Interested in Joining My Polymath Project on Real Analysis?

AI Thread Summary
VKnopp, a 14-year-old math enthusiast with Asperger's Syndrome, has self-educated up to Calculus III and plans to teach real analysis using Walter Rudin's textbook. He seeks to create an online community for learning and teaching real analysis, hoping to recruit instructors and students from the forum. The discussion highlights mixed reactions to his mention of being in the top 99.999th percentile for intelligence, with some emphasizing the importance of hard work over IQ. Others suggest that such claims can come off as pretentious and may not foster the right connections. VKnopp expresses gratitude for the feedback and inquires about interest in the project after a hiatus from the internet.
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I forgot to formally introduce myself on this forum. I am VKnopp. I am 14 year old maths enthusiast with Asperger's Syndrome. I self-educated myself all the way up to Calculus III with a little bit of number theory, linear algebra, complex analysis and real analysis supplements. I am in the top 99.999th percentile for intelligence according to the results from an intelligence test that was overseen by a licensed professional.

My education has been very scattered. I plan on taking some courses at a university this spring. Real Analysis is not a prerequisite for the next course I'm taking. I still think it would be a could idea to self-teach myself real analysis come this spring.

So I decided I would like to start a project on the internet. I would like to learn and teach real analysis from/to other like-minded individuals on the internet. The main textbook for this course will be the classic Principles of Mathematical Analysis by Walter Rudin with a little bit of topology supplements. I am hoping to recruit some instructors and students from this forum to see how a community can come together and benefit from each other.

Let me know what you think.
 
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VKnopp said:
I am in the top 99.999th percentile for intelligence according to the results from an intelligence test that was overseen by a licensed professional.

That's great, but it's not a substitute for hard work. Work hard to learn as much math as you can, and see how far that takes you.

Welcome to the forum!
 
VKnopp said:
I am in the top 99.999th percentile for intelligence according to the results from an intelligence test that was overseen by a licensed professional.

Good for you, but I don't see how this is relevant. IQ tests are very much irrelevant when it comes to science and math. I've known several people with quite a high IQ who couldn't handle mathematics for several reasons. On the other hand, there are people with a lower than average IQ (for example: me), who are able to get a career in math. Nothing beats hard work. And this is the problem with high IQ's: they never learned to handle setbacks since everything always goes well for them. But everybody suffers setbacks eventually, and naturally talented people don't seem to be able to handle this well.
Sure, you got the raw talent for science. Good. But don't neglect the rest, since they are way more important.
 
micromass said:
Good for you, but I don't see how this is relevant. IQ tests are very much irrelevant when it comes to science and math. I've known several people with quite a high IQ who couldn't handle mathematics for several reasons. On the other hand, there are people with a lower than average IQ (for example: me), who are able to get a career in math. Nothing beats hard work. And this is the problem with high IQ's: they never learned to handle setbacks since everything always goes well for them. But everybody suffers setbacks eventually, and naturally talented people don't seem to be able to handle this well.
Sure, you got the raw talent for science. Good. But don't neglect the rest, since they are way more important.

I agree with you. I was just introducing myself.
 
VKnopp said:
I agree with you. I was just introducing myself.

So you feel that scoring well on an IQ test is one of the most important things about yourself? Important enough to mention in a short introduction.
 
micromass said:
So you feel that scoring well on an IQ test is one of the most important things about yourself? Important enough to mention in a short introduction.

It put it because it's an interesting thing about myself and I really don't have much to share about myself, so I decided to add it in.
 
I think it's best never to mention such things to other people ever. Just a hint. I mean, it's cool you were able to achieve this, but mentioning this in a first post about yourself isn't really going to get you the right kind of attention from people.
 
micromass said:
I think it's best never to mention such things to other people ever. Just a hint. I mean, it's cool you were able to achieve this, but mentioning this in a first post about yourself isn't really going to get you the right kind of attention from people.

Okay, thank you for the advice. I believe I was told not to do this somewhere else, it apparently makes me look pretentious and arrogant.
 
I started reading Baby Rudin with @VKnopp for some weeks, but unfortunately, I was confiscated any access to the Internet for many months, I'm only back now. Is anyone still interested in such a project?
 
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