Mathematics is arguably the most cognitively demanding of all mental disciplines, and those who develop their mathematical skills to a high level are well-positioned to succeed in most enterprises that require analytical thinking, prediction and unrelenting persistence. Why is this? The display below, taken from the book Intelligence, IQ & Perception shows the ten richest …
Early in his life, John von Neumann was recognized as a child prodigy, who possessed an eidetic memory, and at age 6 displayed the ability to divide two eight-digit numbers in his head. When guests came to the von Neumann family dinners, they were often entertained with demonstrations of Johnny’s prodigious memory. They would randomly …
Participants in the International Mathematics Olympiads (IMO) represent the brightest of the bright. They have very high SAT scores, qualify for the best university programs, and have their pick of virtually any career they wish to pursue. Having these options, do they complete a Ph.D. in mathematics and enter academe or do they move in …
Time management is probably the most important component in achieving a life that is balanced in emotional rewards and achievement. An old adage in business and life asserts, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Partition each day into work time and family or recreational time. Work Time To achieve your goals, a first …
If you are embarking on a Ph.D., you must be prepared for a struggle over a period of 3 to 5 years, especially if it’s a Ph.D. in the physical sciences such as mathematics or physics. Persistence is an absolutely necessary factor in solving a problem or advancing knowledge in your subject. (If you are …
Galileo Galilei, in 1610, was peering into the heavens with the newly invented telescope that he improved to view the four largest moons of Jupiter. Relying on observation, rather than scriptures, he was able to see farther than the mortals mired in speculation. Galileo shared his discoveries with the rest of the scientific world in …
In this era of high profile billionaires who have made a fortune in the technology sector, we tend to associate entrepreneurial success with IQ. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Elon Musk are all high IQ people who used their intelligence to create companies that placed them among the top ten wealthiest men in …
I have a large collection of classic jokes and anecdotes about mathematicians and physicists that I have accumulated over the years. I will share one of these with you in this post and more if our readers express interest. (By the way, John von Neumann was the brilliant mathematician who laid the mathematical foundations for …
In 1901, Bertrand Russell’s attempts to put mathematics on a foundation of a few basic axioms collapsed when he discovered a problem in set theory that is now known as Russell’s Paradox. This paradox is often explained as follows: In a town in which every man is clean-shaven each male either shaves himself or is …
Throughout history, public consensus has been mainly irrational, because it is usually emotionally-based rather than knowledge-based. Irrational belief in ghosts, witches and religious dogma of the past, has been transformed in the modern era into ideological movements. In the 1930’s in Germany, we saw the “master race” movement and in the 1950’s in America, we …
