Dear Simone,

When I was much younger, I was fortunate to be part of a group of gifted mathematicians. In time, some of my former colleagues did better than me, other worse than me - it's just normal. However, a good number among those former colleagues simply did nothing with their gift, they just "got lost". We all received the same amount of quality attention, support and opportunities in our formative years, so I do not have any explanation why that happened.

My point is that, no mater the programs or opportunities offered, it is the individual resilience that ultimately makes or destroys a career. And, with a few exceptions, in our old age, we look at each other one with envy - isn't this awful?

In my case, I found pleasure and solace in: research, of course (I got 2 PhD's, wrote 4 books, some 140 papers and got involved in some 80 business, economics, finance, psychology, social sciences, biology, medical and health studies); in teaching (I have taught 23 undergraduate and 12 graduate statistics and mathematics distinct courses); but also in coordinating students (2 Postdocs, 6 Ph.D., 14 Master and over 400 undergraduates) - these are my ways of giving back for the superb gift that I've received.

I am now retired from academia, still working as consultant in the private sector, and still do research and guide young gifted mathematicians, statisticians, software specialists, engineers, etc.

I do not know if you expected such an answer, but this is where mathematical giftedness might lead someone.

All the best,

George

Support (or lack thereof) for mathematical giftedness in Iceland.

As of 2020 there is no official problem-solving support program offered regularly for mathematically gifted students at any level. Some high schools run mathematics competitions for students in surrounding schools grade 8-10 (age 13-15), the Pangea International competition is offered for all students whose class teacher decides to participate in grade 8-9 (age 13-14), and a pre-selection and selection round for the IMO team is organized for all students in grade 11-13 (age 16-18) every year. Training sessions for the selection round and the final training of the IMO team are open to other interested students free of charge. Some of the materials from the training sessions and all competition papers with solutions are accessible free of charge for any interested student/teacher.

Dear Simone,

When I was much younger, I was fortunate to be part of a group of gifted mathematicians. In time, some of my former colleagues did better than me, other worse than me - it's just normal. However, a good number among those former colleagues simply did nothing with their gift, they just "got lost". We all received the same amount of quality attention, support and opportunities in our formative years, so I do not have any explanation why that happened.

My point is that, no mater the programs or opportunities offered, it is the individual resilience that ultimately makes or destroys a career. And, with a few exceptions, in our old age, we look at each other one with envy - isn't this awful?

In my case, I found pleasure and solace in: research, of course (I got 2 PhD's, wrote 4 books, some 140 papers and got involved in some 80 business, economics, finance, psychology, social sciences, biology, medical and health studies); in teaching (I have taught 23 undergraduate and 12 graduate statistics and mathematics distinct courses); but also in coordinating students (2 Postdocs, 6 Ph.D., 14 Master and over 400 undergraduates) - these are my ways of giving back for the superb gift that I've received.

I am now retired from academia, still working as consultant in the private sector, and still do research and guide young gifted mathematicians, statisticians, software specialists, engineers, etc.

I do not know if you expected such an answer, but this is where mathematical giftedness might lead someone.

All the best,

George

First thanks , it is really an interesting question.

A problem is that gifted and talented students do not receive the necessary care

To meet their needs by remaining in regular classes. Therefore, I find it important to do the following:

- Staying away from traditional methods during teaching, this leads to boredom for students, especially talented people

- When constructing lessons conceptually, we take into account that gifted and talented students may also suffer

One of the weaknesses in understanding the curriculum and that they need to be considered. And when applying the teaching conceptually within

In the ordinary class, students of all levels will learn in a deeper way.

- Adding open-ended questions to both education and evaluation for their positive results on students ’understanding

As well as their attitudes towards the material.

The- direct and indirect financial support for talented people