I graduated highschool in 1996 with a D average. Math was my worst subhect. I joined the navy in 1999 and spent 10 years there. I went back to college and majored in mathematics in 2009. Today, im a lead electrochemical engineer in the Lithium-ion battery industry. Anything is possible if you work hard enough!
@@theeamazingkrabb5358 I think some people believe that you are either good at maths or you’re not;but I think that really a good excuse not to work hard.
@@None-if3mo no I was just wondering for others.i find mathematics easy and have never really struggled.i was just saying about my peers so I could better motivate them 👍
The Stanford University offered a course online from 2014: "How to learn math for students". They noticed the difference between those who did and those who didn't like math is the experiences they had. Sometimes they thought " we're not fast enough", but when you work with many mathematicians, they are not usually fast math thinkers. They are deep mathematical thinkers.
Marketing is all that matters, though. Without it, even the most intelligent people in ANY subject will remain invisible until their deaths. It is what it is.
it's a problem with how maths is tested in school as a timed, rehearsed thing, facilitating more fast rote learning and less deep and thorough understanding. the former gives more marks, generally. If anyone was a student I know what they'd be prioritising...
As a person who aced almost everything in high school, the university really taught me this lesson. I had never failed in my studies as I did in the University. It was a really humbling experience. It has made me appreciate the process of failure more and has helped me improve my work ethic in my quest to become a robotics engineer.
University was difficult for me. Because I had to kick out the notion that this was just like a high school course where I could just pick up an assignment and be done with it in 15 minutes. I knew self-studying was necessary. But I never, truly, internalized this. And no matter the talent, if I spent no time studying for the test...I didn't do well on the test.
whats your plan to become a robotics engineer? i havent done projects currently in my undergrad i was super distracted, so i plan to do a masters in robotics..
This comment almost perfectly describes me. Due to my natural intelligence, school always came easy to me and so I was a straight A student until my parents got divorced, which is when I moved to a new place in 8th grade. I can't say for sure why, but I lost interest in school completely after that. I stopped doing the majority of my homework besides the big projects, and I almost never studied. Yet, because of my ability to ace my quizzes and tests without studying at all, my scores on the big projects that I did do, and the multitude of honors and AP classes that I took that give a +1 to the numbers used in the GPA calculation, I still finished high school with like a 3.5 GPA (not impressive, based on what I was capable of, but good enough, considering how little effort I put and all the 0's I got for hw). This did nothing to build my discipline or my work ethic. I went into college with the same lack of care or effort, at the University of Illinois. I can tell you that college was a different experience. It was humbling after I was on the verge of failing out of the school due to not attending more than half my classes and getting numerous C's. I ended up transferring out and taking community college courses for a year and staying at home while my mom worked on building back up my confidence and teaching me about not giving up. Round two at university went much, much better and I graduated a few years later. And yet, I ran into a similar issue when I went into the work force and I had to learn the same lesson all over again smh. I regret having to learn this lesson twice, but I have thoroughly learned it now. Talent alone can cover for a lot and take you pretty high, but without determination and effort, you can easily fall when you're near the top.
Personally, uni made me realize how much of a mess I mentally am, in high school and before (though I had the best grades everywhere), I could never understand why some thing clicked instantly and other things didn't, and why I couldn't understand things that didn't click instantly, no matter how hard I tried. The way I understand how I think now, is that I have practically no working memory and ability to visualize things, and these things are absolutely crucial in the process of remembering, understanding and thinking, which means that if something is not easy enough that I can inherently grasp it, then there is no way that I can mentally understand it. However, I can kind of replace my lack of working memory through heavy note-taking, and my lack of mental imagery through physical diagrams and such, making it way longer than for most people to understand things (I have to write and read everything) but at least it works. I would never have understood that if I didn't utterly fail my classes at uni so I'm glad it happened that early in my life.
I had the domestic abuse childhood so looking back I had bad PTSD. I didn't do anything in high school, not because I didn't want to but because I was in a daze of confusion. I worked at a small town bakery and watched a guy work the ovens for 30 years for minimum wage and it hit me "I don't want to do this". I was in the lowest 10% of the class and actually met the guy that was on the bottom and he laughed at it. I was in the crab bucket. I went to the school counselor and she told me it didn't look good and no way could I get in to Michigan Tech. One Saturday I got into my beat-up car and drove to the school and walked into the 2 year associate program Dean's office. I introduced myself and told him I didn't want to be in manual labor the rest of my life. He was professional and polite and we talked for a while and I shook his hand and drove home. The following Monday the school counselor called my name over the intercom and I went to her office. She had a smile on her face and asked "so how did you like my husband"? I didn't even put the two names together to be honest. She said he signed a letter that stated if I kept my grades above a C, I would get a special wavier to allow me to enter the 2 year mechanical engineering program and if I kept my grades above a C, I could stay. I never worked so hard in my life but got all A's and B's the first quarter and I was working part time at the bakery. I found that the ASEE major was more interesting so I changed majors, because I worked, it took me 3 years to get my Associated degree. Since I had time, I took the first EE Calculus course because I loved Calculus (it was so amazing to me). Well I got a D and I have to say limits was a tough concept and pictured running over Cauchy with my car. My boss came up to me after I graduated and told me to get an BSEE since he was one. I filled out the application and didn't realize my GPA was 1.9 and whoever got the application went out of their way to write me a long letter chastising me about being so stupid to think I would get into MTU BSEE program with such a low GPA. Well I got into my car and knocked on the Dean's door and told him my situation and he said he couldn't justify letting me in. I got a little more passionate and he smiled and signed a wavier and I was in (he said "I had the right attitude"). The next day my boss came up to me and said he got a call from the Dean - they went to school together and were friends. He patted me on the back and said good job. Working and the EE course work was 10 times more difficult and I never was able to get more than B's and some D's during the holiday months because work was so much more difficult. I finally had a breakdown and had to stop working, I managed to get just enough money to finish my last year just concentrating on school work (I was done with the homework by 5:00 everyday). I studied with a guy and helped him but he always got an A and I got a B and he would laugh because I knew the material better than he did. I studied to learn and I realize now that you also need to study to pass tests (not a bad thing). I had time to take extra courses so I signed up for a course in solid state physics because I wanted to learn more about semiconductors. I was rejected and walked into the teacher’s office and asked if I could sit in and listen, he asked why I just didn't take the course and I told them they rejected the request. He said follow me, and he went in the admin office and when he came out he handed me a signed paper and said “here you’re in my course”. That was the only A I got in the BSEE program. I think because on many levels it was engaging, it was a challenge, and I had a passion for the subject matter. Looking back I think many people are just distracted and/or bored, it’s not that they are stupid. You defiantly have to be able to relax, now when I study it seems so much easier, and the childhood anxiety has passed. Another thing is to try and get as many books on the subject as you can. I found Morris Cline’s calculus book and it has several chapters that are easy to understand verses my other books but I still use Earl Swokowski’s Calculus book since that is what I studied in school. I ended up writing firmware for embedded system’s (using mostly the C Language) and it has been a challenging career that pays well. Some of my firmware is running on medical devices and TV remote controls. Find something you like to do that pays well if you don’t see yourself doing pure research. I would have loved to work in semiconductor research but it just didn’t work out and it's not worth the risk going to far into debt. Writing firmware allowed me the freedom to move on when managers abused their authority, the work got too boring, or the tech would be a dead end in a few years (like Windows CE). Don’t be a camper and stay in the first job you get. My first job was doing EMP testing for the Air Force and I just couldn’t see staying in that job for my entire career even though it was a great first job for me. Keep your job solving skills up to date. I’ve read many resumes from engineers that coasted at companies like Motorola that were stuck when the mass layoffs happened. Just thought I would share my story in case a younger person can benefit from it.
Dude yes. I have been that *talented* kid, but in college I hit a brick wall. I had the hardest time getting used to studying hard, but using my discipline I gained from weightlifting, I became a good student. I started to love mathematics again and became confident enough to pursue it. Anyways, thanks for the great content!
Spot on video. Growing up I was always told I was "smart". Coupled with this I figured out the education system rather fast and was able to get honors without a whole lot of determined and diligent work. When a difficult or different concept came along that I didn't understand I avoided it because I still could get honors without working on those difficult concepts. Add to this I was way too much of a linear thinker. When I went to University I got my rear end handed to me. My school chum who had a stellar work ethic completed his degree in engineering and has gone on I am sure to be a multimillionaire. We both had close grades before engineering. I had an entitled view of my abilities when there was no basis for this entitlement. To the parents out there if you want your children to be successful do not inflate their egos by telling them they are smart. At an early age instill habits of discipline and regularity. My parents allowed me to quit as soon as I didn't like things. Primping up your children with undue accolades is much like the foolish grandparent who buys the large slurpee for their already overweight grandchild. This grandparent may be giving what the immature child "wants" but in the end they are on a crash course with diabetes. The same is true by sugaring up your children by stroking their ego and pride with undue praise and commendation - you will give them educational "diabetes". One of my goals in life is to someday retake University year one Calculus and pass it. Thanks to the Math Sorcerer for an excellent video.
My parents were the opposite. They always told me that my results were acceptable even when I got a 95 in Math. They were proud behind my back to others. I kept pushing through school, engineering & im now pursuing MBA. I don't know what else to do other than study lol.
I used to be a progamer, long story. The jist was it took me years and over 15,000 hours to get on the level of someone who could get to where I was in months. I was always frustrated with my prospects, wonderinng what they had that I didn't. Eventually I learned to make this my strength though. I kept on improving in the thick of it where talent hit a wall and shit got brutal. Resilience and grit was my strength. Ultimately I'm no longer a progamer, now I'm a biochemical engineering student. That time was not wasted though. I took with me that resilience and grit and I still use it as my strength as a student, and it turns out I have quite the aptitude for math. All I've ever really known was how to take a beating, but now I'm doing something different. That lesson was still so valuable, I wish everyone could experience it. I view being able to go where no one else wants to go as my talent, it's a skillset that trumps any other skillset.
I was gifted in most subjects until late high school/early college and then when I couldnt grasp something, i fell apart. Youre so right about discipline beating natural talent. Of course, when one can combine natural talent with dogged determination, thats where the real superstars come from.
I was working on my math while listening to this video simultaneously, and I felt compelled to put down my pencil to express my appreciation for these videos. For the first time in the realm of mathematics, I feel like I've found people who resonate with my feelings. It's easy to encounter individuals who either love math and are good at it, or despise math, struggle with it, and wish to avoid it at all costs. However, I believe many here represent a unique intersection of these experiences. We are people who are interested in improving and perhaps admit we are not that proficient yet. It's comforting to discover a place where I feel understood, a place where being less skilled doesn't equate to stupidity or increase the likelihood of giving up. Thank you, professor.
exactly what I feel, so thank you for putting this so well into words. I can’t wait to show others my hopefully better results in math, by using the knowledge I discovered from this RUclips channel, but also the commentsection here.
In high school I was a mediocre student. I often blamed my own intelligence and traits. As I approach the end of college I’ve had some family death and paternal sickness that drastically changed how hard I applied myself to studies. I’ve been a straight A student for two years in university now, and I roughly commit 15-24 hours per week to my studies. My issue was never learning and understanding, but rather my issue was how I applied rigor to studying… it was discipline. I found it easier to embrace my own studies now that I know what I want to do as well, and with the passion that came with my studies it made it easier to want to study, for my own future, stability, and career.
The experience of hitting a wall is even worse for those of us with natural talent in mathematics as well as ADHD. I was undiagnosed until my late twenties because school came easily and I didn't display any hyperactivity symptoms. It wasn't until I got to complex variables that I was challenged by a math class. Unfortunately, not only was I inexperienced when it came to responding to setbacks in learning, but I also didn't possess the time management skills to respond even if I knew how. Fast forward 25 years and I'm taking abstract 400 level math classes. I got triggered hearing that discipline is what it takes to succeed when the content gets challenging, because I can and do work hard, I'm just horribly inefficient. I watch lectures and I zone out, especially when everything is done abstractly and no concrete examples are provided. I watch youtube videos, but most of them are too dry to hold my interest. I try to read my text, and the information goes in my eyes and out my ears. Of course that's if I even get through more than a page before getting distracted. I take notes, and that helps, but it's tedious and doesn't necessarily help me understand. The only thing that ever really helps me learn math is concrete problem solving with lots of repetition, but it seems like this happens less and less in higher math courses. Has anyone here overcome the double whammy of hitting a wall when things get challenging AND dealing with ADHD symptoms? I'd love some new strategies to try.
