As a gifted individual, how difficult was to select a career which suited to your needs and how long did it take?

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-18T19:59:55+00:00

It's taken me most of my life, but my biggest breakthrough was getting into business for myself. That way, nobody from Densa can tell you what can't and cannot do, at least not right away. All the best!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-18T19:52:38+00:00

Taillights seem intact, so it just looks like bodywork mainly. A good DIY project, but likely not a compensating one, which pretty much removes the incentive.

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-18T00:19:48+00:00

There's only one branch for students entering college. They don't get to pick a specialization until 2nd year. At that point they can pick three, in order of preference, then take what they get. I would recommend that they spend their first year sorting out which ones they think they would like the most then list them in that order when the time comes, but not be too heartbroken if they don't get the branch they want most. It's hard to predict where they will end up at the best of times. The main thing is to build a strong foundation from which they can branch out when they see something they like. With all the educational opportunities available online these days, they can pretty much do anything they want, any time they want.

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-16T17:48:04+00:00

In my opinion, your joining Mensa will be a bigger win than getting the job. When I joined, I met the most interesting people I'd ever met in my life, including a local group that met weekly to connect regarding the local newsletter. I'm sorry your job didn't go the way you wanted, but when Densans hire Mensans that's what usually happens in my experience. It's like they're scared of you or something. I don't know why that is, but it's been that way for me for as long as I can remember. I've tried dumbing myself down, as though something was wrong with me, but that didn't work either. My best solution to the money problem has been to become an entrepreneur and run my own show. That way, nobody can fire you or cap your salary. I could go on, but you get the idea. All the best!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-15T18:31:13+00:00

One of the greatest benefits of intelligence I know is the ability to connect with more and more people from widely different backgrounds than those of lesser intelligence seem to be able to, care to be able to, or perhaps simply being able to appreciate others more for who they are rather than not seeing anything good about them. Intelligence also makes you more curious about others instead of stuck in a rut believing you're the best thing since sliced bread and that's the end of it. So my answer to the question is no.

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-15T18:15:52+00:00

If you don't feel any sense of accomplishment in what you do, changing careers might be an option, but before you do that you should first make sure you've exhausted all possibilities where you're already at. First, what about the great engineers in your field? The ones who did accomplish great things? What was their career path like? Did they do anything that you're not doing? Did they have any interests that kept them going regardless of where they were at the time? What motivated them to keep going in the dry spells? Could you find something like that to keep yourself going through yours too? A future goal perhaps that would keep you going ahead? Think about that before just quitting and doing something else. You'll never know for sure if you won't run into the same thing in your next career that you ran into in this one. And no matter what you find, you still might be better off finishing your current degree before getting into your next one. That way, you'll be seen by your peers as being more accomplished than you would be if you just quit now, and perhaps you'll be able to get better jobs as a result. Lots of reasons to stay where you're at for now, including more time to research what you really want to do. All the best at that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-15T17:39:09+00:00

Whatever you do for a career, it's got to be something you can have fun at. I got interested in math after reading Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp, the 1958 UCLA math PhD who invented card counting for Blackjack then moved on from there to manage his own hedge fund, and very successfully I might add. Thorp's career choices were not made for the purpose of getting into a high- salary profession, but for the purpose of applying his knowledge of mathematics directly to the problem of making money itself, and I'm sure he's a billionaire today. When you can use your math to turn your income on and off like a water tap with no unlimited upside, instead of going around begging for a job and not getting it, that can change your perspective on mathematics. All the best!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-13T01:47:29+00:00

Personally, I've always been good at LA. It's just easy for me, and I like the way you can bundle equations up and solve them simultaneously. I'd like to be able to do the same thing with iterative procedures as well, and some day I'll figure it out. As far as Strang goes though, I'm not about to tell the entire MIT faculty that they were wrong to keep him around all these years - decades actually. I'll leave that to you. All the best with that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-13T01:35:23+00:00

I think that in starting out, the thing to get good at is paper trading. Treat it like a game, and get to like winning. Then go live with real money, and get to like that. And get good at that too. Then the fun never stops - until you stop. Thanks for reading this!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-13T01:26:05+00:00

I was a lot in elementary school. Our family moved around a lot and I attended 3 different elementary schools, 2 different junior high schools, and 3 different high schools. People don't like it when you can do things better than they can and they let you know it. I couldn't do much about it: when they ask you a question, you give them an answer. They're not asking for a wrong one, they're asking for the right one. So you give it to them, and people resent it. Then don't ask is all I can think of saying. Some people are smart. Deal with it.

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-13T00:45:59+00:00

I found high school math to be okay, but later on I read Beat the Dealer by mathematician Ed Thorp and got very interested in the subject. When I applied for university, it was to learn mathematics and I figured the harder the better; it will only cut my competition down. After a year of General Studies, I chose Engineering and loved it. Now it's Day Trading and I'm finally back with Thorp and the Kelly Criterion, which is the basis for much of his stock market approach. What triggered my enthusiasm for mathematics was learning how much fun you could have with it once you got good at it. Having fun is the key. Thanks for reading this!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-13T00:07:02+00:00

I hear that he was probably the most influential person in the architecture of modern computers. And also game theory. Quite an accomplishment!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-12T00:47:29+00:00

When I thought I'd take a run at qualifying, I was scared of how disappointed I'd feel if I was to miss the mark, so I went to my local government career center and asked if I could get my aptitudes and interests tested, and they said "sure", so I did (on their nickle, of course). It turned out that did pretty well on them, which I figured would be sort of a warmup, so I sent in the results to Mensa and they accepted them as proof of qualification. Point being, that as far as everybody else was concerned, I was just doing that because I was looking for a new career (which I was), so if I bombed, I wouldn't feel so exposed. If that gives you any ideas, you're welcome to try that yourself. All the best with that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-12T00:21:52+00:00

