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Hotmale Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Retirement cuts in

Hello,

could, you, please help me understand what "retirement cuts in" is?

What is most depressing about child geniuses is that their precocity is half baked, manifested in mechanistic pursuits: maths, classics and chess. Mathematicians tend to reach a creative peak between the ages of 18 and 21. So it could be argued that being conversant with the subject at 12, when retirement cuts in at 18, is less notable than the headlines make it seem.

Thank you
  

Top answer

I think "cuts in" is a mistake there. I think he meant "kicks in", "becomes effective", but even that is poor. "Comes" would have been better.

— Enoon

  • I think "cuts in" is a mistake there.
  • I think he meant "kicks in", "becomes effective", but even that is poor.
  • "Comes" would have been better.
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5 Answers
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I think "cuts in" is a mistake there. I think he meant "kicks in", "becomes effective", but even that is poor. "Comes" would have been better.
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Thank you, Enoon. Can you also tell me what exactly retirement is in this context? Is is just withdrawal?
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The writer meant the regular kind of retirement from a career, what most people do late in their lives, at age 65 or so. He was trying to make the point that child prodigies burn out early. Vonnegut he ain't.
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I thought that "retirement" refers to all matematicians, not child prodigies.

Thank you!
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HotmaleI thought that "retirement" refers to all matematicians, not child prodigies.Thank you!
Right. It isn't clear. The writer is not as skillful as he should be.
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