An application I submitted to Mensa requesting a scholarship. Never heard back.

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The Essay

Our society is very oriented about answering questions. Our childhood is full of tests. We’re hired based on ‘what we know’ and ‘what we can do’. What’s too often overlooked is ‘what we can figure out’. The issue with that is that they neglect the step most crucial to scientific progress: asking questions. My focus is asking questions. My ability to inquire is what I believe has put me on the path to achieving my goal: a comprehensive understanding of how things work. I believe it is my genuine interest in math and science that will lead me to my goal.

One of my favorite aspects of science is that the conflicts of ideologies aren't resolved with weapons, warfare, and demagoguery but with reason and rationality. Moreover, these conflicts even promote scientific advancement as their resolution and the disproving of one thing or another is in the best interest of the entire scientific community because they are all united by one overarching objective: to uncover the truth about reality. Specifically, I'm drawn to Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science all for the same reason: I want to understand the universe by studying its phenomena and these three topics of study are the tools I need in order to do so. Mathematics is the most fundamental of these; math is direct, descriptive, and concise in representing our world.

I find Mathematics and Physics so profound because the laws discovered in their study not only existed before humans, but have existed since the beginning of time and space. This means we're discovering the indisputable and invariant laws of the cosmos. Thus, these discoveries are the closest to absolute truth one may achieve. This is remarkable. The inherent integration of mathematics and physics with reality provides them with a certain beauty that’s unique to the sciences. It is this beauty that attracts me.

I think that math’s infinite reach and multitude of approaches makes it the most formidable field. Just as there is not only one way to solve a problem, there is not only one way to understand a concept or principle of mathematics. Another appealing quality is the description of perceptibly inaccessible attributes/objects (such as the geometric 4th dimension) using mathematics.

However, the most interesting thing about the world, which Mathematics allows us to identify, is its interconnectedness. The relations between superficially discrete phenomena can become integrally connected from a comprehensive Mathematical view. The depth of Mathematics is incredibly intimidating and to understand even a fraction of it would be an incredible feat. If, as Richard Dawkins has said, science is the poetry of reality, then mathematics is the language of reality.

Raw notes

Judging will emphasize a goal statement that includes specific information on experience or steps taken toward the goal, persuasiveness (e.g. how your past achievements/experiences and your future planning increase the probability of you reaching your goal), why you think that you will succeed, and also grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 



Our society is very oriented about answering questions. Our childhood is full of tests. We’re hired based on ‘what we know’ and ‘what we can do’. What’s too often overlooked is ‘what we can figure out’. There are some who are there to figure out how things are supposed to work, but there are others who are there to figure out why things aren’t working. The knowledge and skill for those two jobs is remarkably different. They’ve become too oriented around it. The issue with that is that they neglect the step most crucial to scientific progress: asking questions. My focus is asking questions. My inquisition is what I believe has put me on the path to achieving my goal: a comprehensive understanding of how things work. I believe it is my genuine interest in math and science that will lead me to my goal. 

Nearly every day after a math class, I’ll spend hours trying to answer a question I asked myself during the class. More than often I find that my question is answered later in the class. 

As we see from the scientific method, true understanding starts with questioning. It takes curiosity to uncover a new world or way of thinking and it takes creativity to explain that new world using personally developed tools.




I’m going to be that annoying kid that keeps bothering you about the new theory he has or the new way to look at some math. I’m going to be that kid who doesn’t obey everything he’s told.  

I’m going to be the one who doesn’t listen when you tell me what’s important. I’m going to be the one who finds it out for himself. 

I’m going to be the misfit, the rebel, the trouble-maker. I’m going to be the round peg in the square hole. I’m going to be one who sees things differently. I’m going to be the one who’s not fond of rules, and I’ll have no respect for the status-quo.

You definitely don’t want me around.

I’m going to be the one who’s crazy enough to think he can change the world.