/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9865203
bump

>>9865203
I'll bite. I'm an undergrad, so I'll limit my response to only smart undergrads, as I can't gauge intelligence of professors and I'm not around many grad students (wouldn't make a difference, as they're dumb comparatively).

I always considered myself a sharp lad who was moderately well read in math. I met a kid at an REU who already had a publishing (primary author, didn't ride the coat tails of a doc or work in a group), got into CalTech in high school (didn't go because prices), and just seemed like an overall intelligent person. Very intelligent.

His parents are math professors, so naturally he grew up with a pretty strong mathematical wing/influence. Still jealous af though. Someone once said that "comparison is the thief of joy". I rationalized and said that if he's one year older than me, I've a year to make up the difference. So I'm working on a paper that's looking promising and reading more stuff to hopefully be better.

This one girl who is heading for great things. Pretty cute too.

>>9866774
is she hot?

>>9865203
I am the smartest person I've ever known.

me lol

>>9865203
That one guy who is one year ahead of me. We met when I was in my first year as an undergrad (we are both starting our Phds now).
The guy didn't have much of a head start when he finished high school (very normal parents, not much curiosity for math), but by his second year he had stopped following classes and was reading Bourbaki exclusively. He went on to ace everything from undergrad to grad classes to quals.
Curiously, he does not seem to do that much math comparatively, but we have never been roommates so maybe it's an image he cultivates. Still he is very knowledgeable about ancient history, politics (current and past) and classical literature.
He is also learning ancient greek and sanskrit.
The guy just really has a keen eye for patterns and a very fast processor. He once translated a full page in polish fairly accurately despite having never tried that before, simply by inferring from what he knows about latin, french, english and german

>>9866774
>girl
>great things
lmao

>>9865277
None of what he told you is true, the getting into Caltech part especially since anyone who gets in gets a full ride if their parents can't afford to send them. The top schools also tend to have the best financial aid. This isn't true of, for example, some Ivy league schools, but most people wouldn't consider most Ivy schools "top" in anything anymore.

Maybe he actually has a legit publication, maybe he's one of those people who thinks uploading something to a pre-print site is a publication. But more importantly many STEM parents will direct their children, even help write the paper itself for them, and then give them sole authorship for obvious reason.

Don't be fooled self-delusional arrogant twats, there are countless students like that in STEM.

Also your grad students are probably much smarter than you think regardless of what school you attend. Most of them are just beyond showing off, especially to self-important undergrads who will probably flunk out. Not that there aren't complete idiots in grad-school, but it's rare for people to get that lucky.

>>9865277
>His parents are math professors
That could explain everything. If your parents push you hard enogh you're bound to make it. (Given of course that you have an above average IQ)

>>9867493

> Reddit: The LARP

lmfao

>>9867550
I'm not forcing you to believe me, but trust me he is very real. He has an insane memory and thinks faster than most people but he's not a movie caricature (maybe my post made it seem like it).
Knowing (some) greek, latin, french, english and german is not very arcane in France (these are all things you can take in high school). I admit the Bourbaki bit seems memey, but it's true (he was already advanced enough that he was only doing his problem sets and didn't need to listen to the actual lectures, although he always attended).

>>9867550
Yes, I wouldn't have believed it if I had heard about it. Now don't get me wrong, he's not an anime character. He was not 1st at all classes without working or anything like that. He is not multilingual in all the languages I mentioned. He was not no. 1 at his elite grad school.
But he did do very good with normal effort, because he thinks extremely fast, reads extremely fast and a lot, and has an excellent memory (even compared to other excellent students) which sets him probably among the very best of his age group.

>>9865203
In high school there was this Persian guy who was super genius. He was 3 years ahead in math and got a full ride to this esoteric college in California only for the super smart. Never knew him personally but a good friend worked with him on the school math team and praised him all the time.

>>9865203
a college chemistry teacher actually.
he was incredibly good at many instruments, had a phd in a chemistry field, spoke 3 languages and had a brilliant knowledge of literature and ancient history.

