Becoming a mathematician - I am so depressed

[Levis2]

Well - i am really grateful for all you help! I had never imagined, when i started this thread, that i would get so many good quality answers.

I have decided to just go ahead, and go as far as my head can take me. I will pursue everything i can, and do my best - i guess that is all i can do, anyway. I just hope i will not be restricted by my mental agility, but nevertheless, i won't leave that university until they throw me out the doors.

Meanwhile this thread has been glowing red hot from responses my teacher has contacted, a professor at a the nearest university. I had no influence on this, and had no idea that he had approached a professor about me. I have read the letter he wrote to the professor, and it does make me kinda uncomfortable :( He has numerous times described me as a "mathematical genius", stating I'm the most extraordinary pupil he has seen in his 22 years of teaching, and that the gifted programs for gymnasium students doesn't suffice, so he contacted the professor instead... So now the professor wants me to travel to the university, to discuss plans for the future?! He contacted him yesterday, and the professor wants me to go to the uni as soon as tomorrow ..

This may sound like bragging to you, but the reason I'm telling you this is, that now i am really upset - i am ABSOLUTELY no genius, let alone such an extraordinary pupil. at least not by my definition. So i i have mixed feelings about attending the uni. meeting, because i feel i can't live up to the professors expectations. What if he is expecting a new Gauss, but finds a completely ordinary kid, who's just obsessed with math and may be slightly better than average? I don't want to waste the professors time - that would be very embarassing! I do not know if what my teacher says is just an overstatement, in order to get the professor to arrange a meeting or .. Now I'm rather down again .. I had just accepted the fact that i was going to pursue my dream, but now I'm really afraid of not living up to these expectations, the professor has about me. What shall i do? should i cancel this whole scheme?

Doh .. math may be very complicated, but life is definitely way more complicated!

 

[micromass]

Doh .. math may be very complicated, but life is definitely way more complicated!

Haha, check my signature

This may sound like bragging to you, but the reason I'm telling you this is, that now i am really upset - i am ABSOLUTELY no genius, let alone such an extraordinary pupil. at least not by my definition. So i i have mixed feelings about attending the uni. meeting, because i feel i can't live up to the professors expectations. What if he is expecting a new Gauss, but finds a completely ordinary kid, who's just obsessed with math and may be slightly better than average? I don't want to waste the professors time - that would be very embarassing! I do not know if what my teacher says is just an overstatement, in order to get the professor to arrange a meeting or .. Now I'm rather down again .. I had just accepted the fact that i was going to pursue my dream, but now I'm really afraid of not living up to these expectations, the professor has about me. What shall i do? should i cancel this whole scheme?

OK, I understand your worries. Your teacher wanted to do you a favor but actually kind of embarassed you and put you in a difficult position. This is not good.

I think that you should say to the professor what you said here: that you are no genius but that you simply like mathematics very much. Then there is no reason for anybody to have expectations! Just tell the truth and say what you really think.

I understand that you might not like this pressure so much, but you have to get used to it. People will always have certain expectations about you. The trick is not to care about those expectations and just doing what you want to do. It shouldn't be your concern that other people have expectations...

 

[Functor97]

Well - i am really grateful for all you help! I had never imagined, when i started this thread, that i would get so many good quality answers.

I have decided to just go ahead, and go as far as my head can take me. I will pursue everything i can, and do my best - i guess that is all i can do, anyway. I just hope i will not be restricted by my mental agility, but nevertheless, i won't leave that university until they throw me out the doors.

Meanwhile this thread has been glowing red hot from responses my teacher has contacted, a professor at a the nearest university. I had no influence on this, and had no idea that he had approached a professor about me. I have read the letter he wrote to the professor, and it does make me kinda uncomfortable :( He has numerous times described me as a "mathematical genius", stating I'm the most extraordinary pupil he has seen in his 22 years of teaching, and that the gifted programs for gymnasium students doesn't suffice, so he contacted the professor instead... So now the professor wants me to travel to the university, to discuss plans for the future?! He contacted him yesterday, and the professor wants me to go to the uni as soon as tomorrow ..

