Page 194 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

you feel a strong wash of emotion or certainty (“But I’m right!”), it may be a
clue that you’re correct—or alternatively (and perhaps even more likely, because
of your telltale emotions), it may be that you need to go back and reexamine
matters using a more objective perspective.
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We’re often told that empathy is universally beneficial, but it’s not. It’s
important to learn to switch on an occasional cool dispassion that helps you to
not only focus on what you are trying to learn, but also to tune people out if you

discover their interests lie in undercutting you. Such undercutting is all-too-
common, as people are often just as competitive as they are cooperative. When
you’re a young person, mastering such dispassion can be difficult. We are
naturally excited about what we are working on, and we like to believe that
everyone can be reasoned with and that almost everyone is naturally good-
hearted toward us.

Like Cajal, you can take pride in aiming for success because of the very
things that make other people say you can’t do it. Take pride in who you are,
especially in the qualities that make you “different,” and use them as a
secret talisman for success. Use your natural contrariness to defy the always-
present prejudices from others about what you can do.

NOW YOU TRY!

Understanding the Value of “Bad”

Pick a seemingly bad trait and describe how it could be beneficial in helping you learn or
think creatively or independently. Could you think of a way to diminish the negative
aspects of that trait, even as you enhance the positive aspects?

SUMMING IT UP
Learning on your own is one of the deepest, most effective ways to

approach learning:
It improves your ability to think independently.
It can help you answer the strange questions that teachers
sometimes throw at you on tests.
In learning, persistence is often far more important than intelligence.

Train yourself to occasionally reach out to people you admire. You can