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A comment on The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011). Parent comment

Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by chaboud on Monday August 16, 2021 @10:52PM (#28205651)
Unless he was born on February 29th (good luck getting that drink at a bar), reading after only hitting two birthdays is the stuff of legend.

That said, having been told so by a genius, I feel like I'm now unshackled, ready to pursue a life of mathematics as a non-genius.

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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by wutbrodo on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @12:39AM (#28206292)
> reading after only hitting two birthdays is the stuff of legend.

I don't think this is quite true. I started reading shortly after my third birthday, and I don't think I just missed the cutoff for "legend".

Though any one or two of Tao's other accomplishments fairly easily clear that bar, IMO.

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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by sdiupIGPWEfh on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @09:43PM (#28216875)
Echoing others, hyperlexia is a thing, and reading by age 2 isn't really all that special. I was reading by age two and a half, and my own kid was reading just before turning two. I'm no genius, while she's definitely sharp but not gifted.
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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by jamesdmiller on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @10:26AM (#28210186)
Children with hyperlexia can often learn to read before they are two. I personally knew a children who before the age of two was reading.
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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by spoonjim on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @12:14AM (#28206173)
My son was reading at age 2. Was definitely not doing calculus at 7.
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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by eyelidlessness on Monday August 16, 2021 @11:15PM (#28205794)
This is the correct takeaway! Go learn and explore!
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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by thaumasiotes on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @01:08AM (#28206423)
> Unless he was born on February 29th (good luck getting that drink at a bar), reading after only hitting two birthdays is the stuff of legend.

No it isn't. I would have called it "normal".

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Re:The Inconsistency of Arithmetic (2011) by CRConrad on Tuesday August 17, 2021 @10:06AM (#28210001)
Re-read, or dial down.
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