Tiny Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

Author:Alexander McCall Smith [McCall Smith, Alexander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2021-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

the mathematician

His gifts as a mathematician were spotted when he was four. His father, holding up four fingers, said to him, “Andrew, take four from seventeen. I know that’s a big sum but…”

Before he could finish, his young son, still lisping in the accents of early childhood, had given him the answer. “Thirteen.” And then had asked, quite casually, “Daddy, is snow composed of crystals?”

They arranged for him to be seen by an educational psychologist, who, when the appointment was made, warned, “Be prepared for a disappointment: many parents believe their child to be exceptionally bright. I have to bring them down to earth, you know.”

But in this case, after spending an hour with Andrew in his child-friendly consulting room, he said, “Mr. and Mrs. Macmillan, I have to tell you: your four-year-old is, quite frankly, astonishingly talented. His mathematical understanding is profound—really profound. Probably that of a sixteen-year-old. Remarkable.”

“We knew that,” said his father, sounding matter-of-fact rather than smug. “But it’s nice to have it confirmed.”

They were determined to give him a normal childhood, encouraging him to do the things ordinary boys of his age did. They lived in Cambridge, Britain’s great mathematical centre, and he won a scholarship to a school that offered special tuition in the subject. The head of the mathematics department said, “He’s something special, this boy.” He looked at him tenderly. “But he’s lonely, isn’t he?”

His parents knew that. They did their best to facilitate friendships, but Andrew remained solitary. Then at seventeen, when he was in his first year of mathematical studies at King’s College, he became friendly with a student of land management. This young man, Hugh Holderness, came from a large farm in Norfolk, where his parents raised rare breeds of sheep. He was the temperamental opposite of Andrew, being one of the most popular and gregarious members of the college. Women liked him, for his attractive personality as much as his good looks, and he was almost always surrounded by flocks of admirers. But he was kind to Andrew, and would often include him in his social occasions.

“Odd chap, that guy,” said one of Hugh’s friends. “He follows you round like a dog. And you can’t get him to talk about anything normal, can you? I’ve tried. Cricket—zilch. Girls—zero. Beer—ditto. What goes on in that head of his?”

“Mathematics,” said Hugh. “He’s a mathematician. That’s what they’re like. They’re on a different planet.”

When they graduated, Hugh went back to the farm in Norfolk. He did not see Andrew for over a year, but then he invited him to come up to a party he was holding to celebrate his engagement. He had met a girl called Stella, who had been working as a groom with his parents’ horses. She came from Durham, where her father was a pharmacist. She was considered a bit loud, and a bit brassy too, but that was what Hugh liked. She would make a good farmer’s wife, he thought.

Andrew came to the party. He watched from the edge of the room while people danced.

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