This may sound like bragging to you, but the reason I'm telling you this is, that now i am really upset - i am ABSOLUTELY no genius, let alone such an extraordinary pupil. at least not by my definition. So i i have mixed feelings about attending the uni. meeting, because i feel i can't live up to the professors expectations. What if he is expecting a new Gauss, but finds a completely ordinary kid, who's just obsessed with math and may be slightly better than average? I don't want to waste the professors time - that would be very embarassing! I do not know if what my teacher says is just an overstatement, in order to get the professor to arrange a meeting or .. Now I'm rather down again .. I had just accepted the fact that i was going to pursue my dream, but now I'm really afraid of not living up to these expectations, the professor has about me. What shall i do? should i cancel this whole scheme?

Doh .. math may be very complicated, but life is definitely way more complicated!

Levis, you sound very confused. Most mathematics student receive no encouragement at all, let alone being called a genius and given the opportunity to expand that you may have just recieved. I very much doubt you are the best mathematician to pass through your school programme in 20 years, the reason i say this is twofold; you should not keep thinking about genius' and prodigy it will only limit your future confidence and secondly it is very hard to quantify mathematical talent or intelligence in general. It sounds to me that you don't want to do what you love, but rather to be complimented for being some mathematical talent, you have spent more time on these forums talking about genius than you have thinking and discussing mathematics. You have four pages of people telling you that you can get a Phd in mathematics, but you just keep bringing up the fact that you are not a prodigy, What is the problem? You then claim your own teacher thinks you have extreme talent, but you still can't find the confidence to do math!
These forums cannot be a substitute for self confidence. You have a warped view of the working process of a mathematician. It isn't like numb3rs or a beautiful mind where a flash of genius happens every 20 mins, it is hard disciplined work...and if you are not a genius-who cares? Do math for the love of it, not for the fields medal...

 

[Levis2]

Levis, you sound very confused. Most mathematics student receive no encouragement at all, let alone being called a genius and given the opportunity to expand that you may have just recieved. I very much doubt you are the best mathematician to pass through your school programme in 20 years, the reason i say this is twofold; you should not keep thinking about genius' and prodigy it will only limit your future confidence and secondly it is very hard to quantify mathematical talent or intelligence in general. It sounds to me that you don't want to do what you love, but rather to be complimented for being some mathematical talent, you have spent more time on these forums talking about genius than you have thinking and discussing mathematics. You have four pages of people telling you that you can get a Phd in mathematics, but you just keep bringing up the fact that you are not a prodigy, What is the problem? You then claim your own teacher thinks you have extreme talent, but you still can't find the confidence to do math!
These forums cannot be a substitute for self confidence. You have a warped view of the working process of a mathematician. It isn't like numb3rs or a beautiful mind where a flash of genius happens every 20 mins, it is hard disciplined work...and if you are not a genius-who cares? Do math for the love of it, not for the fields medal...

I think are you are right - i apparently posses a very warped view of the working process of a mathematician. Maybe my problem roots in the fact, that i have no idea about how a mathematician works - and yes you are right I thought that a mathematician was like the guy in a beautiful mind, having moments of deep insight every 10 mins. I have never had this (well at least not every 10 min), often i do have to work before i understand a new topic. Therefore i concluded, that i wasn't fit to be a mathematician - but the issue here is, that becoming a mathematician is what i desire. And I have already decided that i want to do math because i like it - until they throw me out of the university :) and ill probably keep practicing it, like i am doing now, for no apparent reason.

Well if any mathematicians here could explain to me how it is to be a mathematician - do you understand everything the first time you look at it? do solutions to complicated problems simply pop up in your head? I actually think this is the reason i have these problems, about me not being good enough. I have always pictured the mathematical studium to be a place full of mathematical prodigies .. I do not know why, but i can't imagine regular people studying math. I think my impressions have been disturbed by the notorical mathematical genius - that you have to be just that, to practice math. Do regular people study math and end up getting their degrees, or is it only very brilliant people, who accomplish this? Are there any PhD holders here, who has actually struggled with the material in some point of their education, or have they just aced through EVERYTHING?

