Justin Skycak (@justinskycak) / X

Justin Skycak

10.3K posts

Justin Skycak

@justinskycak

Chief Quant @_MathAcademy_ Solving skill issues. Forging technical heavyweights. Carrying the floats & log(arithm)s. Books on learning (free) → jmath.co/books

🔊 "Sky-zack"

Joined December 2016

Replies Articles Media

Pinned
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Dec 29, 2025
This is the textbook I wrote to support the most advanced high school math/CS sequence in the USA. It's freely available. Link in first reply. In Math Academy's (former) Eurisko program, which ran from 2020-23, we scaffolded high school students up to doing masters/PhD-level
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Dec 28, 2025
Can't think of a better way to close out 2025 than seeing the head of NASA ask my former student @matteopaz06 to apply, with a fighter jet ride as a signing bonus. Matteo was one of my students in the Eurisko program, which, during its operation from 2020-23, was the most
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 13, 2025
Time is the #1 killer of dreams and aspirations. When someone gives up on their dream, or gives up on figuring out what that dream is, it's typically a result of them losing the race against time. That is the point of compressing time, of removing skill bottlenecks early.
This post is unavailable.
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Jan 21, 2025
The most hard-hitting 2 sentences in all of talent development research:
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Mar 31, 2025
Your goal is NOT to prove you're smart. It's to make problems go away.
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 10, 2025
Your goal is NOT to prove you're smart. It's to make problems go away.
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 15, 2025
Just do the f*cking work.
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Nov 17, 2024
It’s shocking how much we know about how learning happens, all the way down to the mechanics of what’s going on in the brain. And it’s not just how learning happens, but also, what we can do to improve learning. There are plenty of learning-enhancing practice strategies that
Ms. Sam
@SciInTheMaking
Nov 12, 2024
Why do schools keep chasing every new educational trend when decades of proven research already show us what works? 🧵⬇️
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Oct 21, 2024
Learning advanced math ahead of time is the greatest educational/career life hack. When a student learns a lot of advanced math ahead of time, they unlock the opportunity to delve into a wide variety of specialized fields that are usually reserved for graduates with strong
DeGatchi
@DeGatchi
Oct 21, 2024
Just learn math. It opens all the doors you can’t even imagine rn
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Aug 19, 2025
Today is the 1-year anniversary of the best blog post of 2024, "You Are NOT Dumb, You Just Lack the Prerequisites" by @lelouchdaily:
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 8, 2025
The most hard-hitting 2 sentences in all of talent development research:
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Nov 13, 2025
Burn these two sentences into your brain. Repeat them every time you train.
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Jan 21, 2025
The most hard-hitting 2 sentences in all of talent development research:
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 27, 2025
Douglas Hofstadter wrote about his experience of running up against an “abstraction ceiling” in his own brain while pursuing a PhD in mathematics. As Hofstadter describes, the abstraction ceiling is not a “hard” threshold, a level at which one is suddenly incapable of learning
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Sep 26, 2025
Your mathematical potential has a limit, but it's likely higher than you think. Most people can learn basic math like arithmetic and some algebra – but beyond that, higher levels of math become increasingly abstract and technical, and fewer people have the cognitive resources to
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Oct 4, 2025
Last year I had a conversation with someone who majored in physics at UChicago. He initially started in math & thought he was prepared having taken AP Calculus BC, but he got smacked in the face by the level of abstraction and proof-writing ability that was assumed. He couldn't
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Oct 5, 2025
If you want to major in math at an elite university, but all the knowledge you show up with is high school math and AP Calculus, and you’re not a genius, then you’re probably going to get your ass handed to you. High school math – even the “honors” track, even getting a 5 on the
Justin Skycak
@justinskycak
Oct 4, 2025
Last year I had a conversation with someone who majored in physics at UChicago. He initially started in math & thought he was prepared having taken AP Calculus BC, but he got smacked in the face by the level of abstraction and proof-writing ability that was assumed. He couldn't