Learning a new skill takes time and patience. Whichever skill one would be learning, time and patience would need to be invested, as well as effort. Whether a physical or mental skill, effort over time must be applied.

Just like with sports and exercises, learning other skills such as mathematics requires a certain talent. Or does it? Can anybody become a good mathematician? 

How Good Are We Talking About?

This is where the talent part comes in. People are born with certain talents and traits, sometimes even disorders, but they have an extremely attuned mind for some disciplines or fields of study. 

Hard work pays off, but some people, in the right circumstances, are simply a step or ten steps above.

Effort Matters

Leaving aside the dreams of becoming a genius and reinventing the universe, one can become as good as they want, or rather, as much as they can. Dedication and work separate people with dreams from people who make those dreams come true.

With enough work, an “average” mathematician could and would outperform those who are deemed “talented” but are prone to slacking off and not working regularly. Learning mathematics is a process that takes time and a methodical approach.

Being Good in What Field of Mathematics?

Mathematics is a huge field of study. Being good at algebra is one thing and being good in computational mathematics another. Given that mathematics is huge, there are so many areas and subareas in which a person can excel.

Effort fueled by passion makes everything easier, particularly in science. One might find number theory tedious or uninteresting but applied mathematics entertaining, and being good at any of these fields is far from impossible.

It is Not an Easy Route to Take

However, hearing words of encouragement does not mean that everybody can be good at mathematics. Some people just don’t have the passion for it, which is normal. Most people have the potential to be great at anything, however, not everybody wants to or will take the steps to turn that desire into action.

Being good at anything requires effort and patience, and mathematics is not an exception. With effort and guidance, anybody can excel at mathematics, potentially.

Just like with most professions, careers and fields of study, any person could technically excel in mathematics. They might not be the next Einstein or Mozart, but they could be good enough that they would still seem like geniuses in their respective field, including mathematics.