, one may not put as much energy into <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/work-hard/">working hard </a>, <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/ask-yourself-dumb-questions-and-answer-them/">asking dumb questions </a>, or <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/continually-aim-just-beyond-your-current-range/">increasing one’s range </a>, and thus may eventually cause one’s skills to stagnate. Also, if one is accustomed to easy success, one may not develop the <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/be-patient/">patience </a>necessary to deal with truly difficult problems (see also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdmyUZCl75s">this talk by Peter Norvig </a>for an analogous phenomenon in software engineering). Talent is important, of course; but how one develops and nurtures it is even more so. </p>

<p>It’s also good to remember that <b>professional mathematics is not a sport </b>(in sharp contrast to <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/advice-on-mathematics-competitions/">mathematics competitions </a>). The objective in mathematics is not to obtain the highest ranking, the highest “score”, or the highest number of prizes and awards; instead, it is to increase understanding of mathematics (both for yourself, and for your colleagues and students), and to contribute to its development and applications. For these tasks, mathematics needs all the good people it can get. </p>

<ul><li>“<a href="http://talentdevelop.com/articles/HTBAG.html">How to be a genius </a>“, David Dobbs, New Scientist, 15 September 2006. [Thanks to Samir Chomsky for this link.] </li><li>“<a href="http://rittersp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Chambliss-Mundanity-of-Excellence.pdf">The mundanity of excellence </a>“, Daniel Chambliss, Sociological Theory, Vol. 7, No. 1, (Spring, 1989), 70-86. [Thanks to John Baez for this link.] </li> </ul>

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</li><li><a href="http://thecostofknowledge.com/">The Cost of Knowledge </a> </li><li><a href="http://cornellmath.wordpress.com/">The Everything Seminar </a> </li><li><a href="http://geomblog.blogspot.com/">The Geomblog </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.lmfdb.org/">The L-function and modular forms database </a> </li><li><a href="http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/">The n-Category Café </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.noncommutative.org/">The n-geometry cafe </a> </li><li><a href="http://obis.tumblr.com/">The On-Line Blog of Integer Sequences </a> </li><li><a href="http://polylogblog.wordpress.com/">The polylogblog </a> </li><li><a href="http://polymathprojects.wordpress.com/">The polymath blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://michaelnielsen.org/polymath1/index.php?title=Main_Page">The polymath wiki </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.tricki.org/">The Tricki </a> </li><li><a href="http://twofoldgaze.wordpress.com/">The twofold gaze </a> </li><li><a href="http://unapologetic.wordpress.com/">The Unapologetic Mathematician </a> </li><li><a href="http://valuevar.wordpress.com/">The value of the variable </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.mathunion.org/ceic/library/world-digital-mathematics-library-wdml">The World Digital Mathematical Library </a> </li><li><a href="http://cstheory.stackexchange.com/">Theoretical Computer Science – StackExchange </a> </li><li><a href="http://gowers.wordpress.com">Tim Gowers’ blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/mathsindex.html">Tim Gowers’ mathematical discussions </a> </li><li><a href="http://topologicalmusings.wordpress.com/">Todd and Vishal’s blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://vuhavan.wordpress.com/">Van Vu's blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://vaughnclimenhaga.wordpress.com">Vaughn Climenhaga </a> </li><li><a href="http://vieuxgirondin.wordpress.com/">Vieux Girondin </a> </li><li><a href="http://blogs.ams.org/visualinsight/">Visual Insight </a> </li><li><a href="http://vivatsgasse7.wordpress.com/">Vivatsgasse 7 </a> </li><li><a href="http://blogs.williams.edu/math/">Williams College Math/Stat Blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://windowsontheory.org">Windows on Theory </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.wiskundemeisjes.nl/">Wiskundemeisjes </a> </li><li><a href="http://xorshammer.wordpress.com/">XOR’s hammer </a> </li><li><a href="https://yufeizhao.wordpress.com/">Yufei Zhao's blog </a> </li><li><a href="http://zhenghezhang.wordpress.com/">Zhenghe's Blog </a> </li> </ul>

