"Overnight sensation" - an oxymoron
When I read a story about an overnight sensation I am doubtful that it is true. This was the case the other day.
I noticed a story about a mathematician who published a solution to a difficult problem dealing with prime numbers that many great mathematicians failed to solve.
Dr. Zhang graduated with a doctorate but failed to get an academic position. He worked as an accountant and in a Subway. His life does not follow in a traditional path of a great mathematician.
The article also said something else that made me think. It claimed that when one examines his work it is not that he was inspired and that it had a spark of greatness. The article claimed that his work showed great persistence in applying existing methods and that other mathematicians failed to apply. In other words he outworked them while they waited to be inspired.
It is a great story that illustrates that sometimes we might just need to persevere through our work instead of looking for a spark of genius.
Today's question is:
"Can you outwork most of your coworkers?"
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