 

[Functor97]

I think are you are right - i apparently posses a very warped view of the working process of a mathematician. Maybe my problem roots in the fact, that i have no idea about how a mathematician works - and yes you are right I thought that a mathematician was like the guy in a beautiful mind, having moments of deep insight every 10 mins. I have never had this (well at least not every 10 min), often i do have to work before i understand a new topic. Therefore i concluded, that i wasn't fit to be a mathematician - but the issue here is, that becoming a mathematician is what i desire. And I have already decided that i want to do math because i like it - until they throw me out of the university :) and ill probably keep practicing it, like i am doing now, for no apparent reason.

Well if any mathematicians here could explain to me how it is to be a mathematician - do you understand everything the first time you look at it? do solutions to complicated problems simply pop up in your head? I actually think this is the reason i have these problems, about me not being good enough. I have always pictured the mathematical studium to be a place full of mathematical prodigies .. I do not know why, but i can't imagine regular people studying math. I think my impressions have been disturbed by the notorical mathematical genius - that you have to be just that, to practice math. Do regular people study math and end up getting their degrees, or is it only very brilliant people, who accomplish this? Are there any PhD holders here, who has actually struggled with the material in some point of their education, or have they just aced through EVERYTHING?

Well I am only an undergraduate so I do not understand the life of a professional mathematician (yet), but i talk to plenty of them, and many of my friends are among this hallowed order.
Kevinaxion posted a link to Timothy Gowers stating something to the effect that every couple of years there is a new genius of the year at Cambridge (even at one of the best universities in the world for mathematics people feel less than apt) but they do not all go on to live out their potential. Google Simon p Norton, who famously burnt out (he doesn't believe he did, he just thought others got better), there was a recent book about him released.
Also read about Mathwonks experiences in "who wants to be a mathematician". They are certainly inspiring. He got kicked out of a Phd programme at Brandeis, but still got his Phd elsewhere, the way he tells it, it has a lot to do with maturity and perserverance.

I know how you feel my friend, and i think everyone doubts themselves, and reading "men of mathematics" is not going to help this attitude. The media and writers hype up mathematicians because they are incompetant at scientific thought themselves and thus create the idea of genius to make an excuse for their failing.
Stick in there buddy, maybe we will meet at a conference in 15 years?

 

[Kevin_Axion]

I think are you are right - i apparently posses a very warped view of the working process of a mathematician. Maybe my problem roots in the fact, that i have no idea about how a mathematician works - and yes you are right I thought that a mathematician was like the guy in a beautiful mind, having moments of deep insight every 10 mins. I have never had this (well at least not every 10 min), often i do have to work before i understand a new topic. Therefore i concluded, that i wasn't fit to be a mathematician - but the issue here is, that becoming a mathematician is what i desire. And I have already decided that i want to do math because i like it - until they throw me out of the university :) and ill probably keep practicing it, like i am doing now, for no apparent reason.

Well if any mathematicians here could explain to me how it is to be a mathematician - do you understand everything the first time you look at it? do solutions to complicated problems simply pop up in your head? I actually think this is the reason i have these problems, about me not being good enough. I have always pictured the mathematical studium to be a place full of mathematical prodigies .. I do not know why, but i can't imagine regular people studying math. I think my impressions have been disturbed by the notorical mathematical genius - that you have to be just that, to practice math. Do regular people study math and end up getting their degrees, or is it only very brilliant people, who accomplish this? Are there any PhD holders here, who has actually struggled with the material in some point of their education, or have they just aced through EVERYTHING?

It's a well known fact that Terence Tao almost failed his General Exams albeit the General Exams are intense.

EDIT: Here's his exam: http://www.math.princeton.edu/graduate/generals/tao_terence

 

[Functor97]

It's a well known fact that Terence Tao almost failed his General Exams albeit the General Exams are intense.

EDIT: Here's his exam: http://www.math.princeton.edu/graduate/generals/tao_terence

For someone with his record in competitions and undergrad, that is quite a surprising read.
I guess it just goes to show what makes research mathematics slightly different from competition style math.
That said Tao did recover whatever failings he had, and is now an international expert in the subject of harmonic analysis (which he was repremanded for).

