is 24 too late to becoma a math whiz?

Guys like you are blessing for letsrun.com, nothing to do with running, nobody (including you) really gives a shit about the topic or math, yet people will (maybe?) like me bother to read and reply, well done

PS did you know the square root of 2 is 1.41(2 d.p) WOW handy to know

big difference between 24 and 62 - throw yourself into it with abandon and find out if you are good enough

I was a much better student at 24 than 18 - focus on that type of thing rather than the potential negatives

the idea that genius must show itself early is part of an outdated paradigm, its part of the same collection of ideas that says that women can't do math and hard science

the base of knowledge required to make headway in a field is far greater than it was, in say, Einstein's time

the one thing that I will say is that if you are the type of person that allows themselves to be limited by this type of idea, then you probably don't have the iamgination to make it in math or science

Math Man wrote:

Guys like you are blessing for letsrun.com, nothing to do with running, nobody (including you) really gives a shit about the topic or math, yet people will (maybe?) like me bother to read and reply, well done

PS did you know the square root of 2 is 1.41(2 d.p) WOW handy to know

HAHAHAHHAHAAHAHA nothing else has made me laugh this hard all day...

Take a hard class and find out. I think you probably won\'t be good enough to go into academia -- if you have the talent, you probably know it. But give it a shot, who\'s to say? You\'ll learn something about yourself at the very least.

old math dude wrote:

I'm going back to school at 24 and am considering majoring in math. My concern is that I may be too old to learn math effectively, as most math whizzes develop their skills at VERY early ages, and fluidic intelligence decreases throughout the lifespan. My dad has a master's in physics and was very good at math when he was younger, but now at 62 he is very slow.

I was always at least a little better than average in high school math, although I didn't give a shit about school back then and never tried hard enough to develop my potential. Is it too late in my life to become good at math?

I went back to Uni at 43, and decided to take Math as one of my 3 subjects (the others were Anthropology and Philosophy). Well, I'm in my final year now and managing OK.

Year 1 average: 96.5%

Year 2: 86.5%

Year 3 (to date): 82%

My double honours subjects are Math and Statistics.

My advice is to try it. You probably have the ability, so if you love Math you'll do well. Be positive, especially when the stuff won't sink in immediately. It will eventually.

okay, bro...math and running are connected through a very delicate function of time, age, and public opinion. For example, many people believe athletic peak for distance running is mid twenties...not necessarily true, you must make adjustments to continue a competitive career...even though, it is true most Olympic Champions are mid-twenties...a few oldies out there prove extended careers can happen.

And it may be true that many people believe math genius is early twenties, but again, just make the proper adjustments...don't go getting trashed at the keggers before your exams, don't go chasing skirts before finals, don't go streaking through the commons when you should home finding the 3rd derivatives of nonlinear equations...

It's all in your mind...not everyone will break the world records, but that doesn't mean stop competiting when you hit 28...and not everyone will prove a new theorem...and that doesn't mean you shouldn't advance in mathematics.

QED....now, get the hell outta this forum...jesus.

Don't believe the prodigy hype. Sure, a lot of bright math minds do well young, but that often has to do with their talent being identified early on. Find a field that interests you and go to work. Remember Cantor didn't make his "discovery" until he was in his 40's (if memory serves correctly). Often times the most well-remembered solutions come when you are sharpest in your life. For some people it's early...it doesn't mean you have to be young. Some of Gauss and Poincare most interesting work also came later. Typically, exceptional intelligence in the field reveals itself early...that's just the pattern. But, maybe you have talent for an undiscovered field. Think about all the computer genius' most of them have a very specific gift with certain types of logic and non-linear maths. What's the next field to ? Find something people are creating now and get involved.

You'll never know unless you try. Go for it.

Go For It wrote:

You'll never know unless you try. Go for it.

Definitely. I read somewhere that the average college age is 28. Granted the median (if I understand the term) is probably lower, but you get my point. In fact, if you already have a Bachelor's, then maybe get some prereqs in and grab a Masters. I did that and am happily en route to an MBA, despite no business prior in my undergrad.

Take a look at statistics too. The job opportunities in statistics are far superior to mathematics, though the difference may be decreasing in the next decade or two.

