![\"terrance_tao_ucla\"](\"https:\/\/www.studypug.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/terrance_tao_ucla1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAlmost \u201cofficially\u201d known as the world\u2019s greatest Mathematician, now \u201cProfessor\u201d Terence Tao has been a math prodigy<\/a> since a he was just a little infant. Tao always loved mathematics as a kid. In fact, one of his earliest memories is of himself watching his grandma clean the windows at home. Tao shares that every time he saw his grandma clean windows, he insisted that she use the cleaning detergent to form numbers on the windows while she cleans. Yeah…this was little Tao\u2019s idea of fun at age 2. I think it\u2019s safe to say that Tao always liked numbers from an early age.<\/p>\n When it came to issues or pretty much anything, he appreciated a black or white answer rather than some hazy and confusing grey. As a child, Tao would work on math workbooks just for fun.<\/p>\n Did you know that whenever little Tao acted up, his folks just threw a math workbook in front of him and he was stuck with them for hours on them. Talk about developing a passion at an early age!<\/p>\n However, one thing that really separated Tao other \u2018geniuses\u2019 was his love for \u2018competitive\u2019 math. Most kids liked competing in sports, Tao was all about challenging people in math. In fact, he completely despised the math textbooks he received during his schooling because they were just \u2018too basic\u2019 for him.<\/p>\n As fate would have it, he wasn\u2019t just a blessed kid as far as learning math went but his mentors were equally helpful. When Tao was around 10, one of such mentors played a key role in his early development. A retired master professor in Adelaide gladly took Tao under his wing and further honed is \u2018craft\u2019 for Math. They actually spent many hours together over the weekend discussing mathematics equations while enjoying some tea and cookies. The best part was when this professor shared how he used math in \u2018real life\u2019 during World War II (Ballistics, etc). This use of Math in \u2018real life\u2019 was really fun for Tao and later proved to be a great motivating factor for him to learn more.<\/p>\n Tao soon got a PhD in you guessed it…Math at UCLA at the tender age of 24 (Accelerated learning of course). Best part, he enjoyed his time all the way. Learning something he loved as a kid and now getting into the real world mastering it. Also, Tao was mostly always comfortable with himself, thanks to the healthy self-esteem that was instilled in him at an early age. He knew he was a \u2018geek\u2019 but loved it. It was by doing such \u2018geeky\u2019 things that brought him joy. That said, he did admit that he missed out on a good chunk of the \u2018regular\u2019 high school life because he was always in some accelerated class.<\/p>\n Growing up, Tao was usually around people who were usually older than him (5 years or more) but had a similar background in math. So at the end, it all worked out. Terence Tao actually won his first Math gold medal at the age of 13. In fact, he is the youngest record holder ever win a gold medal at IMO or International Mathematical Olympiad.<\/p>\n It was during his early teen years that he truly developed an obsession with Math. The competitiveness became a natural part of it but the desire to solve issues and solve them first is what drove Tao and still drives him to this present day.<\/p>\n Anyways, years later after dazzling crowd after crowd, Tao\u2019s math game was about to go the next level when he entered Princeton. One of Princeton\u2019s youngest students ever, this was the place where Tao truly got in deep with calculus<\/a> and other math subjects.<\/p>\n Since then, Tao has won numerous awards but what qualifies him as a \u2018genius\u2019?<\/p>\n Tao proved that it’s impossible to find prime number of equal spacing and length in integers.<\/p>\n He has also written well over 300 papers that have had a major impact on modern mathematics.<\/p>\n Tao suggests that to really understand math or improve your own math, always try to combine it with a real life problem. Especially economical issues. Something he picked up while working with his mentors (As mentioned above).<\/p>\n Regardless of all the success he\u2019s achieved, Tao explains that the best problems are solved together. It not only forces you to think harder but in the end, real solutions are found by working together and helping each other out.<\/p>\nWho is Maryam Mirzakhani<\/h2>\n