Is it a coincidence that many geniuses are good at mathematics

[MarkKol]

without listing many obvious people who qualify, what are your thoughts on this common pattern?

I've also heard that there is truth within mathematics, which surprised me. 

[Moksha]

Mathematics is a language which, when exhausted, eventuates in silence. Axioms are so relative.

Gödel's incompleteness theorems are two theorems of mathematical logic that demonstrate the inherent limitations of every formal axiomatic system capable of modelling basic arithmetic. These results, published by Kurt Gödel in 1931, are important both in mathematical logic and in the philosophy of mathematics. The theorems are widely, but not universally, interpreted as showing that Hilbert's program to find a complete and consistent set of axioms for all mathematics is impossible.

[Jannes]

It's because we simply value math and physics very highly in our western culture. If we didn't do that we wouldn't see mathematicians as the most intelligent people. 

It's like saying "is it a coincidence that many tall people are above 6 feet"?

It probably has to do with the fact that math is very crucial for all science and maybe other psychological reasons. 

I highly value the intelligence to make analogies for everything. 

[Leo Gura]

I was never good at math.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Jannes]

6 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I was never good at math.

@Moksha here you have it. The most genius of the most genius aren't even good at math. 

[thierry]

If you have Intelligence, you have great capacity for abstraction. If you have great capacity for abstraction you’ll have a lot of potential for Mathematics (but real mathematics not as mostly taught in universities.) 

to me real mathematics is more of visualisation exercices than anything else. It requires a strong mind to visualise everything that can happen within the realm of mathematics. The sad thing though is that in most universities of mathematics, all they do is make you learn patterns, giving you tools to use mechanically. You can have a mathematic degree and never have done real mathematics, in France at least.

[LSD-Rumi]

@Leo Gura Who do you consider a genius in science? and who do you consider overrated? 

[Leo Gura]

Scientific genius is usually quite narrow. Especially these days.

Newton was a genius. Tesla was a genius. Einstein was a genius. Freeman Dyson was a genius. For humans these guys were pretty good.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Leo Gura

[ValiantSalvatore]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz

I found him to be fascinating, I don't usually nerd out anymore on these topics, yet I got side-tracked while I studied and found out how early I was interested in holistic topics and series, that are quiet rare to find in itself. 

For me it's amazing any human could have done this so early. 

[ValiantSalvatore]

11 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Freeman Dyson

Wow the Dyson Sphere is named after him, I did not know incredible!

Edited July 8, 2023 by ValiantSalvatore

[MarkKol]

5 hours ago, Moksha said:

Gödel's incompleteness theorems are two theorems of mathematical logic that demonstrate the inherent limitations of every formal axiomatic system capable of modelling basic arithmetic. These results, published by Kurt Gödel in 1931, are important both in mathematical logic and in the philosophy of mathematics. The theorems are widely, but not universally, interpreted as showing that Hilbert's program to find a complete and consistent set of axioms for all mathematics is impossible.

What does that even mean? I can't understand a single word

[StarStruck]

They were not smart because of it but despite of it. 

[Princess Arabia]

It's funny because I was thinking something similar the other day. Not Genius/Math, but /intellectual /Awakened. A lot of Awakened people seem to be intelligent or intellectuals. Why is that? If you take notice, a lot of people who are Awakened, or claim to be, seem to have some form of intelligence or are intellectuals. Is this a coincidence or is enlightenment  reserved for a selected few. Obviously not. But there seems to also be a trend there. You don't see too many uneducated people or of low intelligence speaking about enlightenment or that many Gurus for that matter. Is enlightenment reserved for a certain kind of person or is it for everyone no matter what caliber they are. Obviously the latter, but I don't see too many people online who come from a certain background or who are lacking communication skills or a certain kind of intellect or intelligence speaking about enlightenment or awakening but you do see a lot of that, with due respect, in the religious community. Makes me wonder if we can intellectualize our way to enlightenment. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Princess Arabia

[Salvijus]

