non-linear youngster wrote:
So my question to you and the majority of you Math wizards, how much of your ability is a gift and how much is hard work and persistence. I'm just "okay" at Math, but could never in my lifetime achieve what many of you have. How'd ya get to that level?
Effort can get you a long way. I think that math is similar to running in this respect. People saying, "I just don't have the natural talent for it," is usually just an excuse to not put in the effort or practice required to really improve. Running fairly fast and getting an engineering degree could both be achieved by a large fraction of the population if the effort is there. Neither one is tremendously prestigious or special, but since both require most people to put forth a lot of effort, the general population will view the results as impressive and impossible for themselves to achieve.