Not sure if this would help, but from reading your post I get the feeling that there may be a disconnect between reading/hearing (at face value) vs understanding what you hear (getting to the meaning BEHIND what you see/hear at face value) As someone with ADHD myself, I tend to hyper focus (and also not be able to control how focused I get, sometimes it’s really intense, sometimes not at all) on certain things…and in some school systems we are unfortunately trained to learn and memorize things verbatim, which is although “efficient” when conveying information, limits its usefulness to the receiver after it is conveyed. I suspect that you might be suffering from a similar problem in which your process focuses too much on the “finite” things (such as the exact wording used, or graph, etc), and thus shirk the “translation” to a “language” YOU can understand (even if it doesn’t look like it’s something anybody else can). That’s why we are at the same time told to paraphrase, as it both converts the message to something digestible and usable to you, but also helps imprint it in your mind at a deeper level. I’m sure we already do this to an extent in every scenario, but maybe it’s worth trying to put more weight to that end rather than the “verbatim” part. This might both better appeal to your interest levels & also really stretch out your understanding of a subject if it isn’t fully sinking in. This process isn’t easy, and in my experience can take a lot more time and experiment to develop into a system that works for each individual (heck, I’m still working on it myself). In our case I’m afraid there’s more to it than simply developing and having discipline, as it’s doubly if not even more important to focus in “the right places”. Instead of focusing on the FINITE things, try to think more in the direction about how it “feels like it means” to YOU as a starting point (pardon the lack of a better wording), thus tapping into the infinite permutations of conveying the same message and picking out the ones that feel most intuitive to you (after all, language & math symbols and all that are arbitrary finite constructs that we human beings came up with to relay information). People with ADHD tend to be more controlled by how they feel than by what they think. In a learning process we largely deem to be one that should be at times solely driven by logic, if we can really tap in to using what we “feel” properly in combination with our individual learning process, it might even boost our effectiveness beyond that of people without ADHD. By “feeling”, I’m not just talking about the usual connotation of emotions, but other things that you subjectively experience that words can’t seem to adequately describe. This could be notably the very things distracting you when you are trying to learn and maintain your interest…the lack of interest may indicate that it’s simply pointed elsewhere…and possibly quite sharply. Imagine if we could somehow leverage that sharp interest in something else to really push our progress. Either there’s a way to combine that with what we have to focus on in the moment…or you may just be focusing on the wrong thing (maybe that particular mathematical topic isn’t for you, at least at that point in time…but then if you’re in a school system in which you have to follow the course pace, that is a little less fortunate…which is why I’ve found it so much more rewarding to access all these self-learning resources online right now) This has been my personal experience at least, and I might have gotten a little out there & I’m not sure if this addresses your conundrums, but if anything isn’t clear to you I’m more than happy to try to elaborate
For more specifics regarding ADHD I find that Dr. K at the channel HealthyGamerGG has some really helpful videos explaining the mechanics of ADHD and how to work with/around it
Yeah....Didn't realize that I had ADHD and Working Memory Deficits ,and I couldn't pass an intro to Calculus class , even taking the course 4 times !...... I kept forgetting what I was "solving for" when i was trying to figure out rates of change....was a Physical deficit in my memory !.....its like not being able to see the colour blue. Flunked out of college after that !......now in my fifties, it doesn't bother me, I am who Am !
I’m self-studying calc 1 right now after hitting a wall years ago in college. Finding a tutor to work with me once a week has been an absolute game-changer. If you have ADHD I cannot recommend it enough.
I just got my results for finals. I failed the majority of my modules. It's hard to believe I was a top achiever in my high school. But engineering is just so hard, it introduced me to failure and just keeps pounding me. The hardest thing is having to explain to my mom why I keep failing. Sometimes I want to die so bad, all my peers are ahead in life and I'm still stuck in undergrad. I don't whether to give up, or whether to continue it's a lot!
You have to keep on pushing through. Life is full of ups and downs. Don’t compare yourself to others since we all have our own journeys in life. Just give it your all and you will succeed🙏🏾.
Engineering is about sweating, sacrificing every weekend in order to keep on track of subjects, it's about that. But if you put the blood, you'll learn to put the work for what you want. Keep going, seek strength in God and have confidence in your right arm, we are all gonna make it.
Depression completely ruined my academic life , and now all my peers are at least a decade ahead of me. You’re not alone, my story is probably alot worse.
This video is brilliant, because it goes beyond the common sense of "if you are not smart enough, just keep trying". Like, I have never realized that not being smart enough means I have experience dealing with frustration - something talented people lack. Great insights here!
I was always the underdog in the discrete math class. I have never had a class where I had to prove stuff, and the skills that required us to break down the problem and prove the statement just weren't there yet. So I failed the class, went through countless other classes where I again had to prove . And finally after some time it just came naturally to me, no matter the course, no matter the problem.
I was the super smart kid with no discipline, so the talent didn't really take me very far at all. I'm in my mid-40s now, still smart, but have learned discipline and it makes such a difference in learning, even the things that I was already good at.
In school, math has always been something difficult for me. Now I do it as a hobby. With every problem I solve, I become smarter, more determined. Sorry for my poor English, it's not my mother tongue. The Math Sorcerer - you're really the best👍
This video is like a punch in the gut for me. I used to be the kid in class who always aces math tests with barely any studying, due to me understanding the concepts at a far better rate than my peers. But as I got older, the reality is that talent can only get you so far, so when I got my first failing grade in a test ( due to me not providing proper solutions) I felt like crap. From that moment, it was the first time in a long while that I experienced it, so it was really hard for me to recover and accept that result. Now that time has passed, and my mindset changing, I understood that obstacles are not for the faint of heart, where failure is just a stage of it. We can use those stumbling blocks and stack them to make stepping stones by sheer strength and hard work. Thank you for the video professor, this was a great wake up call for me, and I feel better that many, many people are in the same situation as I was. Good luck to everyone who are currently experiencing it, I wish you well.
_Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent won't! Nothing is more common than unsuccessful man with talent. Genius won't. Unrewarded genius is practically a cliche. Education won't! The world is full of educated fools. Persistence and determination alone are all-powerful._
Thanks for the encouraging videos 🙏🏼 I just turned 50, and I’m now in second year of a physics and philosophy major. I’ve always loved math, and intended to go back ‘one day’ but wow, calculus and physics are seriously kicking my butt.. I’ve failed 2 courses for the first time ever, and it’s discouraging. I’m persistent though, and happy I came here for motivation
Our long-term development is ultimately a gamble. We never know if we've already unlocked all of our genetic potential or if the best is still yet to come. Plus we usually experience lots of ups and downs instead of any straightforward linear pathway to progress, so don't mistake that as a reason to get discouraged. On top of that, it's really hard to tell exactly where natural ability ends and where hard work begins. Whether we're talking about brains or muscle, a person's genes generally give a broad range of potential. So never stop trying to become the best version of yourself.
I had a very similar experiences like you did with just not getting it while younger. After my time in the service my view on what I could achieve changed. I was able to do things academically I would have never dared to attempt. I think it’s a mix of intelligence , luck, and being able to see it as a possibility. Now I watch math videos for fun..lol. The core of my message is , can you see yourself achieving if even just a little bit ? If you fail , fail better , fail all the way to the finish line if you have to.
Push yourself “to failure” as they say when lifting weights. This applies DOUBLY if you think you’re talented or really good. Don’t be satisfied to get an A if it comes easy to you. If it comes easy to you, go into the deeper end until it’s not so easy. A helpful exercise: find someone who thinks they are bad at what you’re good at but who genuinely wants to succeed. Tutor them. Try to instill them with confidence and help them succeed. Consider their success your success and their failure you’re failure. I guarantee you will think about your subject in a whole new way and you will learn how to deal with setbacks and failures and really appreciate your successes. Then take a student who is not so enthusiastic and try with them.
I’m a dude with adhd I’ve always struggled with school from first grade all the way to my last day of high school when I left high school I still had sophomore credits I dropped out twice cause I was tired of it and I let all those shitty teachers get to my head telling me I won’t amount to nothing in my life. I got involved with the wrong crowd and got involved with drugs and alcohol because I didn’t believe in myself I lost all hope in myself I’m 25 now and holy shit life is hitting me like a ton of bricks, I want to change it, so I’ve made the choice to get my GED and go to school and prove to myself that I can do it I wanna learn physics and I know it’s a hard subject but I find it very interesting. I’ve been practicing my math and learning little by little by myself and holy shit I never realized how easy algebra could be I’ve been refreshing myself on all basic math stuff and I’m enjoying it a lot I never thought I’d see the day of me doing math by myself without anyone asking me to do. This is a new chapter in my life and I’m ready I know I’m gonna struggle hella, fuck it life’s a risk carnal.
Success = Talent * Effort^Focus This applies to learning Math, Physics, etc., just as it applies to learning to play music, a sport or learning a foreign language.
i was one of those talented not trying hard enough kids when i was a teenager, didnt try that much, took me turning 30 to get my act together and learn those lessons. ty for makin this video.
I'm not a math enthusiast, but I enjoy your videos. They are usually applicable to other courses of study too. This one made a solid point. Growing up, I was naturally gifted at a handful of subjects, and could muddle my way through the others. Chose not to stray from the things I was good at for a long time. Once the years started passing and I started trying to learn things I was *more* interested in but *not* naturally talented in, it was truly sobering. It's been a hard road, because in addition to whatever new things I've chosen to study, I've had to learn a "meta-skill" alongside it, which is not giving up (which is what I always used to do when something didn't come naturally). It's been humbling, but in the best possible sense.
“ Nine times out of ten, dogged persistence WILL win over natural talent.” Gen. Sams USAF approx. yr. 1982. Having read this quote has rallied my efforts over and over throughout the years.
You are so right about this. I'm a "gifted" learner, but that only gave me the expectation that schooling would always be easy, and I learned the hard way just how much I had neglected my ability to cope with and work through challenging situations. I have very little discipline, and being a 'gifted' learner seems to have hamstrung me in a way.
For many parts of my life I was one of those quote on quote talented kid. I aced exams no problem but today here I am learning the ways of effort. I must say, the number of people that have surpassed me whom I thought was mediocre at best must be counted with more than 2 hands. We really take things for granted when they're easy so I really respect and fear people who are just driven and locked tf in.
I graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA and failed algebra 2 TWICE before passing with a 70. Ten years later, I’ve placed highest in my college algebra class in overall grade and scored the highest in the last two midterms. When I entered the class, I had a 7th grade level of mathematical skill. And that’s being quite generous. I actually scored a 53 in the first exam and seriously considered dropping the class. Later that week, I stumbled onto this channel, and I’ve been an avid watcher as well as grinding for 3+ hours daily (squeezing study time whenever I can, as work and am married). It’s possible, y’all. Never give up.
Another great video. I think the importance of patience can't be underestimated.... with modern life all being about speed that acts against being patient and taking the time needed.
I was always fascinated with space and tech but my teachers always told me I was too dumb at math to study physics…I’m a 4th yr PhD student in theoretical physics. I didn’t start my studies until I was 33. My secret? I just studied hard…lots of work and effort
Not a math person but I love the advice your giving. I do think we all have talents but for different things. But I really do believe where your heart draws you can give you not only the the best fulfilment, but also the greatest lessons. Even if it doesn't work out for you.
