Pzhon's Post about Math and Nerds

[David Sklansky]

"But I would guess that there are many more people who score 800 on the verbal and only 550 on the math portion of the SAT, than score 800 on the math and only 550 on the verbal."

"Probably not, because getting an 800 on the Verbal is so much rarer than getting an 800 on the Math."

The moment I read the first post I said to myself "That captures my points pretty well. But I can't use it because the much greater rarity of Verbal 800's, at least in my day, probably is enough of a factor to make the statement untrue. (It would be true if you said something like "top one percent" of scorers.) So I'll leave it alone. No one will notice."

But MMMMM did. So he is out of the doghouse after three years after being put there concerning his gambler's ruin post. He goes back above Mark Glover on the 2+2 rating scale. Next stop, El Diablo.

[SomethingClever]

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Luckily for them, a well-rounded intellect usually comes with a frail physique, or at least small genitals. Not.

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It's Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party Time! Excellent! WooWooWooWOoW!

Nice post.

[pzhon]

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Quick: What is the average verbal SAT score of a Caltech freshman? Answer: About 730.

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I'd like to elaborate on this statement.

The verbal SAT score is not a great indicator of accomplishments or aptitude for the humanities, particularly for an individual. However, it is still useful for this discussion for at least two reasons.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] It is hard to get a nearly perfect verbal SAT score without having a high vocabulary and a good grasp of written English. You don't get these from mathematics and science textbooks. You naturally train both by reading other books. I believe the high verbal SAT scores of Caltech undergraduates indicates they have read a lot outside mathematics and science. <font color="white">By the way, many are not native speakers of English, and I believe most entered college early. These make it harder to read a lot.</font>
[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] I think a lot of people would greatly underestimate the average score. Many of those who guess too low are expressing their wishful thinking, which is common but remarkably inaccurate.

[Jazza]

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"But I would guess that there are many more people who score 800 on the verbal and only 550 on the math portion of the SAT, than score 800 on the math and only 550 on the verbal."

"Probably not, because getting an 800 on the Verbal is so much rarer than getting an 800 on the Math."

The moment I read the first post I said to myself "That captures my points pretty well. But I can't use it because the much greater rarity of Verbal 800's, at least in my day, probably is enough of a factor to make the statement untrue. (It would be true if you said something like "top one percent" of scorers.) So I'll leave it alone. No one will notice."

But MMMMM did. So he is out of the doghouse after three years after being put there concerning his gambler's ruin post. He goes back above Mark Glover on the 2+2 rating scale. Next stop, El Diablo.

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damn, where am I? average unknown? where is this list and how do i get on top of it?

[housenuts]

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a well-rounded intellect usually comes with small genitals.

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[ACPlayer]

Reflecting on this last night (see I can be categorized as a nerd --- I could have been drinking on the beach instead) the thought occured that it is far easier for a math person to delve into liberal arts fields on his/her own than vice versa.

There are two reasons that I identified: first is that the math vocabulary is different. IN order to understand calculus, even at a very basic leven one cannot simple pick up a calculus text and start reading it. While to for example to get a superficial knowledge of philosophical thought one could read and at least understand the words and sentences immediately a book by any philosphers.

The second is that math learning may be more sequential. Again a philospher on hearing about the relationship of quantam mechanics and philosphy would be hard pressed to understand much unless he first went through many layers of learning more basic math principles. A person schooled in quantam mechanics can make the reverse leap a lot easier.

None of this is to deny the value of formal education in either. It is only in a formal education setting, IMO, that the ability to critically think and separate the important from the unimportant comes in. It is in the interaction with others who share similar interests and the formal critique of your work that brings understanding.

That aspect of "arts" education, for me at least, is something that in retrospect I could/should have had more of. Just as, DS correctly identified that the non-mathematician should have had some more formal math education.

[andyfox]

I'm afraid to ask where I am.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi David:

I think I'm a good example of what you're talking about. Anyone who has read my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics will agree that reading a little history didn't past me by. Also, when the history channel contacted us about the History of Poker show I told them that I probably knew more about poker in the 1800s than anyone else. While a fair amount of what I told them did make the show, there were a few other things, like how and why poker spread west after the Civil war that did not.

Best wishes,
Mason

[Victor]

hi mason,

how and why did poker spread west after the civil war?

[Zeno]

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I think I'm a good example of what you're talking about. Anyone who has read my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics will agree that reading a little history didn't past me by.

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It also made your book all the more interesting and enjoyable. I especially liked the two chapters, "The World's Greatest Semi-Bluff" and "The World's Greatest Gamblers".

A side comment, Lincoln suspected (or fully knew) the defects of General McCellan. Wasn't there a famous cable from Lincoln to General McCellan, something like - "If you are not going to use the Army may I borrow it for awhile?".

-Zeno