The core of the solution is recognizing that it can be reduced to a pair of algebraic equations rather than finishing off the computations. I was referring to the former in saying “could see how to answer it immediately.” An extremely gifted child might also be able to solve the equations without pencil and paper, but that’s a separate issue from abstract pattern recognition.
The core of the solution is recognizing that it can be reduced to a pair of algebraic equations rather than finishing off the computations. I was referring to the former in saying “could see how to answer it immediately.” An extremely gifted child might also be able to solve the equations without pencil and paper, but that’s a separate issue from abstract pattern recognition.