>One day, he proposed proving a special, much simpler case of the conjecture as a homework assignment. As an optional part, he included the original conjecture
There is a lesson there: always give people an opportunity to excel, if you can.
I remember at first year of university being presented with a bunch of “simple” problems early on, such as the Collatz conjecture.
I remember wanting to spend time trying to explore what a solution might look like, because such simply formulated problems must have equally simple solutions.
Maturing and getting a better understanding of my intellectual capacity, I have opted to solve practical problems with a much bigger chance of success and absolutely no groundbreaking qualities.
But I liked being taken serious from the start, and I think it’s important to try and solve hard problems before you grow stuck in the real world.
There is a lesson there: always give people an opportunity to excel, if you can.