 

[chiro]

Well if any mathematicians here could explain to me how it is to be a mathematician - do you understand everything the first time you look at it? do solutions to complicated problems simply pop up in your head? I actually think this is the reason i have these problems, about me not being good enough. I have always pictured the mathematical studium to be a place full of mathematical prodigies .. I do not know why, but i can't imagine regular people studying math. I think my impressions have been disturbed by the notorical mathematical genius - that you have to be just that, to practice math. Do regular people study math and end up getting their degrees, or is it only very brilliant people, who accomplish this? Are there any PhD holders here, who has actually struggled with the material in some point of their education, or have they just aced through EVERYTHING?

Everyone has their limits Levis2. I have found a lot of limits myself by reading some really high level math, but there are ways to get around that problem, and one way is to collaborate with other people.

In other areas, things can be ridiculously easy, but in general when you move towards research that is more current, it does have a tendency to get more difficult and more non intuitive (in my opinion, in my experience).

I think the best thing for you to do is if you want to mathematics, then take a leap of faith: be slightly blindly optimistic. If it is a means to an end for you, then chances are you'll get somewhere at least.

If you are enthusiastic, have initiative, motivation and humility, you'll make it in any endeavor you embark on. Just remember that when you do make it in the end, you will see young people like yourself who are unsure about themselves, and take that opportunity to tell them your story to help them just like you helped yourself.

 

[cobalt124]

Some of the issues here seem to be general "life" issues, so here's some more "outsider" perspective:

...So now the professor wants me to travel to the university, to discuss plans for the future?!...

Do it, no harm in talking. Like Micromass posted, say it how it is.

...This may sound like bragging to you...

Nope.

...but the reason I'm telling you this is, that now i am really upset - i am ABSOLUTELY no genius, let alone such an extraordinary pupil. at least not by my definition. So i i have mixed feelings about attending the uni. meeting, because i feel i can't
live up to the professors expectations...

The professor does not have any expectations of you. You seem to be making them up. It depends on what "discuss plans for the future" means.

...What if he is expecting a new Gauss...

He isn't. He's expecting you.

...but finds a completely ordinary kid, who's just obsessed with math...

Tell it how it really is.

...I don't want to waste the professors time...

It's his time to do with as he chooses.

...but now I'm really afraid of not living up to these expectations, the professor has about me...

Again he does not have any expectations of you. You seem to be making this up.

What shall i do? should i cancel this whole scheme?

No.

...You have a warped view of the working process of a mathematician...

Or working life in general, but you are young yet. You worry about things you do not need to worry about (yet).

..and ill probably keep practicing it, like i am doing now, for no apparent reason...

Practicalities aside "for no apparent reason", isn't such a bad reason.

...but i can't imagine regular people studying math...

They do, at different levels of ability, though I don't exactly know what you mean by "regular people".

...Do regular people study math and end up getting their degrees...

Yes.

...Are there any PhD holders here, who has actually struggled with the material in some point of their education, or have they just aced through EVERYTHING?...

I'm not a Phd in anything, but I can't imagine there is a single case of someone who hasn't struggled with material. If you are passionate you will try to push beyond your limits. You will struggle at times. Sometimes succeed, sometimes fail. Life.

 

[yenchin]

So how was the meeting with the professor?

 

[AdrianZ]

I know this sounds awful. I know this is just a bunch of whining to you guys, but this really upsets. I have almost entered a state of depression, simply due to this issue.

Im a 17 year old high school student, living in denmark. I live and breathe mathematics! It is my passion, my way of life, and i feel it always will be. It is my greatest hobby, and my dearest pastime. And like luther, i have a dream - i want to obtain a math PhD, and become a mathematician working with mathematical research and teaching at college. I want to become a college professor so hard, that its basically all i care about.

There is just some complications involved in my dream:

1. My iq is approx. 135. When i first found out, it was devastating to me. I had done a lot of reading about mathematicians, and to me it seemed like you would have no chance what so ever to be competitive in higher end mathematics, if you are not 150+. I have tried to forget that i am of low intelligence, but i simply can't. Everytime i work with math, i am always reminded reminded that i am not smart enough to accomplish my goal.

2. Instances have been seen, where low iq ppl (like feynman) are excellent at their field of study. This is just not my case - i have never been a child prodigy, learning calculus at age 12 and so on. I did teach myself calculus at age 16, but that is only 1 year prior to our high school introduction to the subject. It seems that i am of low intelligence, and i do not have a mathematical talent.