>>9865203
there was someone in a friends maths class during college who later studied maths at oxford

>>9867440
this guy

one of my friends in high school actually. She could remember literally anything she read. We were in gymnasium so it's not like it was an easy education, but she graduated with an average of 95 percent if I remember correctly. She's now studying medicine getting near perfect grades in every course. She keeps baffling me with how good her memory is. She's not the most creative person around, but she's really good at drawing in great detail. she's quite autistic though so social contacts aren't her strongest asset.

me

>>9867493
Why do people make up stupid shit like this when it's not even about themselves?

me

>>9868336
Why indeed ? I am not making this up. Maybe you have never met child prodigies, but this is possible.
I mean if some people can defend their PhD at 21 or fit their entire undegraduate and graduate curriculum in 5 years, or stuff like that, why should it be so outlandish that someone with high potential could do all these things I mentioned ?
Considering someone who has been an avid and fast reader since childhood with a great memory, has had a normal french schooling (in which you can, if you want, learn a moderate amount of at least three among latin, greek, german, english) and is obsessed with French culture, it's not that outlandish that he could be knowledgeable about history, and french literature.
And he does have extraordinary math skills. But these things happen as well (this you might have realized if you went to university).
You should talk to your professors more. They might have been child prodigies and have some weird hobbies themselves.

Ive yet to encounter someone I can safely deem super intelligent, but thats probably more due to the fact that Ive never been in the STEM wing of a college.

>>9867438
>>9867440
>>9868334
>>9868382
me too

I'm aware there's people smarter than me somewhere in the planet but I haven't found any yet.

>>9865203
I never met someone more intelligent than me for a very long time mostly because I didn't go out for a very long times (5 years).

>>9867621
which college? Caltech, Harvey Mudd, or something else?

>>9865203
literally me

>>9868582
kek

>>9868867
Pomona College, obvii

>>9867542
It means he was born with high IQ due to genetics.

>>9868590
I'm smarter than you, fag.

>>9868867
>>9868923
I don't know the name but its an all guys school. I just remember him saying they only let in ~100 people each year and they do weird rituals, something about eating a bull's testicle.

>>9865203
A thirteen year old dance prodigy.
He was going to college when I knew him. He was really quiet, so I don't know how he talks, but you could see his intelligence when he danced. I was super jealous of him at the time, but I have since quit my ballet dreams and some back to real life. I wish him the best and remember him as a nice guy.
Should I give his name?
He's going to be famous someday, so I guess it wouldn't hurt.

>>9869351
op

there (you) go

>>9865277
>I rationalized
>"I need to compete with random people who achieved something"

A guy at school, in the academic decathlon team. He doesn’t put any effort in school or cares about getting a higher education though, and he’s bipolar and weird, but he legitimately amazes me on both his ability to solve problems almost instantly, and that he knows a whole lot about pretty much every topic there is

>>9867542
It's the genes stupid. How can you retards still deny heredity at this point?

>>9865203
A guy from my class. He studies stuff for pleasure and does math problems while he rests.

I'm unironically the best person at math I've ever known. Admittedly I never pursue a graduate degree where I'm sure I'd work with people smarter than me, but my time in undergraduate at Cal Berkeley I was the best. This is excluding the professors, who admittedly are well beyond me.

I entered industry and its obvious that I'm not the smartest or cleverest person. Other people are exceptional at communication, work balance and responding to unexpected situations that make them much better in the workplace. The most effective people I've worked with were females, even though my field is extremely technical. But I can be content that I'm better at abstract proof than they are. bullshit

>>9869550
Yeah, your whole post is bullshit.

>>9869554
Its 100% true. I'm probably the prototypical /sci/ poster. An autist who is good at science but cannot into social interaction.

So my best friend is a genius idiot. He’s a genius in debate and a leader in band. He can play pretty much any instrument. He’s a musical genius, but he also does stupid shit like brake into houses, fight his stepdad who is a literal boxer and use any slur he can because he is black and knows he can get away with it at my white school.

Being smart just makes everything so much more sensitive and difficult.

Kind of like in that shitty movie where the genius said he found an imperfection in every egg

Me. Unironnically.

