How could Einstein not have been a good math student?

Retired

JF-Expert Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2016
Posts
44,629
Reaction score
83,056
This is Einstein's matriculation certificate at age 17. His scores in algebra, geometry and descriptive geometry were all 6 (the highest possible), along with physics and history. If it's math we're talking about, Einstein aced it as a student.

This understates things. At age 12, Einstein taught himself algebra and Euclidean geometry over a single summer, independently discovered an original proof of the Pythagorean theorem, and started teaching himself calculus. That's a textbook case study in precocity, not “poor math student”.

Saying Einstein wasn't a good math student is sort of like saying a sub-2:20 marathoner is a bad runner. It's a pretty strange claim to make.


 
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…