
Donald Knuth on how he became good at math - grot
http://www.webofstories.com/play/17068?o=MS
======
fragsworth
The worst thing you can do for a kid's intelligence is to let them think they
are smart. I was led to believe I was smart as a child. The resulting
intellectual cockiness I had... "I'm too smart for this shit." or "I don't
need to study for this crap."

In the end, I don't really like to think about how far it set me back.

~~~
palish
Absolutely. My experience was the same: my mother loved to talk to me about my
intelligence and curiosity as if they were rare and therefore special.

Maybe it was true, but by telling me that, she accidentally laid the
foundation of the rest of my life: I started distancing myself from my
classmates, and eventually my peers.

The result? I now have a skillset roughly equivalent to Carmack's, but no
chance to capitalize on it. No one believes nor cares.
(<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/portfolio/pre-textured.jpg> ;
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/315/portfolio/face.png>)

By setting myself apart, I likely ruined myself without even realizing it. It
turns out that my skills don't matter. A Carmack without a company is no
Carmack at all. And now I've no ability with people, as he does.

~~~
smallhands
Ok I can relate to that myself I am kind of curious can you list those skills

~~~
palish
\- full stack programmer. My focus is always on the quality and robustness of
the final design, regardless of which specific technologies/components are
used. I learn them all.

\- a deep knowledge of the details. I share Robert Morris' passion for
understanding precisely what is going on at every level. My insight into the
low-level details of next-gen CPUs came from reading the Intel architecture
manuals several times over.

\- an ability to achieve high-quality results within a very short period of
time, regardless of the project or goal. If you show me a problem, I'll show
you a solution by the end of the day, probably with a rough prototype. By a
week, I'll have discovered which solution/direction is the best long-term
strategy, and will have a working production version 1.

\- I have good judgement. This turns out to be rare.

Specific technologies:

\- a master of C/C++. I've been coding since age 12, and I'm now 23, so that's
easily 30,000+ hours I've spent practicing. I've been writing C/C++
professionally daily since my first gamedev job in 2007. Python is my language
of choice; Lua a close second, primarily when performance is of concern (such
as in gamedev). But a language is merely a means to an end, and I work with
all of them.

\- several years of hobby experience writing Rails websites/Javascript. I
write Lisp interpreters for fun. I want to write an Arc compiler someday.

\- extensive sysadmin knowledge, both Unix and Windows. FreeBSD is my
preferred OS for server-side deployment.

\- master of realtime 3D graphics; both OpenGL and D3D. Given time and
freedom, I can build you a renderer of the finest quality (equal or higher
than Rage).

\- artistic talent and taste. Several years of 3D Studio Max and Maya modeling
and animation experience. I build next-gen character art (high-poly sculpt in
ZBrush, then decimate / build low-poly shell in 3D Coat; project detail; touch
up textures via Photoshop -> rig in 3DSMax -> animate -> import into game).

Projects:

\- in highschool, wrote a game engine roughly equivalent to Quake.

\- several game engines / game ideas.

\- a full game editor, using C#/.NET WinForms.

\- next-gen realtime graphics experiments, including realtime skin rendering
(the same technique was recently shown by Epic in their "Good Samaritan"
demo).

\- several Rails websites. Made a system for schools to administer tests, with
the intent of surpassing Blackboard. (JavaScript-based; this was back before
"Ajax" was a fancy buzzword.) Tried to apply to YC with it. pg gave valuable
advice (selling to schools is like selling to government; quality doesn't
always win). Was invited to Hacker School though, which was fun (seeing
Anybots' Dexter robot in person walk around on two legs was just awesome).

Experience:

\- Simutronics, _HeroEngine_. Graphics programmer (3 years)

\- S2 Games, _Heroes of Newerth_. Engine programmer (1 year)

My thirst for knowledge is unquenchable in five lifetimes, and I strive for
beauty and elegance in everything I pursue.

If anyone feels these claims seem too bold to be true, I'd love the
opportunity to work with you to prove myself while serving your interests.

~~~
mitsche
Dude, you're only 23. When you say you have no ability with people, what
exactly do you mean by that?

When I was 23 I was more or less a complete moron with people, and for years
to come. But it has improved to the point where I'm content. And I'm only 29
now.

If you were more specific about your problems with social interaction you'd
probably get some good advice here.

~~~
palish
Sam Altman has what I lack. <http://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html>

> _You could parachute him into an island full of cannibals and come back in 5
> years and he'd be the king. If you're Sam Altman, you don't have to be
> profitable to convey to investors that you'll succeed with or without them.
> (He wasn't, and he did.)_

More than that, I can't seem to inspire confidence in people. I don't know the
cause, but it's proving lethal to my ambitions. As far as I can tell, it's the
same situation Jobs found himself in:

> _"You know, I’ve got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can’t say any more
> than that it’s the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But
> nobody there will listen to me.”_ [1995]

I don't know. I'm just enjoying life and pursuing my research. But it feels
unsettling coasting like this. I have Carmack's technical skill; if only I
could rally like-minded capable people who wanted to build the next Id or
Epic, then we'd stand a fair shot at success, at influencing our industry and
the world. We wouldn't be just another puppet for publishers. We'd have a shot
at making an impact: the next Half-Life or Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft.
The formula is good people + shared goal + time + rapid iteration + don't get
distracted. It works, it's proven, and I've seen it happen firsthand at S2. We
can achieve that same success.

But why should anyone take me seriously? I probably wouldn't, if I weren't me.

~~~
danielharan
These aren't innate talents, they are learned.

Start interacting with people with the objective of getting better at
relating. Read the classics - Win Friends, etc. Check out the literature on
pick up artistry. Balance it with meditation and compassion training, so you
don't become a social robot. Go to parties. Slowly put yourself into more
challenging situations. Start with dance or cooking lessons.

It may take 10,000 hours to become like Sam Altman, but 1,000 will get you
half way there.

You're 23... you've been learning code for 11 years? That time you put in was
time you couldn't be socializing. The good news is that jocks weren't putting
their mind to it. Dedicated practice will make you even better than they are
now.

~~~
palish
That's probably true. Thank you.

Did you find it difficult?

~~~
danielharan
No lie: it was tough at first.

------
afwew
Summary: He worked hard. Super fucking hard.

~~~
flyingkoala
I think what's interesting is that he admits to having had no special
inclination towards math before college. Only during college, and out of a
fear of failure, did he become really good at math.

------
chegra
This was my experience too. I just did all the questions in the textbook.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2496430>

I had a book just filled with proofs. After a while, you will get an intuitive
understanding of where to go next after each step.

~~~
_exec
What "Math & Statistics" book? Got an ISBN?

~~~
langsamer
A great math book is Gilbert Strang's "Introduction to Applied Mathematics".
Actually anything by Gilbert Strang is worth it.

I would also recommend:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521792851/ref=ox_sc_act_ti...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521792851/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER)

You could also try out the problems at projecteuler.net

