RE: Can I just say, and I'm just being honest...
April 14, 2017 at 12:18 am
(This post was last modified: April 14, 2017 at 12:21 am by Kernel Sohcahtoa.)
CIJS,
I bumped into a gentleman tonight at work, and I must say that it opened up a part of me that I had closed off. Initially, he asked if I was in Mensa (he is a Mensa member) and if I had played chess with him before. I told him that I am a member but didn't remember playing him in chess. Now, once he brought up playing a guy who looked just like me and who was playing chess against him blindfolded, I remembered the gentleman; our games must have occurred about six years ago. In addition, he remarked multiple times that I had a brilliant, unique mind and was inquiring about what I was doing with it. However, I simply told him that I like math and study it every now and then. As a result, he inquired about whether I was working on anything or creating something. In response, I said no, and to be honest, while his remarks were very flattering, I really wanted to tell him straight up that I'm nothing intellectually special or unique: I'm just a guy who likes and appreciates ideas .
Now, interestingly enough, my conversation with him prompted me to recollect an occasion where I used Warnsdorf's rule (Pohl's rule for tie breakers) to create an open knight's tour on an 8X8 chess board completely in my mind without a board, pen, or paper. Naturally, once I finished, I wrote the chess notation out on paper and confirmed that my tour was correct; eventually, I was able to mentally tweak it into a closed tour. However, I concluded that it would be a waste of time developing and cultivating this ability and/or searching for areas where this ability could be useful. As a result, I closed the door on this. In addition, over the years, I have chosen to keep mensa, along with other intellectual things that make me oddballish, to myself.
With that said, it was nice to see the gentleman, and to be honest, I have occasionally wondered about how he was doing. When I was talking with him tonight, he looked well and happy. In addition, it looks like he is certainly putting his mind to good use.
Well, on that note, I wish him well on his life journey, and it is my hope that his chosen path in life brings him success and happiness.
Live long and prosper young gentleman, AF members, and anyone else.
I bumped into a gentleman tonight at work, and I must say that it opened up a part of me that I had closed off. Initially, he asked if I was in Mensa (he is a Mensa member) and if I had played chess with him before. I told him that I am a member but didn't remember playing him in chess. Now, once he brought up playing a guy who looked just like me and who was playing chess against him blindfolded, I remembered the gentleman; our games must have occurred about six years ago. In addition, he remarked multiple times that I had a brilliant, unique mind and was inquiring about what I was doing with it. However, I simply told him that I like math and study it every now and then. As a result, he inquired about whether I was working on anything or creating something. In response, I said no, and to be honest, while his remarks were very flattering, I really wanted to tell him straight up that I'm nothing intellectually special or unique: I'm just a guy who likes and appreciates ideas .
Now, interestingly enough, my conversation with him prompted me to recollect an occasion where I used Warnsdorf's rule (Pohl's rule for tie breakers) to create an open knight's tour on an 8X8 chess board completely in my mind without a board, pen, or paper. Naturally, once I finished, I wrote the chess notation out on paper and confirmed that my tour was correct; eventually, I was able to mentally tweak it into a closed tour. However, I concluded that it would be a waste of time developing and cultivating this ability and/or searching for areas where this ability could be useful. As a result, I closed the door on this. In addition, over the years, I have chosen to keep mensa, along with other intellectual things that make me oddballish, to myself.
With that said, it was nice to see the gentleman, and to be honest, I have occasionally wondered about how he was doing. When I was talking with him tonight, he looked well and happy. In addition, it looks like he is certainly putting his mind to good use.
Well, on that note, I wish him well on his life journey, and it is my hope that his chosen path in life brings him success and happiness.
Live long and prosper young gentleman, AF members, and anyone else.