>>9867537
Underrated post

(you)

bretty much you probably tops will only get to know someone who has up to a 20+IQ increase so this board is gonna top out at knowing 140-150IQ

>>9867493
>simply by inferring from what he knows about latin, french, english and german
THAT WOULD BE EASY to do if you knew those languages, there enormous crossover from just German alone.

you probably arn't larping but ur a faggot

>>9865203
>Who's the smartest person you've ever known, /sci/? Tell me about him.
ftfy

>>9869668
kek

>>9867537
This is the smartest guy I know (not baiting, that was a good post).

This one girl...she *REALLY* knocks me dead

>>9865203
Limiting it to people around my age bracket, probably my little sister. 4.4 high school GPA, 34 ACT, got into John Hopkins, goes to UCSD because price and it's almost as good. And stillamazes to BTFO me and everyone I know in social achievements despite devoting more of her time to studies.

For anyone? Well my cousin is a CFO at a major real estate company. By life outcomes it's probably him.

>>9871437
If you think grades or life outcomes say anything about a person's intelligence, then you aren't smart enough to be judging it in the first place. People who do well in school are obedient sheep with emotional stability, they aren't smart.

>>9865203

I'm in grad school, smartest person i can think of is an assistant prof in our department.

the reason I think he's the smartest i know is the way he asks questions at seminars..

to me a smart person is someone who can ask deep questions in a specialty other than theirs

>>9866774
What’s you deal dude? Can’t bear to see anyone not comply with your demands? I am not 77. I haven’t been at that gym for weeks. Get it through your thick skull.

A Russian topologist at my uni. Several times I went to his office to ask about exercises I was having trouble with and he just looked at them for 5 seconds and then said something like "Have you tried this seemingly unrelated theorem?" and that was always the solution. How the hell does he do it?

>>9869668
>>9869670
>Who's the smartest person you've ever known, /sci/? Tell me about yourself.

>>9865203
me desu

>>9865203
This guy in my class was from Sudan. Fled the horrible conditions over there to come to the US of A. Don't know the deets, never thought to ask really.
He had an absolute knack for numbers. Total whiz kid. I remember him doing crazy calculations in his head like (the only one I can remember) 28*32. He solved it in probably about 15 seconds, no calculator.
Pretty sure he's at some hotshot uni now, good on him. Said his dream was to work for NASA, hope he makes it I guess

this one kid on my study group was extremely profficient at chain rule and integrating polynomials
also knew the binomial expansion from memory

>>9865203
I worked in a small group with William Tutte. During WW2 he was the one in charge of deciphering German military communications. Alan Turing was in charge similarly of naval communication intelligence, and he was using tons of electronic computing power.
Bill Tutte figured out how to decipher the coded messages from Hitler to his generals, using linear algebra. Which is how the Soviets knew that the Germans were going to try to attack them by surprise using thousands of tanks at Kursk. The russians dug out their defences in advanced and moved their troops to their optimal positions and won in the end. Although about 5M soldiers on each side died. It was a big turning point in WW2.
The unknown military guy who believed linear algebra must have been smart as hell, compared to any other military guy, so he is my hero.

>>9869544
That's jus autism

my dad has a photographic memory, to make fun of me for only getting a 65 on my 2nd year physics final he studied the course notes for 3 hours and scored a 100 on the exam.

my mum is just a golddigger so i got a lot of bad genes. i feel bullied intellectually all the time desu because she's a social butterfly with a lot of friends and he is a mechanical engineer who could've done anything really and i can barely figure out how to tie my shoes or drive stick.

>>9865203
My grandmother, she taught herself Latin and Ancient Greek in two months, then aced both tests.

>>9869550
>The most effective people I've worked with were females, even though my field is extremely technical.
the absolute state of data """"science""""

>>9872120
why don't you ask him exactly that? how does he know?

>>9868331
So she’ll be shit doctor because she won’t be able to handle the conversation with patients she’ll need to.

>>9873863
>my dad has a photographic memory, to make fun of me for only getting a 65 on my 2nd year physics final he studied the course notes for 3 hours and scored a 100 on the exam
absolutely based

>>9865203
This is a story about Ed.
Ed had autism. Serious heavy autism. The kind that makes your first impression of him be something along the lines of "Why is that guy slamming his head against the locker repeatedly?".