I personaly think that i am that guy who end all the test first in almost every class i have in highschool, and all my grades are very very good, but some day i start to learn pre calc by my own and i completely failed. When i watch this video for the first time i start to work in my discipline and my capacity to accept failure. Now i'm trying to aced it. Thanks you dear math Sorcerer.
i was one of those talanted students, currently in my late 20s, I'm trying to learn a disciplined way of studying, life has humbled me many times in the way you describe in this video. It gets to the point where I'm uncertain whether I'm even able to learn anything at all, but I am slowly improving by relearning basic concepts before chewing through more serious textbooks.
For all the great perspectives I've gained and to see your genuine care for ordinary people, I'm embarassed to say that the mention of Rudy made my mind immediately wander to Rudy Ayoub...
I feel like the talented kid who hit the brick wall at uni (physics degree). I never used to ask help from others as I never used to have to. I failed uni and regret not asking for help and being so shy. I am 31 now feeling like a failure now on a low paid job. This video is great. I hope everyone who watches this gains some motivation like I have
I like that you give some real life examples. Some people are naturally gifted,they reach their goals without much effort. Of course we are intelligent,talented but lack patience and discipline, resulting in failure.
So much truth here. A professor of mine that I look up to said in an interview about his life once, that he had to work harder than the more talented people to get where he got. "A hard working mediocre student will beat a talented person that doesn't work as hard". He managed to explain theoretically a physical phenomenon that now bears his name (along with the name of his PhD thesis advisor). Thank you again. I really love these motivating videos you make. Keep it up.
I can confirm what he says as I have first-hand experience of this. I have been marked as "gifted", "talented", etc. from my childhood, and things came really easy to me. I had the worst work-ethic. I studied for some hours outside class for tests and would ace those tests- scoring much better than people who worked for weeks. This gave me a lot of confidence and I never learned to work really hard for tests. I was hit hard in college. Because, although I'd score the highests in quizzes, and would 'get' things faster than anyone else, I would bomb the final tests and other people got much ahead of me. I have a tested IQ of , and yet there are many people who are earning more money than me, and are more prosperous than me in life. Because they had good work ethics. One thing I learned in a hard way: you have to work really hard on things to get ahead in life- even if you don't like those things. You cannot be choosy. If you like Calculus, and not Complex Analysis- you need to study both anyway to get good grades, and good grades will help you land better higher-ed opportunities. So, learn from me: BEING REALLY SMART WON'T MAKE YOU AUTOMATICALLY SUCCESSFUL. You have to work really hard, and work hard on things that you don't even like. That's life.
I'm not sure why since I knew eve you said in this video, but this was really inspiring for some reason. I swear I've heard this countless times... I must be in a critical point in my life. I can sense it.
I knew this guy in Stourbridge, England. He was kind of a goth, very social awkward, with quite poor articulation. He turned out to be studying pure maths I think. To look at him you wouldn't have believed it. I guess we get different talents. The problem is that society rewards certain talents more than others which then puts pressure on kids at school. You might be a great musician but you aren't still going to need maths for university so the pressure builds and then of course you can't learn as you are under stress.
I personally think it's about being a better you everyday. Don't worry about everyone else as long as you are constantly improving. If you are the best or the worst or anywhere in between, be your own competition. Realize your potential for its own sake.
Ah...College Physics... This is when I learned that a science class and a math class are not the same thing just because math is involved in both. There were so few people by the end of it. I guess it was a wake up call for a lot of other people too, maybe even in that very particular regard. Funny thing is I remember a lot of stuff from that class; forces, friction, how they interact. It really did give me a better understanding of the Physics of the world.
There are two things that are available to you beyond raw intelligence. People talk a lot about persistence and determination, and being able to cope with failure. That is extremely important. What I think is less appreciated is the role of curiosity and creative drive. Nothing propels you like being deeply fascinated by something in a subject. I think this is necessary to fuel that willingness to try again and again, and take the time to understand something even if it takes you 5-10x longer than a naturally gifted student. For average intellect people, It's not so much the intellectual ability to grasp concepts that determines your outcome so much as the love of the knowledge that you will attain on the other side.
I'm surprised that your understanding about "talented people" is spot on. I mean, you are mathematician, not a psychologist/psychiatrist. That's exactly what my therapist said to me. I was that "naturally talented" person and yeah, as you said, I failed due to not having patience and discipline when I need to relearn some things. I struggle with insecurity and lack of self identity due to my failure. And you right again, all of my "mediocre" friends, who were accustomed to "failure" are all more progressive in life than me right now 😂
Thank you for the inspiration. That story about your student always being there and putting in effort really touched me as well as your own struggles. You’re doing such a great service and I’ll be sure to spread the message ❤
Thank you for this inspiring talk, sir. I am an English language teacher in Italy. Naturally, I see students of varying capacities and those with different levels of motivation. I agree with what you say about the struggles some of them have to face on a daily basis, and I see the determination they use to overcome them. Equally there are those with quite brilliant minds who can find it unbearably frustrating to meet that ‘wall’ on the ‘obstacle course’ of learning and will all too easily throw in the towel. What a waste of their talent. I am always trying to encourage students not to give up and, of course, I am there for those that are having difficulties but are willing to fight to overcome them. Wishing you a nice day and a successful continuation in your career.
As a struggling student in mathematics, I can totally relate. Having unsatisfying grade while working hard is super frustrating. But when I imagine how I improved because of all my efforts, it just gives me more motivation to continue like that and put even more effort. I'm even working math on holidays to get better for my last bachelor year. But I'm affraid to not be able to get good enough for a Ph.D. I wonder if Ph.D. and research (in math particularily) is reserved for talented people only. Thoughts on that? Thanks for this video, that's what I needed to hear.
I’m reminded of a famous quote by Calvin Coolidge. ‘Silent’ Cal never said much, but when he did, it was to the point: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” -Calvin Coolidge
More excellent content, mate! I love that your channel isn't only about math, but also about the emotional component of learning and motivation. Thank you. :)
Great lesson! I had this issue with drawing and arts. Last year I started drawing and saw that I was learning drawing easily and progressing very fast. My brother work with arts (concept and illustration) and when he started guiding my studies, my progress just exploded even more. But even with this inclination to learn fast, I hit a bottom when compared with great artists. From there, I saw that it will be needed thousands of hours of discipline and deliberate practice (even with my talent). On the other hand I struggle with programming since the first day I started it. Programming is helping me to deal with the hard part of learning to draw, because since day one I'm used to deal with difficulties.
Education is not a factory floor, and students are not widgets to be analyzed for faulty design or implementation as they (we) move along an ailing and decrepit conveyer belt through the installation departments of school. I spent four years in high school being berated by ignorant instructors and school administration alike for simply being different. Having a learning difference made them think I couldn't accomplish anything. They told me I wasn't good enough for the math classes everyone else was taking. In college, the instructors and school administration couldn't comprehend how I was excelling in programming classes but struggling in math classes. The same ignorance showed up again whereby they told me to my face you are not passing this math class, you should quit computer science -- despite having gotten A's and B's in all the technical computer science classes. That ignorance became my motivation; it became food for persevering -- persevering all the way through Calculus 2 and completing my CS degree. But more importantly, in present day, I approach math on my terms which allows for a pursuit of knowledge and which has made understanding far easier today then back in "math class."
the math's wiz cured my depression and break my believe that i can't do anything without talent and give me motivation to put more effort then I realize that I can finally do math's, addmaths, chemistry and physics very well when i keep working hard! I'm very glad that you create this channel and keep doing what you're doing and I hope you get that 1 million sub milestone!
I was very talented when I was younger. I aced the tests, I was the "smart kid" in the family, stuff came to me naturally. By A-Levels I was having to resit every exam I had taken in secret to avoid disappointing my parents, and after I somehow got into uni (only just) I coasted the first year and completely tanked the rest of it. I had undiagnosed ADHD, and I was deep in the fixed mindset of never being able to do something the moment that I struggled. This lack of genuine challenge when I was younger, and this lack of recognising the signs of my undiagnosed ADHD because I wasn't a nuisance in the classroom has absolutely set my life back from what it could have been. It's important that I recognise this, not to live in the victim mindset, but so that I can make sure I'm engaging my daughter enough, challenging her enough whilst keeping everything fun, encouraging her to enjoy the struggle by struggling alongside her and showing how much I now enjoy the struggle. It's hard to not mourn the life I could have had, I think that's an inevitable human reaction, but I'm keeping mindful that at least I now know, and I now know how to actively struggle and how to keep trying and push through. I work with myself and I'm kind to myself now, I feel encouraged by myself when I struggle because I know that there's something fascinating for me to discover. This is night and day compared to where I used to be, where every struggle was a shot against my core image, my self worth, my self confidence. Every struggle was proof that I wasn't good enough anymore. I'm glad to have figured this out, and I'm glad to be able to pass on my experiences and journey to my daughter so that she can enjoy the frustration of uncovering the unknown. Now, I'm looking to do a masters in Physics so that I can then go and become a qualified teacher, I'm nervous, and I've not signed up to the course just yet, but I'm proving to myself that I can learn very difficult concepts and retain them, and I'm building my confidence that I'll be able to tackle the challenge.
Thank you for your video and advice! I agree that talent is not the only determining factor of success. What you said resonates really well with me. I am currently a student trying to finish with all my math prerequisites before pursuing physics. 😅 I struggle with schizoaffective disorder and I’m not proficient in algebra yet. I agree that with grit and determination, one can overcome most obstacles. I will do my best. Thank you! 🙏
I'm smarter than most (above average atleast). I always get shit grades and used to not value exams and grades. Thinking that if you just work hard to get grades, it doesn't show you are intelligent. Fast forward 10 years, what matters is output, not your input to output ratio. I had no idea the lengths people went to achieve their goals. I have high standards for myself when it comes to health/fitness personality development my hobbies etc but never grades. I have fasted for 24 hours several time, I quite proud of that. I once ran 6 kilometers in an evening, having my last intake of calorie the previous night's dinner. I'm proud of that. I did 100 pushups everyday for 3 weeks straight, I'm proud of that. I don't eat mcdonalds, dominos, drink any soda, even from when I was in grade 8. (im in 3rd year bachelors now) I can climb a rope vertically and the list goes on. I struggled to translate my tenacity towards physical activities into academics. I have come to learn I have shit discipline, whatever I achieved was only when I was either passionate or egotistical. Discipline is doing things consistently even when they aren't fun or rewarding. doing the dull and dusty work day after day. My observation is that intelligence is on a spectrum, you will fell dumb or smart based on who make up your surroundings. therefore nobody has reached the finish line, whatever it may mean for you. everyone is born at varying distances from the start line, some far some closer, but much too far away from the finish line. to finish the race you must run, being born 200m in from of someone is not enough to finish a marathon.
Your videos are trulling inspiring for me. I've entered college last year, with an age of 26 years old. And, being at a public university, I'm struggling a lot with math classes. But I do love math, it is beautiful and I hope someday I can be very goot at it. Thank you for the advices!
The Sorcerer is casting a generous spell of truth and inspiration. As a law student, I am thankful for his messages. His principles apply to all disciplines.
Up until after taking differential equations, I was smart enough that I could wait until three days before the exam to do all the homework/review work and do great. That said, it was uniformly a hellish nightmare of stress and burnout that I would not wish on anyone. Talent really only takes you as far as you're willing to work.
Always start with the big picture. It will connect you to realities you probably have always known and experienced. This approach will give you the initial light and will power to keep you going. A very Brilliant Math Prof told us that. It has worked for most of us.
You have to deal with whatever who you are, that's the point. Once you've understood that, activate the workaround that works with you (and believe me, it can take time!). This is your "job", your right, your time, your needs. No one can do it but you. I've explained that to my kids, and provide whatever is required / possible to their need, still, they have to do. I've got a t-shirt that I've used to put at my job :"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you". And that's the point. We're not all good at explaining, and that's why what you are doing here is important. Thanks again.
