Beauty and Geometry

I think that it is amazing that Tom Zhang had enough patience to solve this problem. He keeps repeating that if you are focused and work hard enough for long enough that you can solve any problem. He keeps repeating that his quiet peaceful personality is what allowed him to work for so long. I think that it takes a certain person to be able to be this focused on math. The person must love math, and must love doing math just to do math. The person must be somebody that is happy to work alone for years. I agree that a person like this is born, not made.

This article made me think that math can be not only a school subject, but a lifestyle. Tom Zhang spent hours a day doing math, and even when he wasn't doing math, he was doing math. He would think about math while doing other things, and when taking a break from his math by taking a walk, he often got new ideas. The peace he found in doing math transferred into his everyday life, and he seemed like a very clam man in the interview.

I think that the main message to take away from this is to find something that you love and emerse yourself in it and to not give up.