Yes. Literally how we first met. The guy turned to me and asked "Why should I stop this?". I took some time to pause and think. "Well... because it hurts". He actually stopped. Smiled at me. Then nodded at me and said thanks. I asked him where his class was. He merely nodded and pointed. I knew from then on we were going to be good friends.

Turns out, Ed was a chess player. A few matches later revealed his love for programming, mathematics and even physics. He could read incredibly fast, taking in a small print book page in a few seconds. However, whenever numbers were involved, that is where he truly showed something marvelous if not even monsterous.

He could processes any mathematical quadratic in a few seconds. Mentally juggling arithmetic and algebra that would have taken a solid few minutes on paper in seconds, with or without derivations and granting anyone or thing asking the correct answers if needed.

It was then I realized this nervous wreck I had encountered before was actually a savant. From fields to fourier transforms to binary and even dimensional mathematics in depth and beyond topology. There was little I could do but admire from a distance. Such mental prowress. So young.

Then the icing on the cake. Programming. Basics in C. Make a standard calculator from binary. Task completion time. One week. He was finished in 40 minutes. From point insertion. Absorbtion of knowledge. Relay to computer. A wizard. No more. No less. That is what I saw. Trapped within a mind tormented by his own awareness that stemmed from, in my opinion, his own mortallity. His frustration at the fact he was less machine than human.

>>9868590
>I'm aware there's people smarter than me somewhere in the planet but I haven't found any yet.

same here

He would suffer bouts of hopelessness. I was determined to console him. If someone this intelligent gave up hope, what hope was there for the rest of us? I gave him some &encouragement in a time of need. However my task was to continue my studies. All I could offer were some words that held me together in a long and dark, foresaken time. Time which I still wish I had more of. I simply pray he is happy now.

However to this day. I know of very few people with that fury. That sting in every stroke of the keys or the fire in every flick of the page. The embers of absorbtion in every text. Sacred.

To Ed. A true fucking genius.

>>9874270
i just took a full minute to calculate 5% of 200

>>9865203
>Who's the smartest person you've ever known, /sci/? Tell me about them.
Me. It may sound smug but I am a pretty cool and chill guy actually.

>>9865203
A guy in my high school chemistry class. He also took all of those other technical classes and was able to write proficient essays in like 5 minutes at moments notice. He analysed things so quickly and deeply so that he could ask questions that made his teachers think for minutes trying to answer. He also argued about his test scores and why they were marked incorrectly, which then he would get several marks more because he corrected the teacher. To be honest I'm lucky that he was friendly towards me because if he wanted to embarrass me he could have easily. I hope he succeeds in life because he deserves it.

my brother, who graduated suma cum laude of a class of 700ish and then dropped out of college after a semester because he thinks college is a scam... actually typing this out makes me think that maybe hes not that smart after all.

>>9874284
Beautiful

>>9874270
Anon,
Will you take good care of Ed?
I mean, dont be suffocating, just watch over him.

>>9867537
this

>>9874630
Yes, winning at the freshman grade game isn't that difficult. At that point studying hard can still get you to the top of your class.

>>9874630
he's not wrong. everyone whose business venture takes off while in college tends to drop out because you're better off investing your time by tending to the business than listening to some boomer kikes that never worked in the industry yet are somehow supposed to teach you industry relevant material.

>>9865277
>I rationalized and said that if he's one year older than me, I've a year to make up the difference
Why do you only have one year?

>>9872540
>Total whiz kid. I remember him doing crazy calculations in his head like (the only one I can remember) 28*32. He solved it in probably about 15 seconds, no calculator.
Are you retarded?
(30-2)*3*10+56
(90-6)*10+56
840+56
896
This takes a few seconds.
It it almost instataneous if you do mental math.

>>9872120
A topologist knowing Topology.
How does it do it?
Brainlet.

>>9869638
>black
>genius

>All these high-school kids claiming other high-school students are the smartest people they met.

I feel so sorry for the American education system. If you lack an intellectual mentor by 18 it's probably too late for you already.

>>9865203
>Persons are not intelligent they are slaves.

>>9868590
>>9874280
>Dunning-Kruger-Effekt.exe

>>9866774
Boobs?