
Inspired by Genius: How a Mathematician Found His Way - ghosh
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/inspired-by-genius-how-a-mathematician-found-his-way/?WT.mc_id=SA_TW_MATH_NEWS
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rajadigopula
'I want teachers and parents to recognize that when you do see unusual talent,
instead of demanding that these people have certain test scores, let’s find a
way to help nurture them. Because I think humanity needs it. I think these are
the lessons we learn from Ramanujan.'

So well said, can't even comment on the line!

~~~
gens
Please don't separate children based on what you perceive their intelligence
to be.

~~~
kauffj
Really? What's the alternative? Have really smart kids suffer through lessons
that are menial to them?

I was lucky enough to be in a school that had lots of programs for gifted kids
and let them do their own work or work in small groups among themselves. Those
moments were by far the brightest of my compulsory education.

~~~
gens
I'm glad for you

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kenjackson
_Both my parents will tell you that you only get to live once, so you might as
well be the very, very best that you can be at whatever you choose. Which I
don’t necessarily agree with, because if everyone lived that way, there would
be nothing but a whole bunch of unhappy people in the world. But that’s how
they brought us up. They taught me to be competitive. They taught me not to
falsely believe I had done well when I hadn’t._

As a parent this is something I struggle with. How much should I push a 7 year
old child to be their very best? How important is it really to be your very
best? Is it more important to push yourself to be happy while maximizing
happiness around you? Yet, I'm not really sure what that means outside of
trying to be your best at something you enjoy.

~~~
rplst8
I'm not a parent, but for me the scary thing is not how important is it to be
your very best. Rather, it is the question - can any (otherwise healthy) child
really become an olympian, nobel prize winning scientist, grammy winning
musician, or great political leader, if only his or her parents raised them
right?

Depending on how you answer, if you don't push your child, you could be
ruining his or her chances. That is something I would struggle with as a
parent.

~~~
mathattack
Is raising right necessarily pushing?

I decided that I don't have the energy to force my kids to overachieve at
things they don't want. But... If they are interested in anything, I will help
them find the best instruction. For one this is foreign languages, the other
it's chess and programming. But if they weren't interested, I wouldn't make it
my mission to push. It's their life, and achieving "potential" is ultimately
on them.

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siegelzero
Ono is the most self-promoting mathematician I've ever seen. He's done some
outstanding work, but he certainly enjoys the spotlight.

~~~
ninguem2
I agree with that and I wavered about buying the book because of it. In the
end, I decided to read it and was pleasantly surprised. It's a nice book. It
helps explain, but perhaps not excuse, his self-promotion.

Your username should not exist :-)

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nxzero
>> "Both my parents will tell you that you only get to live once, so you might
as well be the very, very best that you can be at whatever you choose."

You only live once means you only live once, nothing more, nothing less.

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shunyaloop
Previous submission:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11853721](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11853721)