<ul><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/a-cheap-version-of-nonstandard-analysis/">A cheap version of nonstandard analysis </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/254a-notes-0-a-review-of-probability-theory/">A review of probability theory </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/a-speech-for-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/">American Academy of Arts and Sciences speech </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/amplification-arbitrage-and-the-tensor-power-trick/">Amplification, arbitrage, and the tensor power trick </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/an-airport-inspired-puzzle/">An airport-inspired puzzle </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/benfords-law-zipfs-law-and-the-pareto-distribution/">Benford's law, Zipf's law, and the Pareto distribution </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/compressed-sensing-and-single-pixel-cameras/">Compressed sensing and single-pixel cameras </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/einsteins-derivation-of-emc2/">Einstein’s derivation of E=mc^2 </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/on-multiple-choice-questions-in-mathematics/">On multiple choice questions in mathematics </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/245a-problem-solving-strategies/">Problem solving strategies </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/02/26/quantum-mechanics-and-tomb-raider/">Quantum mechanics and Tomb Raider </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/245a-problem-solving-strategies">Real analysis problem solving strategies </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/sailing-into-the-wind-or-faster-than-the-wind/">Sailing into the wind, or faster than the wind </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/simons-lecture-i-structure-and-randomness-in-fourier-analysis-and-number-theory/">Simons lectures on structure and randomness </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/small-samples-and-the-margin-of-error/">Small samples, and the margin of error </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/soft-analysis-hard-analysis-and-the-finite-convergence-principle/">Soft analysis, hard analysis, and the finite convergence principle </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/the-blue-eyed-islanders-puzzle/">The blue-eyed islanders puzzle </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/the-cosmic-distance-ladder-2/">The cosmic distance ladder </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/the-federal-budget-rescaled/">The federal budget, rescaled </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/06/25/ultrafilters-nonstandard-analysis-and-epsilon-management/">Ultrafilters, non-standard analysis, and epsilon management </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/what-is-a-gauge/">What is a gauge? </a> </li><li><a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/math.HO/0702396">What is good mathematics? </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/03/18/why-global-regularity-for-navier-stokes-is-hard/">Why global regularity for Navier-Stokes is hard </a> </li> </ul>

<ul><li><a href="http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html">Detexify </a> </li><li><a href="http://alexeev.org/gmailtex.html">GmailTeX </a> </li><li><a href="http://oldweb.cecm.sfu.ca/projects/ISC/ISCmain.html">Inverse Symbolic Calculator </a> </li><li><a href="http://tams-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/applets/jfig/webstart.html">jfig </a> </li><li><a href="http://lucatrevisan.wordpress.com/latex-to-wordpress/">LaTeX to Wordpress </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php">Online LaTeX Equation Editor </a> </li><li><a href="http://sagemath.blogspot.com/">Sage: Open Source Mathematical Software </a> </li><li><a href="http://sbseminar.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/subverting-the-system/">Subverting the system </a> </li> </ul>

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<ul><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/theres-more-to-mathematics-than-rigour-and-proofs/">There’s more to mathematics than rigour and proofs </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/">Career advice </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/">Does one have to be a genius to do maths? </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/the-euler-maclaurin-formula-bernoulli-numbers-the-zeta-function-and-real-variable-analytic-continuation/">The Euler-Maclaurin formula, Bernoulli numbers, the zeta function, and real-variable analytic continuation </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/books/">Books </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/advice-on-writing-papers/">On writing </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/books/an-introduction-to-measure-theory/">An introduction to measure theory </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2021/06/07/singmasters-conjecture-in-the-interior-of-pascals-triangle/">Singmaster's conjecture in the interior of Pascal's triangle </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/work-hard/">Work hard </a> </li><li><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/sailing-into-the-wind-or-faster-than-the-wind/">Sailing into the wind, or faster than the wind </a> </li> </ul>

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<p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/feed/">Comments feed for this article </a> </p>

<p><strong><a href="http://mymaths.blogspot.com">beans </a> </strong> </p>

<p>So there’s hope yet for me then! ;p </p>

<p>I think because it’s human nature to look at and ‘compare’ yourself to people who are ‘cleverer’ than you, we automatically assume that they’re geniuses. (However I have to say that most of my lecturers are geniuses!) </p>

