By David Magallanes /Guest contributor
When I was in college studying mathematics, I often enjoyed listening to music, though not the kind that most young people listen to today. For some reason, I seemed to do my best mathematical work while listening to the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Certainly, I functioned well with Beethoven and Mozart. Throw in a bit of Iron Butterfly, Cream, Byrds, Vicente Fernandez, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Doors, Beatles and Peter, Paul and Mary, and you have an idea of the quirky mix that fueled my college studies.
I wondered at the time why I seemed to function at the higher levels of engineering math with Bach’s music. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Bach’s music is some of the most mathematically structured music of all time.
I think about the gift that these composers, especially Bach, as far as I’m concerned, are to humanity. Like Mozart, most of these composers died relatively young by today’s standards. Yet during their meteoric lifetimes, they pumped out music that Western Civilization treasures to this day.
And so I wonder about giftedness. Why did these cultural wonders of the world get it? Why don’t more of us have a similar gift from heaven? Or are we in fact blessed with a gift or gifts that we may not even recognize? Or dare admit? Is it a matter of having a gift bestowed upon us by the universe, but not nurtured — something like a seed with the potential to flourish and grow into a mighty oak, but with no dirt or water?
I remember clearly the day that I was informed when my daughter was tapped on the shoulder in third grade and offered entry into the GATE program, an environment offered in certain schools for gifted students. Although we knew our daughter was “smart as a whip,” it occurred to neither her mother nor I that she was “gifted.” Our families just weren’t used to thinking in those terms. But her teacher at the time saw something in our little girl and gave her the ticket to a brighter future. High expectations were placed on her and her classmates. I remember her writing, writing, writing … all the time that she wasn’t doing math, or some project in her history or geography class. Looking back now, I can see that this experience had a strong bearing on her success in college years later.
It wasn’t until I became a professional educator well into my working years that one of the college psychologists suggested that I was “gifted” in mathematics. At first I laughed, thinking she was joking. But then I realized that yes, I do seem to “catch on” to math with relatively little struggle, while I learned in my classrooms and in the tutoring center that most of the population is not blessed in this regard. However, so many of them were gifted in so many other ways, such as in art, music, mechanics, politics. I could only be “envious,” just as others were “envious” of my mathematical abilities.
I must say that I although I’m not from a rich or particularly affluent family, my interest in math was generally supported by my parents and teachers. My father didn’t go much beyond fifth-grade mathematics, but he was the one who taught me how to multiply large numbers. My early interests in astronomy and optics forced me to learn more math than I was getting in school at the time. I think the key for us is to follow our natural interests and inclinations, and see where they take us. It’s best to heed our instincts in this regard, lest we end up as a doctor or attorney who hates the job for which we’d studied for so many years — not to mention the tears, anguish and sacrifice.
Perhaps we need to take stock and discover that unique gift that I’m willing to bet we all possess, in one form or another. I believe we all come into this world with that pearl that would open the floodgates that pour joy and prosperity into our lives, if only we could discover, or in some cases excavate, that gift that is uniquely ours and through which we — and we alone — can offer the world gifts as special as those of Bach, Ghandi, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Paul McCartney, Bill Gates or Steven Jobs.
— David Magallanes is the creator of his own enterprise, Real World Projects, a speaking, writing and Internet marketing business dedicated to the advancement of the American Dream. An emerging branch of Real World Projects is Edifiquemos, a Spanish language enterprise dedicated to teaching the Spanish-speaking how to create a profitable international (U.S./Mexico) enterprise with low investment and high earning potential. David may be available for speaking opportunities. To contact him and for more information, you are invited to visit and explore his web sites at www.realworldprojects.info and at www.edifiquemos.com His e-mail is dmagallanes@RealWorldProjects.info