I need to say that I'm actually in a strange position when it comes to math. If I understand the logic of what's being done, I'm very fast. But If I'm lost, then I'm extremely slow. I've never met people like me. Usually people tend to just be slow, or fast, and always remain that way. In a test I took in a class in 3rd grade, I was the last to turn in the work, but the only one to get it right. I actually love the exactitude of math, the idea that math can reveal unknown things through its own process. What I don't love is most math teachers. I feel like they are just robots in human form, always answering a question with more math rather than answering the question. And honestly, the way I see it is, why should math ever be hard? If it's a process of calculations, then everyone should be able to do it, even if at a slower pace. I think the problem lies in that math professors are more concerned with getting paid to do math rather than actually teach math to people who know nothing about the material that is obviously new to them.
Thank you for your video, it was an inspiration. I think people who are talented at certain things and who are gifted (In my opinion) take it for granted. I.m 48 and still waiting to find my talent, I have dyslexia, it's been a battle all my life. But, I never give up! Im re learning maths from the beginning and would like to get a GCSE in it at some stage In my life. I mean from the bottom, like addition and subtraction and percentages and fractions, all those good things. .So thank you for your videos.
I am a psychology student - underdog - I never become 1st or got 100 marks ever, but I am 45 years young and doing good on Psychology. Please do make the videos for underdogs like us when ever possible
I have seen this dynamic in the music world. I was naturally talented on the cello. I stood out in college in this way. I had fellow students who were less talented, but they were disciplined. I graduated and came back a couple years later to say hi to my fellow students and I was surprised to see that they had become awesome cellists! Their hard work paid off.
This makes sense, when I was younger, I always had this impression that some things were easier to me than to the others, and I usually received these sorts of compliments about me being smart or even a "genius". But nowadays I feel that some of these people now are much better than me on everything, they are smarter, they are more disciplined, and have more experience and knowledge than me, and I don't feel like a "genius" anymore and I still struggle alot to study and have discipline and I really remember I didn't need so much of that in the past, but it's not that I was becoming less smart, it's more like everybody else evolved more than me.
In the netherlands we have a system that if you fail a certain central exam youd be banished to lower tiers of education. I spent my 4 years on so called VMBO. I was extremely demotivated and I never encountered any math. After like 10 years i was a bit interested and I learned all the high school basics in like a half year. I went to university and i was crushed i could not do anything at all i suddenly had to write proofs which i never had done and i had to stop since i was not used with math being hard. I sometimes hold alot of grudges towards teachers since they failed to recognize my mathematical abilities and the system in the netherlands that basicly banished me from learning anything. Next year i am gonna try it again and i am already learning how to write proofs so i hope i can just accept that i won't get things fast.
I became that smart kid and I was that smart kid. And when people asked how I did it. I made sure they knew and always responded with “I’m not smarter than you. I just do what you’re unwilling to-after failing, I just get back up.”
I love these videos, shorts included, they are so informative and helpful. I am glad I found your channel I found it while taking my differential equations class, a class I struggles in a lot, and your lectures proved to be super helpful to me in understanding some of the material and I passed the class! These videos about learning and any other topic you talk about are all so encouraging. This videos in particular is something I needed to hear because I often feel that I am not smart enough or good enough to keep with my classmates, I am an electrical engineering major, but with your encouraging videos and the other people in my life I have been doing my best, and in my opinion excelling in college even if some of my grades don't reflect that lol. Thank you for doing what you are doing!
I absolutely love your channel. All my life my parents kept telling me that I'm too stupid to learn anything and that I should probably just quit school. I kept struggling at maths, chemistry and physics the most, never getting any help. Only when I moved out and enrolled myself in an online high school, my grades went up and I just couldn't believe what was happening. Barely passed maths in elementary and junior high school, now I nearly got full marks. I want a degree in engineering but my parents voice is still too much present in my mind.
I have a natural talent for learning things, and comprehending it deeply. But I still had to work hard at math my whole life just like everyone else, and struggled at times with things like fractions (becasue it was taught horribly in hindsight). But math was highly logical and it was my best and favorite subject in school. But I am not one of those with natural talent at math. But In school and college I was a 4.0 student, always top of the class, always the curve buster, always one of the first to turn in my tests. But I worked hard to be that. I am highly competitive, and I focused not just on speed but precision and accuracy. I would turn in tests quickly, ace them, and get praised for my handwriting, showing my work, drawing diagrams and pictures to go with my work, etc. I didn't just turn in work as fast as I could, I was simply just that well prepared going into the test. By the time the test came around I could do it in my sleep. I had to work hard to get to the point in many classes, but it's not impossible. I've had to work extremely hard my entire life to get where I am, to accomplish what I have, and to learn things. People always ask me, "how do you know so much?", as they see me as too young to know such things, not realizing many of the topics I know well I've been working on in earnest for 20-30yrs already, maybe more. they don't realize how hard I worked in short time periods, and the tricks i've learned along the way to speed up my ability to absorb and comprehend new information.
I'm interested in a very quantitative and competitive field and returned to school for mathematics. I spent an embarrassing amount of time today looking at reddit posts on r/cognitivetesting and the like, articles from Nassim Taleb, Slate Star Codex, clips from Jordan Peterson, etc on IQ and potential success , and I think your video is what I needed. It's such a waste of time and quite sabotaging. Thank you for this.
What you talk about in this video is super inspiring. I think I'll come back to this video again and again when I'm going through dark times. Proud to be an underdog.
I have always been relatively talented in academic stuff, but I've learned that talent will only take you so far. When I went to college I enrolled in some really hard classes, I felt lost and ended up quitting. I was used to things being easy.. Talented people don't have it all, you may be talented but lack communication skills, teaching skills, organization skills, note writing skills, studying skills, social skills, a strong work ethic, etc.. watching this video reminded me of many of the shortcomings that as a relatively "talented" guy I should be trying to improve
Even though I have worked really hard to get where I am, I have to remind myself when I struggle to learn new skills or solve problems to keep trying. Over time, some things have become very easy for me to learn because I have been doing them for so long. I have done experimental work for over a decade, so I am a natural in the lab. For totally new things, I have to remind myself.
Great video. Very good points. Never saw "Rudy," but always thought of "Gattaca" with Ethan Hawke on that same inspirational level. Gattaca is about a man with genetic flaws living in a world where people are genetically engineered and given advantages. He has to break some of the rules in that society in order to have the opportunity to accomplish his dream.
The teachers in mathematics at elementary school were not good. Beginning in highschool, I was not good at mathematics, nor physics; I preferred biology back then. I had two classmates who were very talented in mathematics, and were always at the forefront. During summer-leave, I got an intense interest in mathematics. Got the next mathematics textbook, studied it over the summer, and was best in my class the following semester. I had caught up with the two who had been best previously, and my teacher was impressed. When I went to university a few years later, I, and the two aforementioned classmates, studied the same civilengineering program. One of them dropped out and went to a teaching-program instead. My other classmate disappeared during the first semester, and I only met him once more, in a very sad state, the next semester. Never seen him since. I have finished the program, and got a quite good job afterwards which I enjoy. Feel very bad about my old high-school classmate, though.
Intelligence itself is not an accomplishment. It is a tool for accomplishing something. I have become what some refer to as a “gifted burnout.” I learned obsessively until I started college, but never developed the discipline to *prove* my knowledge to my teachers. My first mediocre grade was a B- in chemistry and my first failure I believe was Calculus 1 at SLU. I could understand both, but I didn’t care to look away from my screen for long enough to complete the workloads. Long-form projects and papers especially pain me because of that procrastination cycle. I am currently writing a paper due tomorrow night while distracting my mind with RUclips. At least it’s not the night of. Here is my advice for other young gifted burnouts, current or soon-to-be: Exercise as much as you know you should. Eat as much as you know you should. Sleep however much you know you should. Don’t let yourself scour the Internet. Quit every addiction you have and replace them with productive hobbies that are genuinely valuable to you. Cheap entertainment is, by definition, not valuable. I have learned these lessons through tears and miserable, barren years alone that I would relive differently in a heartbeat.
this video reminds me of my experience with real analysis. I did really well in my calculus 1 class last year ( i found it easy since it was a review of older material) so i enrolled to this Advanced Calculus class which was basically introductory real analysis, long story short I was NOT READY for analysis at all. I was quite frustrated because I used to throw all-nighters and watch as many RUclips videos (yours included) on how to prove a limit for a quadratic expression.... But i couldnt for the life of me click the pieces together... I remember getting 30% 40% for my homework even though I had the right answer because analysis is all about the working out to the answer, id constantly think to myself "what the hell do these tutors want me to write because im so confused!" it was like I was in a different world. Needless to say i dropped out of my advanced calculus class and then enrolled in real analysis earlier this year (because now I HAD to pass it to meet further subject requirements, it was not an accelerated class like before). I was sooo nervous because my prior experience in analysis made me afraid of the class. It's funny because even in my real analysis class i felt like I was always so behind everyone else and that I didnt *really* understand the concepts. I would always get corrected by other classmates in group discussions, there were times when instructors would look at me quizzically when I asked questions in class and my heart sank... I felt like I would actually fail the course... I would spend half my week studying real analysis , neglecting my other subjects, but it felt like i was going to fall it.... Yet for some reason, time and time again.... I was getting good grades. It was such a system shock to me to feel so behind compared to everyone else yet ace my homework, its as if orally I was a novice but mentally i was adept in real analysis. Anyways the biggest shock was when I took the final exam and..... it felt easy... just as if not more then my calculus 1 class... I honestly think it was time, I was exposed to elementary analysis for 3-4 weeks in my adv calculus class before i dropped out and my brain had 4 months to subconsciously think about what I learnt. I certainly did not study analysis between then since I was scared of it so it must have been doing some sort of background work. I think I learnt my greatest lesson so far from failure and trying again that day in the exam hall. Sometimes the best way to learn is to take a break from learning.
I would love to tell my story here (for motivation) in this community, but I dare not share it in public. All I wanna add (naturally) to this is: Even if you are extremely talented / intelligent you can encounter very big failures in life and struggle - for whatever reason. And then 'processed' motivational speaks like yours here are just beautiful for us as social beings. So thank you for feeding my resilience
All good suggestions on fundamentals. However, I found personally that coursework became both relevant and easier when I started asking the right questions. So I would suggest including things that immerse students in an engineer's point of view. Such as books on some great projects of the past. My favourites include The Great Bridge by McCullough (about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge). The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Rhodes. The Alchemy of Air by Hager (on the Haber Bosch process). Brunelleschis Dome by King (on the Cathedral in Florence). There are many, many others, to be sure. More generally I suggest.... The Existential Pleasures of Engineering by Florman Engineering in Plain Sight by Hillhouse I would also suggest something on things going wrong and the sobering realization of responsibility. To Engineer is Human by Petroski Five Past Midnight in Bhopal by Lapierre and Moro.
I graduated highschool in 1996 with a D average. Math was my worst subhect. I joined the navy in 1999 and spent 10 years there. I went back to college and majored in mathematics in 2009. Today, im a lead electrochemical engineer in the Lithium-ion battery industry. Anything is possible if you work hard enough!
i wonder do you think mathematics is a learnable skill or will some just never get it?
Absolutely a learnable skill by anyone. Just got to put in the work.
@@theeamazingkrabb5358 I think some people believe that you are either good at maths or you’re not;but I think that really a good excuse not to work hard.
@@oliver2001 no that is a bad excuse. You will never improve with that kind of mindset
@@None-if3mo no I was just wondering for others.i find mathematics easy and have never really struggled.i was just saying about my peers so I could better motivate them 👍
The Stanford University offered a course online from 2014: "How to learn math for students". They noticed the difference between those who did and those who didn't like math is the experiences they had. Sometimes they thought " we're not fast enough", but when you work with many mathematicians, they are not usually fast math thinkers. They are deep mathematical thinkers.
Marketing is all that matters, though. Without it, even the most intelligent people in ANY subject will remain invisible until their deaths. It is what it is.
@@Novastar.SaberCombat thank you for your insights. While marketing is important, it is not the sole determinant of visibility and success.
Is the course still available? If yes where can i find it?