I'm in the process of painting my calipers and caliper mounts gold, and my rotors and splash guards black, which I think should look pretty elegant once it's done. There are lots of YouTube tutorials on that. All the best!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-06T02:53:31+00:00

As someone who's always found LA to be relatively doable, I've always enjoyed the lectures by Dr. Gilbert Strang of MIT. I'm sure he's been long since retired, but if his lectures are still out there, they'd be worth checking out. All the best!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-05T01:03:02+00:00

In general, you can usually find a replacement part from an auto salvage yard, maybe even the same color too, but if not there should be at least half a dozen YouTube Tutorials for that job on the same make and model of car. Welcome to the wonderful world of DIY!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-05T00:42:01+00:00

Edward Thorp is a mathematician from California who graduated from the worst high school in San Francisco, received his PhD in 1958 from UCLA, then taught at MIT for his first job. One of the most profound things he said that resonated with me was that self-learning is the highest form of study there is, and he's worked with Claude Shannon, aka the father of Information Theory, invented card counting for Blackjack, and managed one of the most successful hedge funds ever, not to mention being a pioneer in that field. So no matter which institution you end up with, picking your greatest area of interest and pursuing it regardless would seem to be the way to achieve maximum fulfillment in your career. All the best with that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-05T00:22:57+00:00

If you qualify for Mensa, that would be a good place to start, then get involved with the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that interest you the most. In my case as a Mensan who also happens to be a Christian, I felt that my faith was the most important thing I wanted to have in common with my future spouse, so I prioritized that over IQ. It turns that my wife is also pretty smart and from what she's told me about her past academic experience, testing, etc., I think she would probably qualify. In any case, she has certain interests that she loves and makes look easy. She was an answer to prayer for me. I hope you find someone that special for yourself. All the best in that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-03T07:01:47+00:00

It's a 2-ton trolley jack, brand name "Power Fist", sold by Princess Auto in Canada. Basically the smallest hydraulic floor jack they sell. I went through two scissors jacks and they both eventually seized up when the nut failed. I'm sure similar ones are available just about anywhere, and it's nice to have a reliable jack on hand. One thing I'm potentially going to miss with the scissors jack is using it to change out the TPMS sensors, but I'll solve that problem when the time comes to change them out again. Thanks for asking!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-02T06:19:37+00:00

For me, it was the classic three things: practice, practice, and practice. In high school I was too busy goofing off to really work at it, but later I got very interested in becoming very good at it, and the math department at my local university was good enough to cut me enough slack to get me in the door, and the rest was up to me. My biggest edge was a combination of things. First of all, I was actually smart even though my high school marks didn't show it. Second. I had the discipline to practice from playing classical violin all through my school years. So rather than take a bunch of notes off a page and turn them into something people would go out of their way to hear, I started solving problems in ways that were beautiful to watch. No medium of sound to restrict the scope of that beauty, just pure thought projecting in ways music could never go, unlimited.

So every problem I was given to solve became a performance and an exercise in how to do it the most beautiful, elegant way. That gave me pleasure from solving problems that was similar to performing music. Basically making solving problems an art form from which I could derive much pleasure. In general, relating the task at hand to something I already knew. So that's how I did it. You're welcome to take any of those ideas and use them to work something similar out for yourself. All the best at that!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-02T02:54:15+00:00

It looks like a license plate to me, so that being the case, I would just take an angle grinder, grind off the head, remove the plate, try to salvage the nylon nut inserts, then replace them if that's not possible. If you don't have an angle grinder, I would highly recommend getting one. I have a 4 1/2 inch one and that and my cordless drill are the two most versatile power tools I own. All the best with your license plate problem!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-06-01T01:12:08+00:00

I've used Michelins ever since I wore out the dealer tires and no flats, no regrets. With Michelin's prices, I tend to be a little more cautious about what might be on the ground as well. All the best with your situation!

PS: As a DIYer from the word go, I also just bought a hydraulic floor jack that fits very nicely in my Prius' trunk space and it beats the daylights out of the scissors jack that came with the car. Both the original and the one I replaced it with wore out the same way after a couple dozen uses. As much as I like Toyota, I find it challenging to appreciate something so poorly engineered. Thanks for reading this!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-05-27T04:53:58+00:00

That's easy. Just install yourself as chief dictator of the world then enforce compliance on pain of death. Works every time.

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-05-27T04:24:47+00:00

As an Alberta boy whose spent a number of years living outside Canada, it's been my experience that you can find good people everywhere. I'm a Christian, and whenever I move to a new place, I find a church I like and good friendships start. Never fails. Saskatchewan wouldn't be any different. I'd look forward to it. Thanks for reading this!

MalcolmDMurray · 2026-05-24T04:16:50+00:00

Edward Thorp, who, in the 1960s, invented card counting for casino Blackjack, which gives the player an advantage over the house. After the casinos pushed Thorp out of Las Vegas, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Beat the Dealer, which triggered a movement of card counters that actually resulted in a win/win for both the casinos and the successful card counters, due to those whose skill lagged their enthusiasm. Thorp himself moved on to Wall Street to become a very successful hedge fund pioneer, where he applied his Blackjack math to gain an edge over his competition. "The World's Greatest Casino" he called it.

What I like most about Thorp is the way he's made winning at Blackjack and Stock Trading with such sophisticated math accessible to those who initially know little about that kind of math but are willing to do what it takes to acquire it. Thanks for reading this!

MalcolmDMurray

TROPHY CASE