<p>It seems that all maths undergraduates go through the same notions! Nice post. :) </p>

<ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-45162">26 May, 2010 at 8:08 am </a> </p><p><strong>Bryant </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4d7909ab99745aad0b7ecb4dff65dbe6?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Beans, </p><p>One thing that I discovered as a math major is that as you gain more and more knowledge, things that you once would have considered “ingenious” become very easy for you. To any observer the ease at which you come to a difficult proof is inspiration when in fact it is the result of years and years accumulating knowledge and techniques. </p><p>I think one of the biggest mistakes that I made as an undergrad was accrediting more to “genius” than hard work. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=45162#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-292102">9 April, 2014 at 1:35 am </a> </p><p><strong>Hamza </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/3e29f2ce2aba4ca122e1489283b28788?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Braynt is absolutely true. The things we once thought were quite difficult and we didn’t had the answer to them, seem very easy once we study them and strive to find its answer. All the inventions made today such as the mobile may seem to us a very common device just beacause its in the hands of every individual, but just imagine making a “mobile” when there was no name of telecommunication!<br>The ones who did such works which had no sign are called genius.<br>Don’t think that you’re a genius or not, think whether you can become one. The great people you think of being genius in the past were themselves common people but their talent led them to become history!<br>Study your subject of passion in the deepest details and you’ll find yourself a genius. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=292102#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div> </ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-426267">2 October, 2014 at 3:58 am </a> </p><p><strong>Ashwin </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/78aa2dc426d2bf5dea297562cdf865c6?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>This will help the beginners: </p><p><a href="http://kissmyblackads.blogspot.in/2011/05/ira-glass-quote.html">http://kissmyblackads.blogspot.in/2011/05/ira-glass-quote.html </a> </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=426267#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-469928">20 June, 2016 at 2:48 pm </a> </p><p><strong><a href="https://plus.google.com/107243797897009022139">Roshan Singh </a> </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://i0.wp.com/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XdUIqdMkCWA/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/4252rscbv5M/photo.jpg?resize=32%2C32&ssl=1"><p>Thank you for the quote. I am lucky to find it at this moment. It has given me confidence to follow my dreams. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=469928#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div> </ul> </ul>

<p>I think doing any creative work in mathematics by anyone (genius or not) should be encouraged, recognized and appreciated. Also, one must enjoy doing creative work – without expecting any reward or recognition for it. Recognition and reward will come automatically to those who do good work in due course of time. Even publishing just one very good paper per year in a highly respected journal should be recognized. Quality more than quantity is what matters ultimately. </p>

<p>Thanks for giving me an opportunity to express my opinion on this subject. </p>

<p><strong><a href="http://www.cs.umd.edu/~gasarch">William Gasarch </a> </strong> </p>

<p>AGREE with post. Also – there are so many different types of abilities in<br>math that people are good at in different combination, so a linear ordering<br>is not only a bad idea for getting work done, but perhaps impossible.<br>A few contrasts: problem solver/problem maker, algebraic/geometric,<br>clever/knowledgable, getting idea for proof/pinning down proof rigorously,<br>good reader of math/good listener to math. A clever problems solver who<br>can listen to math and get it quickly may LOOK more impressive,<br>but a knowledtable problem maker who is better off reading stuff<br>is just as valuable. </p>

<p><strong><a href="http://unapologetic.wordpress.com/">John Armstrong </a> </strong> </p>

<p>A few contrasts: problem solver/problem maker, algebraic/geometric, clever/knowledgable, getting idea for proof/pinning down proof rigorously, good reader of math/good listener to math. </p>

<p>Is math better done in quiet solitude or screaming across the alkali flats in a jet-powered, monkey-navigated… </p>

<p>You’re right as usual in your description, but surely you must recognize that some sides of these contrasts are selected for and some are selected against in the marketplace. To get a job it helps to be more of a problem solver than a theory builder, and woe betide those who hitch their wagons to the star of categories instead of analysis. </p>

<p>“Do not disbelieve the prophecies simply because you had a hand in carrying them out.”<br>J.R.R. Tolkein </p>