3. People around me keep saying that if someone can complete a math PhD, then it must be me. This is of great annoyance to me! Out of all the 600 pupils on my school, i am the best at mathematics. I teach in the schools "homework help cafe", even the 3. year students despite the fact I've just started 2nd year. My math teacher says i am the most brilliant math student he has encountered in 20 years of teaching A level high school math (the 3 year course).

I have created proofs on my own for the Taylor series, the arc length formula etc. I can solve differential equations such as y''(x)+xy'(x)+y(x)=0 by series solutions and understanding what i am doing.

In my head the guy described in the above paragraphs sounds like someone capable of completing a math phd - but the truth is, that's not enough! Why is it that in our subject, mathematics, you have to be an utter genius in order to qualify for a phd program? You can't imagine how discouraged i get, when i read about studying mathematics on the internet. Higher education math seems to be something reserved for the high iq geniuses, and the rest might as well just apply for another job. Why do you have to be able to complete your bachelor at age 10 in mathematics, but not in other fields? I am no child prodigy. I am just a young guy, with a passionate dream about contributing to the world of mathematics.

This text turned out to be one big whine i know - but this issue is ruining my life. You guys - who are so unfairly gifted - have no idea what it is like to have a mind that is so determined to contribute to mathematics, but is simply lacking the raw processing power to do so. I would give everything for a drug capable of eradicating my passion. This sounds horrible, but you have no idea how hard it is to want something so much, but knowing you will never be able to achieve it.

Im sorry, but i had to get this out to someone who understands me. Everyone around me seem to think I'm crazy. If i couldn't complete a math phd, who could? The answer is: The prodigies, the naturals and the people who are born to do maths. I cannot say that i am among equals on this board, but at least i am among people, who understand my deep frustration. Imagine if your mathematical talent was taken away from you, leaving only the deep desire to do and practice math - how would you feel?

I'm happy to see that there is someone out there who feels exactly the same way as I. I'm at the same situation, the difference is that I gave up med. school after studying one year there for becoming a mathematician at the age of 19. Now not only I feel that there's little chance that I become a great mathematician, but I sometimes regret myself that I have ruined my life by switching to a field that there is no job future in it. I've promised myself to continue studying medicine after I have obtained a PhD in mathematics and I hope that I could achieve it. This sense of regretting goes soon though, because I truly love math and I'm happy that I'm studying it now.
I believe both of us can complete a PhD but if you want to be someone like Euler (who is like a hero for me, even more than Gauss or any other mathematician) then you'll fail and I'm honest. I believe when you want to measure the quality of a great mathematician, then you must take a lot of factors into account. I usually say great mathematicians are usually grouped into 3 major branches: some mathematicians are good when it comes to creating new theories, some mathematicians are good only at problem-solving and some mathematicians are good at both. I believe only the later can be real great mathematicians and in each generation the number of such people is very few. so if your goal is to obtain a PhD in mathematics, then I'm sure that you can complete it. but if you dream of being someone like Euler, Gauss, Galois, Newton, Archemedes or other great mathematicians, then I doubt you could achieve that goal easily. I should add that I totally agree with micromass that your efforts are more important than your talent and if you try hard, you'll be better everyday.

 

[Dembadon]

Spend less time thinking about your I.Q and more time brewing coffee and proving theorems.

Yes! I like this.

 

[FredericGos]

Hej,

Here is something that helped me a lot and changed my view of inteligence and what's important etc.

You are Danish, so am I. The greatest scientist our country ever produced was Niels Bohr. If you read a bit about this guy, you will realize that he was known as a notoriously slow thinker. He became great anyways. Not because of speed, but because he kept thinking about it and working at it. He eventually reached a level of insight most cannot.

Hope that helps a little. :)

 

[Levis2]

I apologize for not getting back to you, but I've had a lot on my plate the last few days - especially after the visit at the professor's.

