A Different Kind of Poet

I was reading the fascinating story of one of this year's winner of the Fields Medal in Mathematics, June Huh, when I was struck by this reflective quote from him on his younger, lost self:

"I wanted to be someone who writes great poetry.  I didn't want to write great poetry."

I just had to stop reading and ponder that one.  That's a great one, right?  

He said this while reflecting on the fact that he dropped out of high school to concentrate on poetry full time. (there's a lesson in the meandering path life can take right there!)

Through my years of teaching, I have always felt that I had little to offer the brightest of my students.  It felt like I was almost an impediment to their learning.  Not necessarily me as a person, but me as an instrument of the learning box with specific expectations called school.  I, on the other hand, always liked schools and their clear expectations.  Now I realize that part of the reason for my liking school is that I didn't have to make choices or figure stuff out of my own.  I enjoyed school not because I was smart or hard working but because I was intellectually lazy.  The article explain that for June, "School was excruciating... He loved to learn but couldn’t focus or absorb anything in a classroom setting."

I know a lot of really really smart people who think that school as we know it doesn't work and we need to restructure and rebuild the entire enterprise of public education. I think that they are being naive in their giftedness.  Most of us need that structure and those fake, external motivators.  But I am quick to admit that one size does not fit all!  I actually think public school do an excellent job considering the wide swath of students they need to serve and add some kind of value to.  It really is amazing that a single institution can serve such a large proportion of students who just happened to live in the same zip code when you think about it.

Well, Professor Huh, I am glad you found your true calling rather than the one you thought you wanted to be.  A poet of mathematics is a mighty fine thing!

P.S. I also found it fascinating that he can only work for about 3 hours a day before he gets exhausted.  I have worked a 16 hour shift of manual labor in a winery and felt okay the following morning but I could only study for exams with great concentration for about 2 or 3 hours at a stretch.  I recall that once, as a freshman at Purdue, I had 5 final exams with a single 48 period at the end of one semester.  I remember eating on those days as if I was been running marathons.  It always makes me wonder how little I am actually using my brain on other days...