I hated much of what was taught as mathematics in my early schooling, and I often received poor grades. I now view many of these early lessons as anti-math: they actively tried to discourage independent thought. One was supposed to follow an established pattern with mechanical precision, put answers inside boxes, and “show your work,”
I guess this puts me out of the running for obtaining a Fields Medal, because I have excelled (and continue to excel) at this kind of work since a young age. :[
Oh no, there’s substantial variability among great mathematicians on this point. If I make this article into a top level point I should add qualification to this effect. I don’t have the exact quote at hand (will add later), but for counterpoint I’ll say that in the same book Don Zagier describes how when he was eleven his teacher told him that if he wanted to, he could read advanced math books in class provided that he precommitted to getting perfect scores on all of his exams. He said
She told me that I could choose whether or not I wanted to accept these conditions, and of course I did. It was very good training because I learned to be quick and careful even in routine calculations, and that was very helpful later.
I guess this puts me out of the running for obtaining a Fields Medal, because I have excelled (and continue to excel) at this kind of work since a young age. :[
Oh no, there’s substantial variability among great mathematicians on this point. If I make this article into a top level point I should add qualification to this effect. I don’t have the exact quote at hand (will add later), but for counterpoint I’ll say that in the same book Don Zagier describes how when he was eleven his teacher told him that if he wanted to, he could read advanced math books in class provided that he precommitted to getting perfect scores on all of his exams. He said