Jim Simons showed an early fascination with mathematics at age 3-4, doubling numbers from 2 to 1024. As a young child, he independently discovered Zeno's Paradox when his father mentioned the car needed gasoline - Jim reasoned they could always use half the remaining gas and never run out.
At MIT, he was exceptional enough to take graduate-level abstract algebra in his freshman year. Though initially puzzled by the abstract concepts, he spent a summer working through a textbook and mastered the material. He graduated in just three years and was advised to study at Berkeley under the renowned geometer Shiing-Shen Chern.
His love for mathematics wasn't about speed - he described himself as not the fastest, but determined. He would "plod through" problems with persistence, particularly drawn to plane geometry proofs in high school. By freshman year at MIT, he knew with certainty: he would become a mathematician.