Also note that there is a huge difference between the math that you took in high school and the math that would be necessary for a degree in math. Take a calculus class that forces you to rigorously prove things and see how you do. If the proofs at that level are difficult, math ain't for you.

Oh, and for reference I have a BA in math and physics and a PhD in statistics.

Sorry, but a math degree and an MBA don't compare. A monkey could get an MBA at 90% of the programs out there.

ttc wrote:

I did that and am happily en route to an MBA, despite no business prior in my undergrad.

Boiler wrote:

Sorry, but a math degree and an MBA don't compare. A monkey could get an MBA at 90% of the programs out there.

Actually.....you're almost right. But my point was I'm going back to school and am happy about it, so he could be too.

Also, after getting an undergraduate in Chemistry and hating the work, I've learned the most difficult path is not always the most rewarding. Check out the qualifications of most corporate big-shots, and they'll have an MBA. That was why I made the decision. Accounting, finance, operations management, etc... are needed for large scale decisions.

I couldn't agree with you more. Not to sound like a Dilbert cartoon, but the marketing, sales, and management guys get the salaries and the perks.OK, I will stop with the thread hijacking. You are never too old to go back to school and being "a math wiz" has nothing to do with being able to do arithmetic well. If you can handle in-depth proofs and obscure theoretical concepts you will be fine.

ttc wrote:

Actually.....you're almost right. But my point was I'm going back to school and am happy about it, so he could be too.

Also, after getting an undergraduate in Chemistry and hating the work, I've learned the most difficult path is not always the most rewarding. Check out the qualifications of most corporate big-shots, and they'll have an MBA. That was why I made the decision. Accounting, finance, operations management, etc... are needed for large scale decisions.

Math Man wrote:

PS did you know the square root of 2 is 1.41(2 d.p) WOW handy to know

Actually, for some of us that IS a very useful nugget. I use it practically every day (to be more precise, I use the reciprocal of it, or approximately .707, as it is the ratio of the RMS to peak values of a sinusoid).

I was always at least a little better than average in high school math, although I didn't give a shit about school back then and never tried hard enough to develop my potential. Is it too late in my life to become good at math?[/quote]

Definitely not too late. But it depends how much you want to learn it, and how flexible a thinker you are. Math is structured and analytical, as opposed to humanities, which is fluffy.

I'm 26 and just started a post-baccalaureate program in quantitative studies at Columbia. My GPA is significantly higher than it was in college, mostly because I'm focused and busting my ass. Not saying that I'm a math-whiz, but I have been able to get it pretty quickly.

JimFiore wrote:

Math Man wrote:

PS did you know the square root of 2 is 1.41(2 d.p) WOW handy to know

Actually, for some of us that IS a very useful nugget. I use it practically every day (to be more precise, I use the reciprocal of it, or approximately .707, as it is the ratio of the RMS to peak values of a sinusoid).

The reciprocal of 1.41 is .709

The reciprocal of 1.414 is .707

And by the way, Math Man, 1.4 is the square root of 2, to two significant figures.

Next Q: Prove sqrt 2 is irrational.

Big huge gigantic tall guy wrote:

Next Q: Prove sqrt 2 is irrational.

Assume sqrt(2) is rational. This means that it can be represented as the ratio of two integers. Assume these are reduced (share no common divisor besides 1).

sqrt(2) = a/b

square both sides.

2 = (a^2)/(b^2)

algebra:

2*b^2 = a^2

b divides the left side of the equation (2*b*b is divisible by b). Therefore, b divides the right side. However, this implies that b divides a (really that b divides a or a, but a = a). Since we stated that a/b is reduced and share no common divisors, this is a contradiction. Therefore, sqrt(2) is irrational.

By the way, am I the only person who thought this thread was about Jack Bauer?

I HATE it when people do that. It really sounds like you're being a jerk (the person who asked the original question, not the person who answered it). I bet you feel SOOOO smug knowing a proof that the square root of two is irrational, but please, did you figure it out yourself, or did someone tell you at a cocktail party? Don't pretend to be smart because you know some trivia. F***ing letsrun posters and their egos...

I was a TA for a professor that was a construction worker, then went back to earn his Ph.D. in his mid 30's. Also, I believe that Leibniz wasn't serious about math until he was 26.