Being able to understand math shows that one is able to make sense. And if you make lot of sense, likely someone will call you a smart person. Maybe that's why

Edited July 9, 2023 by Salvijus

[gettoefl]

8 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I was never good at math.

i was always good at math but it made me far less well rounded and more isolated than i would have been otherwise

would much rather be more well-read and gregarious and am working on that now

Edited July 9, 2023 by gettoefl

[Sugarcoat]

3 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

It's funny because I was thinking something similar the other day. Not Genius/Math, but /intellectual /Awakened. A lot of Awakened people seem to be intelligent or intellectuals. Why is that? If you take notice, a lot of people who are Awakened, or claim to be, seem to have some form of intelligence or are intellectuals. Is this a coincidence or is enlightenment  reserved for a selected few. Obviously not. But there seems to also be a trend there. You don't see too many uneducated people or of low intelligence speaking about enlightenment or that many Gurus for that matter. Is enlightenment reserved for a certain kind of person or is it for everyone no matter what caliber they are. Obviously the latter, but I don't see too many people online who come from a certain background or who are lacking communication skills or a certain kind of intellect or intelligence speaking about enlightenment or awakening but you do see a lot of that, with due respect, in the religious community. Makes me wonder if we can intellectualize our way to enlightenment. 

Interesting observation! 
my spontaneous thoughts : people of “lower consciousness “, since their ego is more “dense” they  cling more hard to certain beliefs and ways of thinking.

This is direct limitation to their intelligence as intelligence requires openness to be able to blossom and develop otherwise it is tied and limited to whatever suits the persons identity and survival if that makes sense. So the mind is bound up instead of being more loose and free to make connections etc

So perhaps it is the opposite - higher awareness/enlightenment leading to more intelligence instead of higher intelligence leading to higher awareness /greater chance for enlightenment ??

Edited July 9, 2023 by Sugarcoat

[Sugarcoat]

9 hours ago, thierry said:

If you have Intelligence, you have great capacity for abstraction. If you have great capacity for abstraction you’ll have a lot of potential for Mathematics (but real mathematics not as mostly taught in universities.) 

to me real mathematics is more of visualisation exercices than anything else. It requires a strong mind to visualise everything that can happen within the realm of mathematics. The sad thing though is that in most universities of mathematics, all they do is make you learn patterns, giving you tools to use mechanically. You can have a mathematic degree and never have done real mathematics, in France at least.

What is this “real” mathematics called?

. 
I’m a highly visual thinker but struggled with the math in school and have thought its not my strong suit but now since you made that distinction it got me curious. 

[supremeyingyang]

13 hours ago, MarkKol said:

without listing many obvious people who qualify, what are your thoughts on this common pattern?

I've also heard that there is truth within mathematics, which surprised me. 

Mathematics is a very worthwhile tool-set (financially), which is increasingly harder to get. So to me it's the other way around.

If someone is very good at higher Mathematics, then the probability of the person being a genius increases.

 

10 hours ago, Jannes said:

It's because we simply value math and physics very highly in our western culture. If we didn't do that we wouldn't see mathematicians as the most intelligent people. 

It's like saying "is it a coincidence that many tall people are above 6 feet"?

It probably has to do with the fact that math is very crucial for all science and maybe other psychological reasons. 

I highly value the intelligence to make analogies for everything. 

We pay good for it, but most people hate on Math after High School. So 'we value math' is a arbitrary statement. Yes we do, but not so that they all say: YEES, this is the most important thing to learn for a majority of people. There is a constant need for people who are good at math.

 

 

[Yimpa]

9 hours ago, ValiantSalvatore said:

Wow the Dyson Sphere is named after him, I did not know incredible!

And Dyson vacuums suck, like Leo’s math skills!

[ValiantSalvatore]

52 minutes ago, Yimpa said:

And Dyson vacuums suck, like Leo’s math skills!

rofl

They look amazing though

Edited July 9, 2023 by ValiantSalvatore