February 23, 2026
From ABCs to integrals
Terence Tao, at 8 years old [pdf]
From Sesame Street to Calculus: internet gasps, jokes, and debates over childhood genius
TLDR: A 1984 profile shows Terence Tao at eight, already tackling high school math and reading Calculus. Commenters reacted with awe, jokes, and debates about gifted education—some cheering flexible schooling, others worrying about pressure—plus literary and historical comparisons that turned a PDF into a big feelings factory.
An old-school gem just resurfaced: a 1984 paper chronicling “Tiny Terence” Tao, the 8-year-old who split his days between primary school and high school, casually reading a hardback titled “Calculus.” His teacher said he finished assignments two lessons ahead of everyone, while his principal called him “a happy little fellow.” Cue today’s internet reaction: stunned, slightly spooked, and full of spicy comparisons.
One commenter confessed they “parsed the title as an obituary” and got a scare, turning the thread into a brief wake-turned-wow. Another dropped a literary curveball with Flowers for Algernon, sparking talk about how we tell stories about intelligence—do we glorify, complicate, or humanize genius? The history buffs went full nerdfest, pulling in John Stuart Mill learning Greek at three, framing Tao as part of a long tradition of brainy kids with big expectations.
Drama alert: the crowd split between “let kids soar” and “let kids be kids.” Some saw a supportive family and flexible schooling as a win; others side-eyed the pressure cooker. Meme energy flowed—“Calculus before cereal,” “Sesame Street speedrun any%”—while a meta wink noted it’s hosted on gwern, the internet’s attic for fascinating PDFs. The mood? Awe, humility, and a whole lot of “wow, imagine being eight and doing integrals.”
Key Points
- •The 1984 paper by M.A. (Ken) Clements documents Terence Tao’s early mathematical precocity and its educational context.
- •At age seven, Tao split his time between Bellevue Heights Primary School and Year 11 Mathematics and Physics at Blackwood High School.
- •A front-page Adelaide Advertiser article highlighted Tao’s abilities; teachers reported he found classwork easy and finished early.
- •Clements, a researcher in gifted mathematics education, was invited by Tao’s father to assess Terence in July 1983.
- •During the assessment visit, Tao was reading a Calculus book, and Clements began testing using an Australian Council for Educational Research instrument.