So i went for the meeting, and it turned out really nice! There were no examination, no "trying me out" or anything.. we just spent 2.5 hours talking about math, future plans and how i can study more math. He has now set me up on a real analysis course, and damn - I've finally found some mathematics, that i find difficult... This stuff is rather complex, mainly because I'm use to "invent" and come up with formulas, relations and so on.. That has been my "line of work" for a long time - addressing a problem, then coming up with a solution/formula or a relation. Now my real analysis books wants me to prove things directly, an approach i find slightly more difficult. I haven't had much time to look at it yet, but I must admit that i have trouble with some of the inequalities ... Its rather annoying :) I have also been given the offer to follow a real course at the university, and get assignments and homework. I just can't attend the classes, since my high school won't let me skip 3 hours to attend the lectures.

I don't know if I'm going to sign up for the course though, since i don't think ill be able to keep up .. This real analysis is tough on top of loads of other crappy kinds of homework, i get from my regular high school :)

But i just wanted to say that i am going to pursue math, and see where it takes me :) Even though i still have my doubts, mostly because I'm having a bit of trouble with the analysis hehe :)

 

[cobalt124]

Fantastic! Good Luck!

 

[Levis2]

Fantastic! Good Luck!

Thank you! My mood is slightly better than the beginning of this thread hehe :)

But - have any of you guys struggled with the material in the first 5-15 hours of your real analysis courses? Be cause i sure am .. Can one get better at doing proofs, or is it just some native ability you're born with? Its funny i am struggling with these proofs .. I have no problem creating a proof for some geometric formula or something, but i seem to have problems proving inequalities once in a while :(

 

[Fredrik]

I think everyone struggles with analysis. The kind of proofs that you may encounter there are really hard. You may think that your professor must be much smarter than you because he seems to find them easy, but he probably had to work hard to make it through a difficult analysis course at some point, and then he spent a few months working just as hard on a topology course. He probably didn't start to find this type of proofs easy until he got to the end of the topology course, and even then, there were probably at least a few theorems the wouldn't have been able to prove in less than an hour without peeking in a book. He probably didn't get to the level where he could prove every theorem with ease until he had taught the subject a few times.

I wrote the above before I saw your post before this one. Can one get better at doing proofs? Of course. We all suck at it at first, and it takes a long time to get good at it. As I said, you shouldn't expect to be really good at it until you have taken a course in topology (something you're not expected to do in your first year, and probably not the second either). Did we struggle during the first 5-15 hours? Of course. We struggled a lot longer than that.

 

[micromass]

Thank you! My mood is slightly better than the beginning of this thread hehe :)

But - have any of you guys struggled with the material in the first 5-15 hours of your real analysis courses? Be cause i sure am .. Can one get better at doing proofs, or is it just some native ability you're born with? Its funny i am struggling with these proofs .. I have no problem creating a proof for some geometric formula or something, but i seem to have problems proving inequalities once in a while :(

Real analysis is a notoriously hard subject. Almost everybody struggles with real analysis at one stage or another. But on the other hand, real analysis is also quite fun once you get the hang of it.

Do take the univsersity course. It'll be quite hard for you, but in the end you'll be in a better position to say whether you actually like the math there. A lot of (very smart) people drop out of math because they just don't like it. If you take the course then you can experience first-hand what mathematics is really like!

 

[deluks917]

Real analysis is a very fun subject to have studied (not necessarily to study). After the course is over problems that seemed impossible will seem easy once you have the hang of it.

 

[GregJ]

Levis2:

Glad you are making progress and that everything is heading in the right direction. You'll make a fine mathematician yet ;)

Just remember to focus on the here and now and let nothing else steal your thoughts. Master the present and you will master your future.

 

[Fredrik]

...in the end you'll be in a better position to say whether you actually like the math there. A lot of (very smart) people drop out of math because they just don't like it. If you take the course then you can experience first-hand what mathematics is really like!

This is a very good point. I remember that the differences between university math and what we had seen before had different people reacting in different ways. I like this type of math much better, but others hated it.

 

[Functor97]

I apologize for not getting back to you, but I've had a lot on my plate the last few days - especially after the visit at the professor's.

So i went for the meeting, and it turned out really nice! There were no examination, no "trying me out" or anything.. we just spent 2.5 hours talking about math, future plans and how i can study more math. He has now set me up on a real analysis course, and damn - I've finally found some mathematics, that i find difficult... This stuff is rather complex, mainly because I'm use to "invent" and come up with formulas, relations and so on.. That has been my "line of work" for a long time - addressing a problem, then coming up with a solution/formula or a relation. Now my real analysis books wants me to prove things directly, an approach i find slightly more difficult. I haven't had much time to look at it yet, but I must admit that i have trouble with some of the inequalities ... Its rather annoying :) I have also been given the offer to follow a real course at the university, and get assignments and homework. I just can't attend the classes, since my high school won't let me skip 3 hours to attend the lectures.