<p>Isn’t what you are really saying just that genius is an emergent phenomenon?<br>(See: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence </a>) </p>

<p>Then is it not the case that whether one worships it or finds it romantic<br>is a simple matter of theology? </p>

<ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-214738">26 January, 2013 at 3:04 pm </a> </p><p><strong>Stephen </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/a021a6cbd472f0d3825de49cd858a65b?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Just… what are you doing? To say that mathematical ability could use some hard work (with, of course, the ingredient of reasonable intelligence) doesn’t suffice to say he is an emergent in entire principle. Using your logic, you would denigrate feeding children healthy food, because they evolve. And theology, – as ridiculous as it is – cannot be a good device in – lets say – universal argument: reason ultimately is. I love the quote, though. Though, On the darker-side, the rest of the comment seems to be used to make you sound “smart.” Sorry, If I offended you with the bit about religion. I guess it’s more likely that you are a christian, than I bargained for: based on the person, whom you quoted. Never mind. If comments were written for their utility then it wouldn’t be here. “I-like-to-write” is the reason why its here. ^ here </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=214738#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-218809">7 March, 2013 at 12:51 am </a> </p><p><strong>Kamalayka </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/90f0fa8daef5d4065083b1576a5ef046?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>You have too, many, commas<br>Short of breath, brah? </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=218809#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-218870">7 March, 2013 at 2:57 pm </a> </p><p><strong>Anonymous </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>haha… simply cannot stand it when people do that, either. I started off well and then I got tired, I guess. Isn’t it very interesting when you read your writing from days ago. Sometimes I honestly can’t remember writing what I wrote – like it was a dream. The capricious writer. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=218870#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div> </ul> </ul> </ul>

<p><strong><a href="http://www.caiuszip.com/relativiting.htm">regina </a> </strong> </p>

<p>I am teacher of math and , actually I am writing books that help me to share my teachings: math + art + Science and history </p>

<p>It is a way to demystify those subjects </p>

<p>I would like to present to you the series of books entitled, “Caius Zip – The Time Traveller,”<br>The main idea behind the “CAIUS ZIP – The Time Traveller” series is to show the history made by great men and how mathematics and other subjects were important in their decisions. Caius Zip is a young man that participates in these discoveries and in the great battles. In each adventure, he acquires maturity and learns that to get out of trouble he must use his most important ability that he unknowingly uses very well: the power of deduction </p>

<p>The first book, ” Einstein, Picasso, Agatha and Chaplin:, How to explain the theory of relativity, cubism, travelling in time and unmask a murderer ” has been published </p>

<p>Caius Zip, the young time traveller, arrives at Paris in 1905. The turn of the 20th century is a period that sizzles with ideas and realizations and the Universe is about to be contemplated as it never was before. </p>

<p>In this fiction, Einstein was resting in Paris before his innovating Theory of Relativity enlightened him. At that same time, Picasso was just starting on his idea of breaking with conventional perspective. </p>

<p>Both characters seek the same concept: space-time relation. The encounter between art and science is finally possible by means of a limitless imagination. </p>

<p>There are the descriptions of interesting places of the belle époque in Paris and the memorable dialogue between Caius, Einstein, Picasso, Agatha, André Salmon, the poet and Getrude Stein, the sponsor of the novice Picasso, at the Spanish painter’s atelier on how art, literature, science, travelling in time and mystery are intertwined. </p>

<p>Caius penetrates the birth of the theory of relativity and cubism and also manages to solve a murder mystery with the help of his two teenage friends, Agatha Christie, with her investigative mind and Charlie Chaplin, who provides a touch of magic to this surprising work of fiction. </p>

<p>After all and as Einstein once said: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed”. </p>

<p>See a passage from the book in: <a href="http://www.caiuszip.com/relativiting.htm">http://www.caiuszip.com/relativiting.htm </a> </p>

<p><strong><a href="http://www.math.ucla.edu/~tao">Terence Tao </a> </strong> </p>

