The Kid Who Was Good at Math
Published on Sep 26, 2023.
There once was a kid who was good at math.
In reality, there wasn't anything special about this. He just liked numbers, the way other kids like balls or dirt.
One afternoon, when he was 6, he memorized the multiplication table by realizing that he only had to memorize a quarter of it and he could figure out the rest. His dad was impressed. So were his teachers. They started whispering that he was "special". He heard, and he liked it.
When he turned 8, he took an IQ test and did very well. The school called him "gifted" and put him in a special school, where they were all trained for math competitions. The teachers whispered who do you think will come in first. He heard, and he wanted to come in first.
By the time he was 14, he was in a "magnet" school, with kids from all over the county. They were all good at math. But people whispered he was better. He heard, and he smiled.
When he was 16, he took a standardized test. He got a perfect score, one of 2567 in the country to do so. The school gave him a medal. People whispered that he would go to a good college. To the best college. He heard, and he listened.
He got into that college, because he stayed up late nights studying what they wanted. He didn't tell anyone about this though. People whispered of course he got in because he's just special. He heard, and he let them believe.
When he got into that college, everyone was good at math. But math didn't matter anymore. Now people whispered about getting a good job. He heard, and he hustled.
He majored, with honors, in Economics. People said he was smart for studying something "practical". But they whispered he would be smarter for getting a job in finance at the biggest bank in New York. He heard, and he moved to New York.
After two years in banking, people whispered that the smart ones would get their MBA before they burned out. He heard, and he applied.
He got his MBA, with another two hundred thousand in debt. People whispered now the real future was in tech. He heard, and he moved out West.
He joined Big Tech Corp as a senior manager of gimmicks and go-hizzles. His job was to spend all his time in meetings. People whispered what a great job he had. He heard, but he was too busy to smile.
Years passed, and he became more senior senior. People stopped whispering about him. They started whispering about some new wunderkind. Did you hear the kid made an app when he was only 12. He heard, and he tried to not care.