<p>
</p>
<p>yes but a child could learn the language infinitely faster. </p>
<p>Virtually all great mathematics has been done by the young and the very young. Even truly world-class mathematicians often do little (if any) significant work after, say, forty. </p>
<p>The world level top chess grandmasters also tend to be young - again, virtually no one over 40 and most younger than 30.</p>
<p>in music, chess, and math one can ONLY be great if they start young</p>
<p>probably other things too</p>
<p>Ok but what is the cutoff age, after which all hope is lost? Or does it vary by subject?</p>
<p>As you said re: the chess grandmasters, most are younger than 30. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they started at age 7, they could have started at age 19 or 21, no?</p>
<p>No chess player who started before age 13 (and that’s being very veeeery conservative) will ever be the best in the world.</p>
<p>Great. It’s a good thing I’m learning chess after 13. (snicker)</p>
<p>Okay, tangents aside. So what, you’re not a child prodigy. Why is that so important?
I,too understand your feelings, when I was younger i wanted to be a child prodigy, write a book, and all that stuff. But how is my lack of ability to be a child prodigy my fault? After all, the girl at Gunn’s high school ( whose bio I read) may not have been as brilliant as any of us, or possessing of better math skills. But if you examine her bio closely she had a lot of opportunity. She went to one of the best schools in California/the United states. Her grandmother taught her mathematics ahead of time. (I barely learned 1st grade math). She knew about competitions like Intel/presumably studied for AMC. In my school, I learned about Intel LAST YEAR! She went to RSI and was able to have a person to work with. For better or worse, many of us don’t have these opportunities. If we were in her situation, hey, we very well could be where she is today. Anyway, at the end of the day, what does it matter if you achieve the world while you are young. I prefer achieving this later, because I can savour and appreciate winning competitions more now. I also don’t believe there is really a time limit on your capacities. I believe that I was given a nuturing environment now-- I could become a “prodigy” and so forth. Honestly, when I regret things in my life, it’s not that I didn’t become a prodigy, it’s all the times I didn’t slow down enough to enjoy my life. In the end, I don’t think we are all destined to be mediocre–but when we all find the right passions we will be “genius” of a sense.</p>
<p>P.s.
I don’t think our situation is comparable with the situation of men in the 1800s or 1900s ever. The world is radically different and there are so many different contributing factors that we can’t really compare ourselves to Isaac Newton or Einstein.</p>
<p>The cut off age is whatever age you die at.
I think I’m just way too optimistic, but… ehhhhh.</p>
<p>We define this cutoff age. ********.</p>
<p>Might be impossible, but I’mma ****ing try.</p>
<p>So I decided to do some research on the whole chess thing and what I found is that the reason why it is unlikely to become a grandmaster if you started late, doesn’t necessarily have to do with intelligence, mental capacity, etc. but actually is more on the lines of practicing time as when one is older he/she would have less time to practice due to responsibilities such as work, family, etc. and apparently practicing is the way to improve. And some people even gave examples of people who started off late and so on.</p>
<p>Crying/Whining about not being a prodigy or gifted isn’t going to do much. If you want to be remembered, then that’s the wrong step. I don’t believe that most talented figures in history cared much about being known a hundred or two hundred years later. They did what they did because they enjoyed it. </p>
<p>If you want to be famous or remembered and believe that one could only achieve that by starting at the age of five, then prove yourself and the rest of the world wrong.</p>
<p>The first post has a lot of misconceptions. Unfortunately, many child prodigies are washed out as adults. One kid who supposedly had an iq of 400 as a 5-yr-old is now working at Home Depot as a middle-aged “failure” (too lazy to look up his name). Most people who went on to win the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize didn’t develop interest in their fields until college, for some grad school, for some until they just fell into their careers. And they likely didn’t take on the projects which led to those awards years after they settled in their careers. A lot of scientists tend to do their best work in their late 20s (though hardly ever before and still often much later due to brain maturity). Writers tend to get better w/ age. (Assuming most of you are 16-18, compare your writing now to how it was even 3-5 years ago.) Many literary figures do their best work in their 50s or later.</p>
<p>OP, you sound sort of like Christiansoldier. He actually wrote a college essay about the depression he drove himself into by benchmarking himself against history’s geniuses. He was a remarkable talent, but sadly got rejected by his top schools. Still got into Princeton, though.</p>
<p>Okay seriously - read about this guy ([Stephen</a> Smale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Smale]Stephen”>Stephen Smale - Wikipedia)) and get inspired.</p>
<p>don’t take my OP too seriously guys. I know that the most positive way to use these feelings is for motivation. 18 is a great time to start living life correctly, but I still can’t help but feel that I’ve wasted a lot of time</p>
<p>Sorry, but most child prodigies don’t get remembered in history.</p>
<p>It’s quite beneficial to my lifestyle that there’s people who actually strive to do something worthwhile in this world. I would like to thank everyone who does so but I could care less who you are; as long as it allows me to sit more comfortably in my chair, i’m all for it!</p>
<p>Be depressed and experience all sorts of moral afflictions, but while you’re at it, I need to get another bag of potato chips if you don’t mind.</p>
<p>After ruminating a bit, I think what upsets me most is the potential that I haven’t lived up to that I won’t ever be afforded the opportunity to seize back. I like what the previous poster said about hell</p>
<p>“The greatest sorrow is what could be”</p>
<p>
Please do feel that way-- that’s the idealism you inherited through evolution. Benefit society, keep the race going, benefit the human race. Please do feel that way, and don’t ever think about your actions because what your heart tells you is most definitely right.</p>
<p>Do I correctly perceive a tinge of sarcasm in your post?</p>
<p>The past is over and done with. You’re not really accomplishing anything by regretting it. Of course you can wallow for a while, but in the end, what are you really doing? Squandering the time, just like your younger self. Take a lesson and try to be happy. It’ll make life a lot easier.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone else said this, but don’t feel depressed. The majority of “history’s greats” don’t become greats until they’ve lived a little and have failed a few times (or been painfully average for awhile). You’re just a kid, you still have plenty of time to make it in the textbooks =)</p>
<p>I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan</p>
<p>Spoken like a Winner.</p>
<p>Damn, Jordan is such a mountain man.</p>
<p>Thanks for helping me feel better guys</p>