The Secret System: How Geniuses Are Made

On how anyone can adapt this strategy in real life

There is a small group of people who consistently outperform almost everyone else in complex problem solving. They are not born geniuses. They are made.

I know this because I was trained with them.

I went through this system while preparing for national olympiads in two different subjects: mathematics and economics. It allowed me to win the national competitions in both subjects and secured me a place at any university I wanted. What always shocked me afterward was how rarely it is used anywhere else.

The way these people are trained is radically different from how education usually works.

The Generally Accepted System

Across countries, subjects, schools, and universities, education follows almost the same pattern.

First, you are taught theory.
Then, you are tested on how well you memorized it.

This system is so widely accepted that most people never question it. The truth is that it just doesn’t work for deep understanding and long-term retention. Usually most of the information disappears shortly after the exam ends.

Worse, this system trains people to wait for explanations instead of learning how to think.

How Top Performers Are Actually Trained

The system used to train high-level math olympiad students differs in one crucial step:

There are no lectures.

At first, this sounds insane. How can you learn something without being taught the theory? But the results speak for themselves. These people operate at a level of abstraction and problem solving that most others never reach.

Getting used to this approach was difficult. You are given problems with no explanation and no roadmap. You struggle. You fail. You get stuck.

But the human brain adapts shockingly fast when it is forced to think.

Here is how it worked in practice. We would be given a new topic, for example, geometric inversion. Instead of a lecture, we were given a set of carefully chosen problems. By trying to solve them, we were forced to slowly build the theory ourselves from scratch.

Why This System Actually Works

This approach is superior for several reasons.

First, it teaches more than the topic itself. It teaches a thinking pattern. You learn how to attack unknown problems, how to explore ideas, and how to learn without guidance. In other words, it teaches you how to learn.

It teaches you how to learn.

This matters enormously today. Knowledge becomes obsolete quickly. What you learned from lectures a few years ago is often no longer enough. The ability to learn independently is now the most important skill.

And yet, many adults are completely unable to learn anything new on their own. This is not surprising. They spent 16 years being spoon-fed information and were never forced to think for themselves.

Second, it develops real problem-solving ability. Many people freeze when faced with a novel problem—whether it’s debugging unfamiliar code, handling a new kind of work challenge, or making an important life decision. This skill is extremely underrated, but it separates those who adapt from those who get stuck.

Finally, this is simply a better way to remember things. Ideas you struggle to discover yourself stick far better than ideas you passively hear from someone else. This is roughly based on a very famous concept called “Feynman technique” (created by Physics Nobel prize winner). True understanding comes from reconstructing ideas in your own words and structures.

How to Use This in Real Life

The best part is that this system is not exclusive. Anyone can use it.

Take mathematics as the simplest example. Instead of starting with theory, try solving problems first. Spend real time struggling. Only after that, look at explanations and compare them with your own attempts.

But this approach is not limited to math.

Imagine a literature class where students write essays or debate interpretations before being told the “correct” meaning of a book. Or a history class where students are given an open question and must reason through causes and consequences instead of memorizing dates or events.

The same principle applies everywhere: try first, explain later.

Why This Matters Now

Switching to this system is not easy. People enjoy comfort, and learning through problem solving is uncomfortable by design.

But this shift is becoming unavoidable.

Technology amplifies the difference between the two approaches. Information is now free. AI can explain almost anything instantly. An education system built around memorization is becoming obsolete.

People will either learn how to think and learn independently or they will be replaced by tools that can do memorization better than they ever could.

The system exists. It works.
The only real question is whether you are willing to be uncomfortable enough to use it.