@@cottoncandy7847 Google "Stanford GSE-YEDUC115-S"
it's a problem with how maths is tested in school as a timed, rehearsed thing, facilitating more fast rote learning and less deep and thorough understanding. the former gives more marks, generally. If anyone was a student I know what they'd be prioritising...
My high school track coach used to say, "hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard."
As a person who aced almost everything in high school, the university really taught me this lesson. I had never failed in my studies as I did in the University. It was a really humbling experience. It has made me appreciate the process of failure more and has helped me improve my work ethic in my quest to become a robotics engineer.
University was difficult for me. Because I had to kick out the notion that this was just like a high school course where I could just pick up an assignment and be done with it in 15 minutes.
I knew self-studying was necessary. But I never, truly, internalized this. And no matter the talent, if I spent no time studying for the test...I didn't do well on the test.
whats your plan to become a robotics engineer? i havent done projects currently in my undergrad i was super distracted, so i plan to do a masters in robotics..
I had a different experience. I had a perfect "D" average in high school, but college was a breeze.
This comment almost perfectly describes me. Due to my natural intelligence, school always came easy to me and so I was a straight A student until my parents got divorced, which is when I moved to a new place in 8th grade.
I can't say for sure why, but I lost interest in school completely after that.
I stopped doing the majority of my homework besides the big projects, and I almost never studied. Yet, because of my ability to ace my quizzes and tests without studying at all, my scores on the big projects that I did do, and the multitude of honors and AP classes that I took that give a +1 to the numbers used in the GPA calculation, I still finished high school with like a 3.5 GPA (not impressive, based on what I was capable of, but good enough, considering how little effort I put and all the 0's I got for hw).
This did nothing to build my discipline or my work ethic. I went into college with the same lack of care or effort, at the University of Illinois. I can tell you that college was a different experience. It was humbling after I was on the verge of failing out of the school due to not attending more than half my classes and getting numerous C's. I ended up transferring out and taking community college courses for a year and staying at home while my mom worked on building back up my confidence and teaching me about not giving up. Round two at university went much, much better and I graduated a few years later.
And yet, I ran into a similar issue when I went into the work force and I had to learn the same lesson all over again smh. I regret having to learn this lesson twice, but I have thoroughly learned it now. Talent alone can cover for a lot and take you pretty high, but without determination and effort, you can easily fall when you're near the top.
Personally, uni made me realize how much of a mess I mentally am, in high school and before (though I had the best grades everywhere), I could never understand why some thing clicked instantly and other things didn't, and why I couldn't understand things that didn't click instantly, no matter how hard I tried.
The way I understand how I think now, is that I have practically no working memory and ability to visualize things, and these things are absolutely crucial in the process of remembering, understanding and thinking, which means that if something is not easy enough that I can inherently grasp it, then there is no way that I can mentally understand it.
However, I can kind of replace my lack of working memory through heavy note-taking, and my lack of mental imagery through physical diagrams and such, making it way longer than for most people to understand things (I have to write and read everything) but at least it works.
I would never have understood that if I didn't utterly fail my classes at uni so I'm glad it happened that early in my life.
I had the domestic abuse childhood so looking back I had bad PTSD. I didn't do anything in high school, not because I didn't want to but because I was in a daze of confusion. I worked at a small town bakery and watched a guy work the ovens for 30 years for minimum wage and it hit me "I don't want to do this". I was in the lowest 10% of the class and actually met the guy that was on the bottom and he laughed at it. I was in the crab bucket. I went to the school counselor and she told me it didn't look good and no way could I get in to Michigan Tech. One Saturday I got into my beat-up car and drove to the school and walked into the 2 year associate program Dean's office. I introduced myself and told him I didn't want to be in manual labor the rest of my life. He was professional and polite and we talked for a while and I shook his hand and drove home. The following Monday the school counselor called my name over the intercom and I went to her office. She had a smile on her face and asked "so how did you like my husband"? I didn't even put the two names together to be honest. She said he signed a letter that stated if I kept my grades above a C, I would get a special wavier to allow me to enter the 2 year mechanical engineering program and if I kept my grades above a C, I could stay. I never worked so hard in my life but got all A's and B's the first quarter and I was working part time at the bakery. I found that the ASEE major was more interesting so I changed majors, because I worked, it took me 3 years to get my Associated degree. Since I had time, I took the first EE Calculus course because I loved Calculus (it was so amazing to me). Well I got a D and I have to say limits was a tough concept and pictured running over Cauchy with my car. My boss came up to me after I graduated and told me to get an BSEE since he was one. I filled out the application and didn't realize my GPA was 1.9 and whoever got the application went out of their way to write me a long letter chastising me about being so stupid to think I would get into MTU BSEE program with such a low GPA. Well I got into my car and knocked on the Dean's door and told him my situation and he said he couldn't justify letting me in. I got a little more passionate and he smiled and signed a wavier and I was in (he said "I had the right attitude"). The next day my boss came up to me and said he got a call from the Dean - they went to school together and were friends. He patted me on the back and said good job. Working and the EE course work was 10 times more difficult and I never was able to get more than B's and some D's during the holiday months because work was so much more difficult. I finally had a breakdown and had to stop working, I managed to get just enough money to finish my last year just concentrating on school work (I was done with the homework by 5:00 everyday). I studied with a guy and helped him but he always got an A and I got a B and he would laugh because I knew the material better than he did. I studied to learn and I realize now that you also need to study to pass tests (not a bad thing). I had time to take extra courses so I signed up for a course in solid state physics because I wanted to learn more about semiconductors. I was rejected and walked into the teacher’s office and asked if I could sit in and listen, he asked why I just didn't take the course and I told them they rejected the request. He said follow me, and he went in the admin office and when he came out he handed me a signed paper and said “here you’re in my course”. That was the only A I got in the BSEE program. I think because on many levels it was engaging, it was a challenge, and I had a passion for the subject matter. Looking back I think many people are just distracted and/or bored, it’s not that they are stupid. You defiantly have to be able to relax, now when I study it seems so much easier, and the childhood anxiety has passed. Another thing is to try and get as many books on the subject as you can. I found Morris Cline’s calculus book and it has several chapters that are easy to understand verses my other books but I still use Earl Swokowski’s Calculus book since that is what I studied in school. I ended up writing firmware for embedded system’s (using mostly the C Language) and it has been a challenging career that pays well. Some of my firmware is running on medical devices and TV remote controls. Find something you like to do that pays well if you don’t see yourself doing pure research. I would have loved to work in semiconductor research but it just didn’t work out and it's not worth the risk going to far into debt. Writing firmware allowed me the freedom to move on when managers abused their authority, the work got too boring, or the tech would be a dead end in a few years (like Windows CE). Don’t be a camper and stay in the first job you get. My first job was doing EMP testing for the Air Force and I just couldn’t see staying in that job for my entire career even though it was a great first job for me. Keep your job solving skills up to date. I’ve read many resumes from engineers that coasted at companies like Motorola that were stuck when the mass layoffs happened. Just thought I would share my story in case a younger person can benefit from it.
I hope other people read this too. Got a child who is wicked smart but isn’t willing to engage /focus . Your dedication is simply inspiring.
very cool story, can definitly relate to alot of stuff you mentioned, i think your social skills also played a major role in your academic career :)
Thought I was dumb. Ended up with having adhd and imposter syndrome. I’m gonna learn everyday.
Dude yes. I have been that *talented* kid, but in college I hit a brick wall. I had the hardest time getting used to studying hard, but using my discipline I gained from weightlifting, I became a good student. I started to love mathematics again and became confident enough to pursue it. Anyways, thanks for the great content!
Spot on video. Growing up I was always told I was "smart". Coupled with this I figured out the education system rather fast and was able to get honors without a whole lot of determined and diligent work. When a difficult or different concept came along that I didn't understand I avoided it because I still could get honors without working on those difficult concepts. Add to this I was way too much of a linear thinker. When I went to University I got my rear end handed to me. My school chum who had a stellar work ethic completed his degree in engineering and has gone on I am sure to be a multimillionaire. We both had close grades before engineering. I had an entitled view of my abilities when there was no basis for this entitlement.
To the parents out there if you want your children to be successful do not inflate their egos by telling them they are smart. At an early age instill habits of discipline and regularity. My parents allowed me to quit as soon as I didn't like things. Primping up your children with undue accolades is much like the foolish grandparent who buys the large slurpee for their already overweight grandchild. This grandparent may be giving what the immature child "wants" but in the end they are on a crash course with diabetes. The same is true by sugaring up your children by stroking their ego and pride with undue praise and commendation - you will give them educational "diabetes". One of my goals in life is to someday retake University year one Calculus and pass it. Thanks to the Math Sorcerer for an excellent video.
My parents were the opposite. They always told me that my results were acceptable even when I got a 95 in Math. They were proud behind my back to others. I kept pushing through school, engineering & im now pursuing MBA. I don't know what else to do other than study lol.
I used to be a progamer, long story. The jist was it took me years and over 15,000 hours to get on the level of someone who could get to where I was in months. I was always frustrated with my prospects, wonderinng what they had that I didn't. Eventually I learned to make this my strength though. I kept on improving in the thick of it where talent hit a wall and shit got brutal. Resilience and grit was my strength.
Ultimately I'm no longer a progamer, now I'm a biochemical engineering student. That time was not wasted though. I took with me that resilience and grit and I still use it as my strength as a student, and it turns out I have quite the aptitude for math. All I've ever really known was how to take a beating, but now I'm doing something different. That lesson was still so valuable, I wish everyone could experience it.
I view being able to go where no one else wants to go as my talent, it's a skillset that trumps any other skillset.
Being a programmer really teaches people how to be humble. I feel you
Hi i wanna do the same.Did you do masters in biochemical or you did a bachelor's again?
@@jay-fm8sc I think he meant that he was a pro-gamer. And yes, getting really good at a video game is probably a lot harder than writing c++.
I was gifted in most subjects until late high school/early college and then when I couldnt grasp something, i fell apart. Youre so right about discipline beating natural talent.
Of course, when one can combine natural talent with dogged determination, thats where the real superstars come from.
I was working on my math while listening to this video simultaneously, and I felt compelled to put down my pencil to express my appreciation for these videos. For the first time in the realm of mathematics, I feel like I've found people who resonate with my feelings. It's easy to encounter individuals who either love math and are good at it, or despise math, struggle with it, and wish to avoid it at all costs. However, I believe many here represent a unique intersection of these experiences. We are people who are interested in improving and perhaps admit we are not that proficient yet. It's comforting to discover a place where I feel understood, a place where being less skilled doesn't equate to stupidity or increase the likelihood of giving up.
Thank you, professor.
exactly what I feel, so thank you for putting this so well into words. I can’t wait to show others my hopefully better results in math, by using the knowledge I discovered from this RUclips channel, but also the commentsection here.
In high school I was a mediocre student. I often blamed my own intelligence and traits. As I approach the end of college I’ve had some family death and paternal sickness that drastically changed how hard I applied myself to studies. I’ve been a straight A student for two years in university now, and I roughly commit 15-24 hours per week to my studies. My issue was never learning and understanding, but rather my issue was how I applied rigor to studying… it was discipline. I found it easier to embrace my own studies now that I know what I want to do as well, and with the passion that came with my studies it made it easier to want to study, for my own future, stability, and career.
The experience of hitting a wall is even worse for those of us with natural talent in mathematics as well as ADHD. I was undiagnosed until my late twenties because school came easily and I didn't display any hyperactivity symptoms. It wasn't until I got to complex variables that I was challenged by a math class. Unfortunately, not only was I inexperienced when it came to responding to setbacks in learning, but I also didn't possess the time management skills to respond even if I knew how.
Fast forward 25 years and I'm taking abstract 400 level math classes. I got triggered hearing that discipline is what it takes to succeed when the content gets challenging, because I can and do work hard, I'm just horribly inefficient. I watch lectures and I zone out, especially when everything is done abstractly and no concrete examples are provided. I watch youtube videos, but most of them are too dry to hold my interest. I try to read my text, and the information goes in my eyes and out my ears. Of course that's if I even get through more than a page before getting distracted. I take notes, and that helps, but it's tedious and doesn't necessarily help me understand. The only thing that ever really helps me learn math is concrete problem solving with lots of repetition, but it seems like this happens less and less in higher math courses.
