Mathematical Beginnings A Passion for Numbers How does a child first begin to become a mathematician? Is it a predisposition or some special gift? Does help and encouragement from parents contribute? What makes it possible, finally, to commit one's life to this risky, forbid- ding pursuit? + 1 + In this chapter, we tell contrasting stories about the childhood, adolescence, and schooling, up through graduate school, of some future mathematicians, both famous and not so famous. We also report the experiences of youngsters in Olympiad com-