I don't know if I'm going to sign up for the course though, since i don't think ill be able to keep up .. This real analysis is tough on top of loads of other crappy kinds of homework, i get from my regular high school :)

But i just wanted to say that i am going to pursue math, and see where it takes me :) Even though i still have my doubts, mostly because I'm having a bit of trouble with the analysis hehe :)

Proofs are the in my opinion the most beautiful aspect of mathematics. Pretty formulas may be interesting, but thinking that this is mathematics is somewhat mistaken. Mathematics is about understanding, not calculating. Maybe you are more of a Ramanujan than a Hardy?

 

[SuchABohr]

Hey bro, just wanted to say don't worry about iq scores or any of that... I'm extremely confident I don't have a high iq at all (I'd be satisfied if I was average, lol) ... and I got the "coveted" masters in math ... I felt like an idiot in my first couple years at school... The "naturals" can do a lot of stuff in their head - and have a habit of showing off too, lol - but don't let it phase you... Hard work, and perseverance are all you really need... Honestly, after a while, you start to see the the patterns, and the techniques, and it's really more about creativity, which you develop just by rigorous practice, and reading and understanding... but it will come eventually

 

[Intervenient]

This thread has been extremely enlighting for me as well. During my first quarter of university I switched from being an English major to a statistics major, but felt I wasn't quite up to scratch with the rest of the competition. However, talking to professors and TAs and undergrad students, the majority of these people aren't geniuses at all, but "regular" people who are interested enough in the subject of math who have or want to make a career about it. No going to college at 12 and getting a Ph.D. at 15 and inventing lauded theorems: just dedication and interest. As for Real Analysis, I haven't taken the course yet (soon though), but from the talk on these forums and on campus, it seems that succeeding in higher level mathematics requires you to build up a strong mathematical intuition. I'm sure you'll do well :)

 

[whyee]

Is this a joke? An IQ (if it even means much) of 135 is not enough? Richard Feynman had an IQ of 124, and look at how much work he did in such advanced physics topics.

 

[sandplasma]

Keep thinking this way and you will end up quitting and working at a grocery store when you could have contributed to Math. Stop it, get to it. One other thing to keep in mind is that as you study mathematics you will get better at pattern recognition at least slightly thereby increasing your IQ possibly. Which again, doesn't really matter much.

 

[dijkarte]

Levis2, if you are confident that you are not smart enough to do math then I agree with you, it would be a big waste of time and effort trying to excel in a subject that you think you are not qualified enough for.
However if you are uncertain about your abilities and you tend to believe some stupid "IQ test" then do the real test yourself. Study math and if you failed the courses then try another uni, because failing the first time is not the end. I know friends who tried several uni's until finally they got PhD.
I have an IQ of -250, I got straight F's at university exams, but I consider myself a great mathematician because I believe in my talents and abilities, even if many disagree, and regardless of what the "academia standards" are.

 

[Shackleford]

Levis2, if you are confident that you are not smart enough to do math then I agree with you, it would be a big waste of time and effort trying to excel in a subject that you think you are not qualified enough for.
However if you are uncertain about your abilities and you tend to believe some stupid "IQ test" then do the real test yourself. Study math and if you failed the courses then try another uni, because failing the first time is not the end. I know friends who tried several uni's until finally they got PhD.
I have an IQ of -250, I got straight F's at university exams, but I consider myself a great mathematician because I believe in my talents and abilities, even if many disagree, and regardless of what the "academia standards" are.

Is this a serious post? I detect a bit of facetiousness/sarcasm towards the end, but you never know. Haha.

 

[dijkarte]

I quote myself here:

...even if many disagree, and regardless of what the "academia standards" are.

I would say it's a bit of humor.

 

[Shackleford]

I quote myself here:

I would say it's a bit of humor.

Yes, that indeed was the trigger. Haha.