Has anyone here overcome the double whammy of hitting a wall when things get challenging AND dealing with ADHD symptoms? I'd love some new strategies to try.
Not sure if this would help, but from reading your post I get the feeling that there may be a disconnect between reading/hearing (at face value) vs understanding what you hear (getting to the meaning BEHIND what you see/hear at face value)
As someone with ADHD myself, I tend to hyper focus (and also not be able to control how focused I get, sometimes it’s really intense, sometimes not at all) on certain things…and in some school systems we are unfortunately trained to learn and memorize things verbatim, which is although “efficient” when conveying information, limits its usefulness to the receiver after it is conveyed. I suspect that you might be suffering from a similar problem in which your process focuses too much on the “finite” things (such as the exact wording used, or graph, etc), and thus shirk the “translation” to a “language” YOU can understand (even if it doesn’t look like it’s something anybody else can). That’s why we are at the same time told to paraphrase, as it both converts the message to something digestible and usable to you, but also helps imprint it in your mind at a deeper level. I’m sure we already do this to an extent in every scenario, but maybe it’s worth trying to put more weight to that end rather than the “verbatim” part. This might both better appeal to your interest levels & also really stretch out your understanding of a subject if it isn’t fully sinking in. This process isn’t easy, and in my experience can take a lot more time and experiment to develop into a system that works for each individual (heck, I’m still working on it myself).
In our case I’m afraid there’s more to it than simply developing and having discipline, as it’s doubly if not even more important to focus in “the right places”. Instead of focusing on the FINITE things, try to think more in the direction about how it “feels like it means” to YOU as a starting point (pardon the lack of a better wording), thus tapping into the infinite permutations of conveying the same message and picking out the ones that feel most intuitive to you (after all, language & math symbols and all that are arbitrary finite constructs that we human beings came up with to relay information). People with ADHD tend to be more controlled by how they feel than by what they think. In a learning process we largely deem to be one that should be at times solely driven by logic, if we can really tap in to using what we “feel” properly in combination with our individual learning process, it might even boost our effectiveness beyond that of people without ADHD. By “feeling”, I’m not just talking about the usual connotation of emotions, but other things that you subjectively experience that words can’t seem to adequately describe. This could be notably the very things distracting you when you are trying to learn and maintain your interest…the lack of interest may indicate that it’s simply pointed elsewhere…and possibly quite sharply. Imagine if we could somehow leverage that sharp interest in something else to really push our progress. Either there’s a way to combine that with what we have to focus on in the moment…or you may just be focusing on the wrong thing (maybe that particular mathematical topic isn’t for you, at least at that point in time…but then if you’re in a school system in which you have to follow the course pace, that is a little less fortunate…which is why I’ve found it so much more rewarding to access all these self-learning resources online right now)
This has been my personal experience at least, and I might have gotten a little out there & I’m not sure if this addresses your conundrums, but if anything isn’t clear to you I’m more than happy to try to elaborate
For more specifics regarding ADHD I find that Dr. K at the channel HealthyGamerGG has some really helpful videos explaining the mechanics of ADHD and how to work with/around it
Yeah....Didn't realize that I had ADHD and Working Memory Deficits ,and I couldn't pass an intro to Calculus class , even taking the course 4 times !......
I kept forgetting what I was "solving for" when i was trying to figure out rates of change....was a Physical deficit in my memory !.....its like not being able to see the colour blue.
Flunked out of college after that !......now in my fifties, it doesn't bother me, I am who Am !
I’m self-studying calc 1 right now after hitting a wall years ago in college. Finding a tutor to work with me once a week has been an absolute game-changer. If you have ADHD I cannot recommend it enough.
I just got my results for finals. I failed the majority of my modules. It's hard to believe I was a top achiever in my high school. But engineering is just so hard, it introduced me to failure and just keeps pounding me. The hardest thing is having to explain to my mom why I keep failing. Sometimes I want to die so bad, all my peers are ahead in life and I'm still stuck in undergrad. I don't whether to give up, or whether to continue it's a lot!
You have to keep on pushing through. Life is full of ups and downs. Don’t compare yourself to others since we all have our own journeys in life. Just give it your all and you will succeed🙏🏾.
@Pixillious @noelb684 thank you for your kind words, I appreciate you’ll and I'll definitely take your advice ❤️🙂
Pls don't give up
Engineering is about sweating, sacrificing every weekend in order to keep on track of subjects, it's about that.
But if you put the blood, you'll learn to put the work for what you want. Keep going, seek strength in God and have confidence in your right arm, we are all gonna make it.
Depression completely ruined my academic life , and now all my peers are at least a decade ahead of me.
You’re not alone, my story is probably alot worse.
This video is brilliant, because it goes beyond the common sense of "if you are not smart enough, just keep trying". Like, I have never realized that not being smart enough means I have experience dealing with frustration - something talented people lack. Great insights here!
I was always the underdog in the discrete math class. I have never had a class where I had to prove stuff, and the skills that required us to break down the problem and prove the statement just weren't there yet. So I failed the class, went through countless other classes where I again had to prove . And finally after some time it just came naturally to me, no matter the course, no matter the problem.
It is shameful and very wrong that so many schools try to teach proofs before anyone has learned anything about formal logic 🤤
I was the super smart kid with no discipline, so the talent didn't really take me very far at all. I'm in my mid-40s now, still smart, but have learned discipline and it makes such a difference in learning, even the things that I was already good at.
In school, math has always been something difficult for me. Now I do it as a hobby. With every problem I solve, I become smarter, more determined. Sorry for my poor English, it's not my mother tongue. The Math Sorcerer - you're really the best👍
This video is like a punch in the gut for me. I used to be the kid in class who always aces math tests with barely any studying, due to me understanding the concepts at a far better rate than my peers. But as I got older, the reality is that talent can only get you so far, so when I got my first failing grade in a test ( due to me not providing proper solutions) I felt like crap. From that moment, it was the first time in a long while that I experienced it, so it was really hard for me to recover and accept that result.
Now that time has passed, and my mindset changing, I understood that obstacles are not for the faint of heart, where failure is just a stage of it. We can use those stumbling blocks and stack them to make stepping stones by sheer strength and hard work.
Thank you for the video professor, this was a great wake up call for me, and I feel better that many, many people are in the same situation as I was.
Good luck to everyone who are currently experiencing it, I wish you well.
I'm not smart. I'm a slow learner, but I don't lose because I'll fight till I win🤓
_Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent won't! Nothing is more common than unsuccessful man with talent. Genius won't. Unrewarded genius is practically a cliche. Education won't! The world is full of educated fools. Persistence and determination alone are all-powerful._
Thanks for the encouraging videos 🙏🏼
I just turned 50, and I’m now in second year of a physics and philosophy major. I’ve always loved math, and intended to go back ‘one day’ but wow, calculus and physics are seriously kicking my butt.. I’ve failed 2 courses for the first time ever, and it’s discouraging. I’m persistent though, and happy I came here for motivation
Our long-term development is ultimately a gamble. We never know if we've already unlocked all of our genetic potential or if the best is still yet to come. Plus we usually experience lots of ups and downs instead of any straightforward linear pathway to progress, so don't mistake that as a reason to get discouraged.
On top of that, it's really hard to tell exactly where natural ability ends and where hard work begins. Whether we're talking about brains or muscle, a person's genes generally give a broad range of potential. So never stop trying to become the best version of yourself.
I had a very similar experiences like you did with just not getting it while younger. After my time in the service my view on what I could achieve changed. I was able to do things academically I would have never dared to attempt. I think it’s a mix of intelligence , luck, and being able to see it as a possibility. Now I watch math videos for fun..lol. The core of my message is , can you see yourself achieving if even just a little bit ? If you fail , fail better , fail all the way to the finish line if you have to.
One of the reasons I watch your vids is your low editing style. No ear blasting intros, just straight to the point
thank you:)
Push yourself “to failure” as they say when lifting weights. This applies DOUBLY if you think you’re talented or really good. Don’t be satisfied to get an A if it comes easy to you. If it comes easy to you, go into the deeper end until it’s not so easy.
A helpful exercise: find someone who thinks they are bad at what you’re good at but who genuinely wants to succeed. Tutor them. Try to instill them with confidence and help them succeed. Consider their success your success and their failure you’re failure. I guarantee you will think about your subject in a whole new way and you will learn how to deal with setbacks and failures and really appreciate your successes. Then take a student who is not so enthusiastic and try with them.
I’m a dude with adhd I’ve always struggled with school from first grade all the way to my last day of high school when I left high school I still had sophomore credits I dropped out twice cause I was tired of it and I let all those shitty teachers get to my head telling me I won’t amount to nothing in my life. I got involved with the wrong crowd and got involved with drugs and alcohol because I didn’t believe in myself I lost all hope in myself I’m 25 now and holy shit life is hitting me like a ton of bricks, I want to change it, so I’ve made the choice to get my GED and go to school and prove to myself that I can do it I wanna learn physics and I know it’s a hard subject but I find it very interesting. I’ve been practicing my math and learning little by little by myself and holy shit I never realized how easy algebra could be I’ve been refreshing myself on all basic math stuff and I’m enjoying it a lot I never thought I’d see the day of me doing math by myself without anyone asking me to do. This is a new chapter in my life and I’m ready I know I’m gonna struggle hella, fuck it life’s a risk carnal.
Success = Talent * Effort^Focus
This applies to learning Math, Physics, etc., just as it applies to learning to play music, a sport or learning a foreign language.
i was one of those talented not trying hard enough kids when i was a teenager, didnt try that much, took me turning 30 to get my act together and learn those lessons. ty for makin this video.
I'm not a math enthusiast, but I enjoy your videos. They are usually applicable to other courses of study too. This one made a solid point. Growing up, I was naturally gifted at a handful of subjects, and could muddle my way through the others. Chose not to stray from the things I was good at for a long time. Once the years started passing and I started trying to learn things I was *more* interested in but *not* naturally talented in, it was truly sobering. It's been a hard road, because in addition to whatever new things I've chosen to study, I've had to learn a "meta-skill" alongside it, which is not giving up (which is what I always used to do when something didn't come naturally). It's been humbling, but in the best possible sense.
“ Nine times out of ten, dogged persistence WILL win over natural talent.” Gen. Sams USAF approx. yr. 1982. Having read this quote has rallied my efforts over and over throughout the years.
You are so right about this. I'm a "gifted" learner, but that only gave me the expectation that schooling would always be easy, and I learned the hard way just how much I had neglected my ability to cope with and work through challenging situations. I have very little discipline, and being a 'gifted' learner seems to have hamstrung me in a way.
Talent + self-disciple + dedication = being a successful learner.
For many parts of my life I was one of those quote on quote talented kid. I aced exams no problem but today here I am learning the ways of effort. I must say, the number of people that have surpassed me whom I thought was mediocre at best must be counted with more than 2 hands. We really take things for granted when they're easy so I really respect and fear people who are just driven and locked tf in.
I graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA and failed algebra 2 TWICE before passing with a 70. Ten years later, I’ve placed highest in my college algebra class in overall grade and scored the highest in the last two midterms.
When I entered the class, I had a 7th grade level of mathematical skill. And that’s being quite generous. I actually scored a 53 in the first exam and seriously considered dropping the class. Later that week, I stumbled onto this channel, and I’ve been an avid watcher as well as grinding for 3+ hours daily (squeezing study time whenever I can, as work and am married).
It’s possible, y’all. Never give up.
Another great video. I think the importance of patience can't be underestimated.... with modern life all being about speed that acts against being patient and taking the time needed.
