By age two, he had taught himself to read.
That's not as impressive as people think. I personally know dozens of people who did the same. Nearly all from gifted classes or MENSA/Triple 9 membership as a kid, admittedly, but intellect means little without resources and access to training. Tao is a uniquely qualified mathematical mind because he had access to training almost no one else does. Most of us have to plod our way through regular school no matter how clever we are, eventually becoming thoroughly disenchanted with formal education. And what if Tao had decided to become a photographer? Or a tax accountant? He wouldn't be any less intelligent, only less of a statistical anomaly