<p>It’s interesting that you perceive analysis and problem solving to be so fashionable these days; this seems to me to be a relatively recent phenomenon. In the height of the Bourbaki era, for instance, I would have said that the emphasis in mathematics was more in algebra and in theory-building (and for quite a long time, this focus was spectacularly productive). And, of course, much of modern mathematics also involves a lot of geometry, topology, combinatorics, physics, etc. If anything, I think the marketplace these days favours mathematics which has some interdisciplinary component – need one hitch one’s wagon to merely one star? </p>

<p>I would say that the <i>perception </i>of genius is an emergent phenomenon, and has non-trivial impact. But the concept of genius itself appears to play a minor role at best in any accurate model of mathematical ability and achievement. (The same, incidentally, appears to also be true for prophecy and models of prediction.) </p>

<ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-426273">2 October, 2014 at 4:14 am </a> </p><p><strong>Ashwin </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/78aa2dc426d2bf5dea297562cdf865c6?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Dear Terence Tao, </p><p>It happens that NOBODY KNOWS why there is something in this Universe rather than Nothing.How much does this astonishing fact about the existence of matter and the very presence of consciousness bother you?<br>I encourage you to study these things which definitely will be a great help to humankind! </p><p>Thank You. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=426273#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-457351">15 July, 2015 at 7:47 pm </a> </p><p><strong>Martin Cohen </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/e214f5c143b40458c473bef6ee05823e?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>As far as I am concerned, this does not matter. I am, you are, the universe is. We have to deal with it. I do not see any advantage in trying to know your “why” and fell that this would be a waste of time far better spent on actions that will positively affect us. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=457351#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div><ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-484871">11 August, 2017 at 2:20 pm </a> </p><p><strong>Anonymous </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/2729f1fbdf81978adaeba96975b62f2e?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Why do I exist? Imagine I didn’t exist, know one would be able to say, “I don’t exist”, the anthropic principle is the best explanation as to why the universe exists. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=484871#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div> </ul> </ul><div><div><p><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/#comment-499035">20 May, 2018 at 9:10 am </a> </p><p><strong>Paulin Ndoj </strong> </p> </div><div><img src="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/64841a90c643c4cb0f86502b59a3f624?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG"><p>Sir Terence Tao<br>I completely agree with you in your approach. You see for example Newton and Laibniz were the founders of calculus etc: They had genius. But Gauss used there models and went on to develop extraordinary concepts . It is diifficult to compare these geniuses but in different sides of the balance they weigh nearly the same. So is your case as well . Seen the volume of your publishings and their depth you in my opinion are the best mathematician aliv e on earth. But the depate remains open. </p><div> </div> </div><div><a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/?replytocom=499035#respond">Reply </a> </div> </div> </ul>

<p>I think the marketplace these days favours mathematics which has some interdisciplinary component </p>

<p>In truth I have only a limited data set, but I see my colleagues making calculations of known invariants getting more and better job offers than those who extend the domains of invariants or push for new ones. At the very start of one’s career, being a problem-solver means not having to convince hiring committees that the problems you work on are interesting. Being a theory-builder means you have to do exactly that. </p>

<p>I have not seen an analyst of my acquaintance struggle like the algebraic topologists often do. Fully half of the job offers I saw this last cycle said “analysis”, “functional analysis”, “applied analysis”, “dynamical systems”, and so on. They weren’t all exclusive, but they were strongly preferred. A scant handful claimed to want a topologist. </p>

<p>Interdisciplinarity is all well and good in theory, but in practice people want to put you in a nice, tidy box, and “category” is an easy box for many hiring committee members to put on the shelf and forget, even if you’re using it as a tool for studying something much more down-to-Earth than many older mathematicians think categories are used for. </p>

<p>I do not know whether you have already explained yourself on the subject and I am afraid my post is not at its proper place here, but I wish you could one time express your views concerning the nature of mathematics. I mean many people who could be described as great genius (es ? English is not my native language..) like Gödel seem to be on the platonic side as if their experience lead them there. Do you feel yoursel in this case, I mean do you really feel like evolving in a real mathematical universe independ of your existence, and does “mathematical intuition’ seem to you a kind of objective perception, like vision for physical objects, which is not equally distributed among people or is it just a romantic and naive point of view ? </p>

Does one have to be a genius to do maths?

Does one have to be genius to do science?

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