I was always fascinated with space and tech but my teachers always told me I was too dumb at math to study physics…I’m a 4th yr PhD student in theoretical physics. I didn’t start my studies until I was 33. My secret? I just studied hard…lots of work and effort
Not a math person but I love the advice your giving. I do think we all have talents but for different things. But I really do believe where your heart draws you can give you not only the the best fulfilment, but also the greatest lessons. Even if it doesn't work out for you.
I personaly think that i am that guy who end all the test first in almost every class i have in highschool, and all my grades are very very good, but some day i start to learn pre calc by my own and i completely failed. When i watch this video for the first time i start to work in my discipline and my capacity to accept failure. Now i'm trying to aced it. Thanks you dear math Sorcerer.
i was one of those talanted students, currently in my late 20s, I'm trying to learn a disciplined way of studying, life has humbled me many times in the way you describe in this video.
It gets to the point where I'm uncertain whether I'm even able to learn anything at all, but I am slowly improving by relearning basic concepts before chewing through more serious textbooks.
For all the great perspectives I've gained and to see your genuine care for ordinary people, I'm embarassed to say that the mention of Rudy made my mind immediately wander to Rudy Ayoub...
I feel like the talented kid who hit the brick wall at uni (physics degree). I never used to ask help from others as I never used to have to. I failed uni and regret not asking for help and being so shy. I am 31 now feeling like a failure now on a low paid job. This video is great. I hope everyone who watches this gains some motivation like I have
I like that you give some real life examples. Some people are naturally gifted,they reach their goals without much effort. Of course we are intelligent,talented but lack patience and discipline, resulting in failure.
This is great advice not just for learning mathematics but the kind of mindset needed to learn and grow in all areas of life. Thank you for the video!
So much truth here. A professor of mine that I look up to said in an interview about his life once, that he had to work harder than the more talented people to get where he got. "A hard working mediocre student will beat a talented person that doesn't work as hard". He managed to explain theoretically a physical phenomenon that now bears his name (along with the name of his PhD thesis advisor). Thank you again. I really love these motivating videos you make. Keep it up.
I can confirm what he says as I have first-hand experience of this. I have been marked as "gifted", "talented", etc. from my childhood, and things came really easy to me. I had the worst work-ethic. I studied for some hours outside class for tests and would ace those tests- scoring much better than people who worked for weeks. This gave me a lot of confidence and I never learned to work really hard for tests. I was hit hard in college. Because, although I'd score the highests in quizzes, and would 'get' things faster than anyone else, I would bomb the final tests and other people got much ahead of me. I have a tested IQ of , and yet there are many people who are earning more money than me, and are more prosperous than me in life. Because they had good work ethics.
One thing I learned in a hard way: you have to work really hard on things to get ahead in life- even if you don't like those things. You cannot be choosy. If you like Calculus, and not Complex Analysis- you need to study both anyway to get good grades, and good grades will help you land better higher-ed opportunities. So, learn from me: BEING REALLY SMART WON'T MAKE YOU AUTOMATICALLY SUCCESSFUL. You have to work really hard, and work hard on things that you don't even like. That's life.
I'm not sure why since I knew eve you said in this video, but this was really inspiring for some reason.
I swear I've heard this countless times... I must be in a critical point in my life. I can sense it.
I knew this guy in Stourbridge, England. He was kind of a goth, very social awkward, with quite poor articulation. He turned out to be studying pure maths I think. To look at him you wouldn't have believed it. I guess we get different talents. The problem is that society rewards certain talents more than others which then puts pressure on kids at school. You might be a great musician but you aren't still going to need maths for university so the pressure builds and then of course you can't learn as you are under stress.
I personally think it's about being a better you everyday. Don't worry about everyone else as long as you are constantly improving.
If you are the best or the worst or anywhere in between, be your own competition. Realize your potential for its own sake.
Ah...College Physics...
This is when I learned that a science class and a math class are not the same thing just because math is involved in both.
There were so few people by the end of it. I guess it was a wake up call for a lot of other people too, maybe even in that very particular regard.
Funny thing is I remember a lot of stuff from that class; forces, friction, how they interact. It really did give me a better understanding of the Physics of the world.
There are two things that are available to you beyond raw intelligence. People talk a lot about persistence and determination, and being able to cope with failure. That is extremely important. What I think is less appreciated is the role of curiosity and creative drive. Nothing propels you like being deeply fascinated by something in a subject. I think this is necessary to fuel that willingness to try again and again, and take the time to understand something even if it takes you 5-10x longer than a naturally gifted student. For average intellect people, It's not so much the intellectual ability to grasp concepts that determines your outcome so much as the love of the knowledge that you will attain on the other side.
I'm surprised that your understanding about "talented people" is spot on. I mean, you are mathematician, not a psychologist/psychiatrist. That's exactly what my therapist said to me.
I was that "naturally talented" person and yeah, as you said, I failed due to not having patience and discipline when I need to relearn some things. I struggle with insecurity and lack of self identity due to my failure. And you right again, all of my "mediocre" friends, who were accustomed to "failure" are all more progressive in life than me right now 😂
Thank you for the inspiration. That story about your student always being there and putting in effort really touched me as well as your own struggles. You’re doing such a great service and I’ll be sure to spread the message ❤
Thank you for this inspiring talk, sir. I am an English language teacher in Italy.
Naturally, I see students of varying capacities and those with different levels of motivation. I agree with what you say about the struggles some of them have to face on a daily basis, and I see the determination they use to overcome them. Equally there are those with quite brilliant minds who can find it unbearably frustrating to meet that ‘wall’ on the ‘obstacle course’ of learning and will all too easily throw in the towel. What a waste of their talent.
I am always trying to encourage students not to give up and, of course, I am there for those that are having difficulties but are willing to fight to overcome them.
Wishing you a nice day and a successful continuation in your career.
As a struggling student in mathematics, I can totally relate. Having unsatisfying grade while working hard is super frustrating. But when I imagine how I improved because of all my efforts, it just gives me more motivation to continue like that and put even more effort. I'm even working math on holidays to get better for my last bachelor year.
But I'm affraid to not be able to get good enough for a Ph.D. I wonder if Ph.D. and research (in math particularily) is reserved for talented people only. Thoughts on that?
Thanks for this video, that's what I needed to hear.
I’m reminded of a famous quote by Calvin Coolidge. ‘Silent’ Cal never said much, but when he did, it was to the point:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” -Calvin Coolidge
Thanks for making videos :)
My pleasure!
More excellent content, mate! I love that your channel isn't only about math, but also about the emotional component of learning and motivation. Thank you. :)
Great lesson! I had this issue with drawing and arts. Last year I started drawing and saw that I was learning drawing easily and progressing very fast. My brother work with arts (concept and illustration) and when he started guiding my studies, my progress just exploded even more. But even with this inclination to learn fast, I hit a bottom when compared with great artists. From there, I saw that it will be needed thousands of hours of discipline and deliberate practice (even with my talent). On the other hand I struggle with programming since the first day I started it. Programming is helping me to deal with the hard part of learning to draw, because since day one I'm used to deal with difficulties.
Education is not a factory floor, and students are not widgets to be analyzed for faulty design or implementation as they (we) move along an ailing and decrepit conveyer belt through the installation departments of school. I spent four years in high school being berated by ignorant instructors and school administration alike for simply being different. Having a learning difference made them think I couldn't accomplish anything. They told me I wasn't good enough for the math classes everyone else was taking. In college, the instructors and school administration couldn't comprehend how I was excelling in programming classes but struggling in math classes. The same ignorance showed up again whereby they told me to my face you are not passing this math class, you should quit computer science -- despite having gotten A's and B's in all the technical computer science classes. That ignorance became my motivation; it became food for persevering -- persevering all the way through Calculus 2 and completing my CS degree. But more importantly, in present day, I approach math on my terms which allows for a pursuit of knowledge and which has made understanding far easier today then back in "math class."
the math's wiz cured my depression and break my believe that i can't do anything without talent and give me motivation to put more effort then I realize that I can finally do math's, addmaths, chemistry and physics very well when i keep working hard! I'm very glad that you create this channel and keep doing what you're doing and I hope you get that 1 million sub milestone!
This is a message most people need to hear.
I agree 100%!!
I was very talented when I was younger. I aced the tests, I was the "smart kid" in the family, stuff came to me naturally. By A-Levels I was having to resit every exam I had taken in secret to avoid disappointing my parents, and after I somehow got into uni (only just) I coasted the first year and completely tanked the rest of it. I had undiagnosed ADHD, and I was deep in the fixed mindset of never being able to do something the moment that I struggled.
This lack of genuine challenge when I was younger, and this lack of recognising the signs of my undiagnosed ADHD because I wasn't a nuisance in the classroom has absolutely set my life back from what it could have been. It's important that I recognise this, not to live in the victim mindset, but so that I can make sure I'm engaging my daughter enough, challenging her enough whilst keeping everything fun, encouraging her to enjoy the struggle by struggling alongside her and showing how much I now enjoy the struggle. It's hard to not mourn the life I could have had, I think that's an inevitable human reaction, but I'm keeping mindful that at least I now know, and I now know how to actively struggle and how to keep trying and push through. I work with myself and I'm kind to myself now, I feel encouraged by myself when I struggle because I know that there's something fascinating for me to discover. This is night and day compared to where I used to be, where every struggle was a shot against my core image, my self worth, my self confidence. Every struggle was proof that I wasn't good enough anymore. I'm glad to have figured this out, and I'm glad to be able to pass on my experiences and journey to my daughter so that she can enjoy the frustration of uncovering the unknown.
Now, I'm looking to do a masters in Physics so that I can then go and become a qualified teacher, I'm nervous, and I've not signed up to the course just yet, but I'm proving to myself that I can learn very difficult concepts and retain them, and I'm building my confidence that I'll be able to tackle the challenge.
Thank you for your video and advice! I agree that talent is not the only determining factor of success. What you said resonates really well with me. I am currently a student trying to finish with all my math prerequisites before pursuing physics. 😅 I struggle with schizoaffective disorder and I’m not proficient in algebra yet. I agree that with grit and determination, one can overcome most obstacles. I will do my best. Thank you! 🙏
I'm smarter than most (above average atleast). I always get shit grades and used to not value exams and grades. Thinking that if you just work hard to get grades, it doesn't show you are intelligent. Fast forward 10 years, what matters is output, not your input to output ratio. I had no idea the lengths people went to achieve their goals. I have high standards for myself when it comes to health/fitness personality development my hobbies etc but never grades. I have fasted for 24 hours several time, I quite proud of that. I once ran 6 kilometers in an evening, having my last intake of calorie the previous night's dinner. I'm proud of that. I did 100 pushups everyday for 3 weeks straight, I'm proud of that. I don't eat mcdonalds, dominos, drink any soda, even from when I was in grade 8. (im in 3rd year bachelors now) I can climb a rope vertically and the list goes on.
I struggled to translate my tenacity towards physical activities into academics. I have come to learn I have shit discipline, whatever I achieved was only when I was either passionate or egotistical. Discipline is doing things consistently even when they aren't fun or rewarding. doing the dull and dusty work day after day.
My observation is that intelligence is on a spectrum, you will fell dumb or smart based on who make up your surroundings. therefore nobody has reached the finish line, whatever it may mean for you. everyone is born at varying distances from the start line, some far some closer, but much too far away from the finish line. to finish the race you must run, being born 200m in from of someone is not enough to finish a marathon.
Your videos are trulling inspiring for me. I've entered college last year, with an age of 26 years old. And, being at a public university, I'm struggling a lot with math classes. But I do love math, it is beautiful and I hope someday I can be very goot at it. Thank you for the advices!
The Sorcerer is casting a generous spell of truth and inspiration. As a law student, I am thankful for his messages. His principles apply to all disciplines.
Man you have no idea how impactful your video is
Never give up,
never, ever give up
- Jimmy V -
Up until after taking differential equations, I was smart enough that I could wait until three days before the exam to do all the homework/review work and do great. That said, it was uniformly a hellish nightmare of stress and burnout that I would not wish on anyone. Talent really only takes you as far as you're willing to work.
Dear Professor, I find all your videos so inspiring to me. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and views on learning math.
Always start with the big picture. It will connect you to realities you probably have always known and experienced. This approach will give you the initial light and will power to keep you going. A very Brilliant Math Prof told us that. It has worked for most of us.
You have to deal with whatever who you are, that's the point. Once you've understood that, activate the workaround that works with you (and believe me, it can take time!). This is your "job", your right, your time, your needs. No one can do it but you. I've explained that to my kids, and provide whatever is required / possible to their need, still, they have to do. I've got a t-shirt that I've used to put at my job :"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you". And that's the point. We're not all good at explaining, and that's why what you are doing here is important.
Thanks again.
I need to say that I'm actually in a strange position when it comes to math. If I understand the logic of what's being done, I'm very fast. But If I'm lost, then I'm extremely slow. I've never met people like me. Usually people tend to just be slow, or fast, and always remain that way. In a test I took in a class in 3rd grade, I was the last to turn in the work, but the only one to get it right. I actually love the exactitude of math, the idea that math can reveal unknown things through its own process. What I don't love is most math teachers. I feel like they are just robots in human form, always answering a question with more math rather than answering the question.
And honestly, the way I see it is, why should math ever be hard? If it's a process of calculations, then everyone should be able to do it, even if at a slower pace. I think the problem lies in that math professors are more concerned with getting paid to do math rather than actually teach math to people who know nothing about the material that is obviously new to them.
I consider myself to be above average cognitively and paradoxically being “smart” has left me feeling as if I know nothing rather than everything.
This video couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you Math Wizard.
Thank you for your video, it was an inspiration. I think people who are talented at certain things and who are gifted (In my opinion) take it for granted. I.m 48 and still waiting to find my talent, I have dyslexia, it's been a battle all my life. But, I never give up! Im re learning maths from the beginning and would like to get a GCSE in it at some stage In my life. I mean from the bottom, like addition and subtraction and percentages and fractions, all those good things. .So thank you for your videos.
I am a psychology student - underdog - I never become 1st or got 100 marks ever, but I am 45 years young and doing good on Psychology. Please do make the videos for underdogs like us when ever possible
I have seen this dynamic in the music world. I was naturally talented on the cello. I stood out in college in this way. I had fellow students who were less talented, but they were disciplined. I graduated and came back a couple years later to say hi to my fellow students and I was surprised to see that they had become awesome cellists! Their hard work paid off.
This makes sense, when I was younger, I always had this impression that some things were easier to me than to the others, and I usually received these sorts of compliments about me being smart or even a "genius". But nowadays I feel that some of these people now are much better than me on everything, they are smarter, they are more disciplined, and have more experience and knowledge than me, and I don't feel like a "genius" anymore and I still struggle alot to study and have discipline and I really remember I didn't need so much of that in the past, but it's not that I was becoming less smart, it's more like everybody else evolved more than me.
In the netherlands we have a system that if you fail a certain central exam youd be banished to lower tiers of education. I spent my 4 years on so called VMBO. I was extremely demotivated and I never encountered any math. After like 10 years i was a bit interested and I learned all the high school basics in like a half year. I went to university and i was crushed i could not do anything at all i suddenly had to write proofs which i never had done and i had to stop since i was not used with math being hard. I sometimes hold alot of grudges towards teachers since they failed to recognize my mathematical abilities and the system in the netherlands that basicly banished me from learning anything. Next year i am gonna try it again and i am already learning how to write proofs so i hope i can just accept that i won't get things fast.
I became that smart kid and I was that smart kid. And when people asked how I did it. I made sure they knew and always responded with “I’m not smarter than you. I just do what you’re unwilling to-after failing, I just get back up.”
I love these videos, shorts included, they are so informative and helpful. I am glad I found your channel I found it while taking my differential equations class, a class I struggles in a lot, and your lectures proved to be super helpful to me in understanding some of the material and I passed the class! These videos about learning and any other topic you talk about are all so encouraging. This videos in particular is something I needed to hear because I often feel that I am not smart enough or good enough to keep with my classmates, I am an electrical engineering major, but with your encouraging videos and the other people in my life I have been doing my best, and in my opinion excelling in college even if some of my grades don't reflect that lol. Thank you for doing what you are doing!
I absolutely love your channel. All my life my parents kept telling me that I'm too stupid to learn anything and that I should probably just quit school. I kept struggling at maths, chemistry and physics the most, never getting any help. Only when I moved out and enrolled myself in an online high school, my grades went up and I just couldn't believe what was happening. Barely passed maths in elementary and junior high school, now I nearly got full marks. I want a degree in engineering but my parents voice is still too much present in my mind.
Im sorry your family was so terrible saying those mean things.
I have a learning disability, but that hasn't stopped me from succeeding in my educational goals.
I have a natural talent for learning things, and comprehending it deeply. But I still had to work hard at math my whole life just like everyone else, and struggled at times with things like fractions (becasue it was taught horribly in hindsight). But math was highly logical and it was my best and favorite subject in school. But I am not one of those with natural talent at math.
But In school and college I was a 4.0 student, always top of the class, always the curve buster, always one of the first to turn in my tests. But I worked hard to be that. I am highly competitive, and I focused not just on speed but precision and accuracy. I would turn in tests quickly, ace them, and get praised for my handwriting, showing my work, drawing diagrams and pictures to go with my work, etc. I didn't just turn in work as fast as I could, I was simply just that well prepared going into the test. By the time the test came around I could do it in my sleep. I had to work hard to get to the point in many classes, but it's not impossible.
I've had to work extremely hard my entire life to get where I am, to accomplish what I have, and to learn things. People always ask me, "how do you know so much?", as they see me as too young to know such things, not realizing many of the topics I know well I've been working on in earnest for 20-30yrs already, maybe more. they don't realize how hard I worked in short time periods, and the tricks i've learned along the way to speed up my ability to absorb and comprehend new information.
I'm interested in a very quantitative and competitive field and returned to school for mathematics. I spent an embarrassing amount of time today looking at reddit posts on r/cognitivetesting and the like, articles from Nassim Taleb, Slate Star Codex, clips from Jordan Peterson, etc on IQ and potential success , and I think your video is what I needed. It's such a waste of time and quite sabotaging. Thank you for this.
What you talk about in this video is super inspiring. I think I'll come back to this video again and again when I'm going through dark times. Proud to be an underdog.
I have always been relatively talented in academic stuff, but I've learned that talent will only take you so far. When I went to college I enrolled in some really hard classes, I felt lost and ended up quitting. I was used to things being easy.. Talented people don't have it all, you may be talented but lack communication skills, teaching skills, organization skills, note writing skills, studying skills, social skills, a strong work ethic, etc.. watching this video reminded me of many of the shortcomings that as a relatively "talented" guy I should be trying to improve
Even though I have worked really hard to get where I am, I have to remind myself when I struggle to learn new skills or solve problems to keep trying.
Over time, some things have become very easy for me to learn because I have been doing them for so long. I have done experimental work for over a decade, so I am a natural in the lab. For totally new things, I have to remind myself.
Math isn’t easy, but it is deeply rewarding. It takes some willingness to stick with things until they make sense. Well put.
We will always support this channel. We learn so much significant information from all this.
Great video. Very good points. Never saw "Rudy," but always thought of "Gattaca" with Ethan Hawke on that same inspirational level. Gattaca is about a man with genetic flaws living in a world where people are genetically engineered and given advantages. He has to break some of the rules in that society in order to have the opportunity to accomplish his dream.
The teachers in mathematics at elementary school were not good. Beginning in highschool, I was not good at mathematics, nor physics; I preferred biology back then. I had two classmates who were very talented in mathematics, and were always at the forefront. During summer-leave, I got an intense interest in mathematics. Got the next mathematics textbook, studied it over the summer, and was best in my class the following semester. I had caught up with the two who had been best previously, and my teacher was impressed. When I went to university a few years later, I, and the two aforementioned classmates, studied the same civilengineering program. One of them dropped out and went to a teaching-program instead. My other classmate disappeared during the first semester, and I only met him once more, in a very sad state, the next semester. Never seen him since. I have finished the program, and got a quite good job afterwards which I enjoy. Feel very bad about my old high-school classmate, though.
Intelligence itself is not an accomplishment. It is a tool for accomplishing something.
I have become what some refer to as a “gifted burnout.” I learned obsessively until I started college, but never developed the discipline to *prove* my knowledge to my teachers. My first mediocre grade was a B- in chemistry and my first failure I believe was Calculus 1 at SLU. I could understand both, but I didn’t care to look away from my screen for long enough to complete the workloads. Long-form projects and papers especially pain me because of that procrastination cycle. I am currently writing a paper due tomorrow night while distracting my mind with RUclips. At least it’s not the night of.
Here is my advice for other young gifted burnouts, current or soon-to-be:
Exercise as much as you know you should. Eat as much as you know you should. Sleep however much you know you should. Don’t let yourself scour the Internet. Quit every addiction you have and replace them with productive hobbies that are genuinely valuable to you. Cheap entertainment is, by definition, not valuable. I have learned these lessons through tears and miserable, barren years alone that I would relive differently in a heartbeat.
you're a very inspiring guy yourself
Thank you Sir! Hard work beats talent always!
🔥
this video reminds me of my experience with real analysis.
I did really well in my calculus 1 class last year ( i found it easy since it was a review of older material) so i enrolled to this Advanced Calculus class which was basically introductory real analysis, long story short I was NOT READY for analysis at all. I was quite frustrated because I used to throw all-nighters and watch as many RUclips videos (yours included) on how to prove a limit for a quadratic expression.... But i couldnt for the life of me click the pieces together... I remember getting 30% 40% for my homework even though I had the right answer because analysis is all about the working out to the answer, id constantly think to myself "what the hell do these tutors want me to write because im so confused!" it was like I was in a different world.
Needless to say i dropped out of my advanced calculus class and then enrolled in real analysis earlier this year (because now I HAD to pass it to meet further subject requirements, it was not an accelerated class like before). I was sooo nervous because my prior experience in analysis made me afraid of the class. It's funny because even in my real analysis class i felt like I was always so behind everyone else and that I didnt *really* understand the concepts. I would always get corrected by other classmates in group discussions, there were times when instructors would look at me quizzically when I asked questions in class and my heart sank... I felt like I would actually fail the course... I would spend half my week studying real analysis , neglecting my other subjects, but it felt like i was going to fall it....
Yet for some reason, time and time again.... I was getting good grades. It was such a system shock to me to feel so behind compared to everyone else yet ace my homework, its as if orally I was a novice but mentally i was adept in real analysis. Anyways the biggest shock was when I took the final exam and..... it felt easy... just as if not more then my calculus 1 class...
I honestly think it was time, I was exposed to elementary analysis for 3-4 weeks in my adv calculus class before i dropped out and my brain had 4 months to subconsciously think about what I learnt. I certainly did not study analysis between then since I was scared of it so it must have been doing some sort of background work.
I think I learnt my greatest lesson so far from failure and trying again that day in the exam hall. Sometimes the best way to learn is to take a break from learning.
I would love to tell my story here (for motivation) in this community, but I dare not share it in public. All I wanna add (naturally) to this is: Even if you are extremely talented / intelligent you can encounter very big failures in life and struggle - for whatever reason. And then 'processed' motivational speaks like yours here are just beautiful for us as social beings. So thank you for feeding my resilience
All good suggestions on fundamentals.
However, I found personally that coursework became both relevant and easier when I started asking the right questions. So I would suggest including things that immerse students in an engineer's point of view. Such as books on some great projects of the past. My favourites include
The Great Bridge by McCullough (about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge).
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Rhodes.
The Alchemy of Air by Hager (on the Haber Bosch process).
Brunelleschis Dome by King (on the Cathedral in Florence).
There are many, many others, to be sure.
More generally I suggest....
The Existential Pleasures of Engineering by Florman
Engineering in Plain Sight by Hillhouse
I would also suggest something on things going wrong and the sobering realization of responsibility.
To Engineer is Human by Petroski
Five Past Midnight in Bhopal by Lapierre and Moro.