Knowing a preemptive shortcut is also "working hard".
1) Knowing when to apply previous experience is a skill that requires work and practice.
2) Someone else knowing a shortcut that I don't know means they worked hard when I was not observing them.
i doubt it. he was winning math competitions at a young age. I doubt he knew all the shortcuts in advance but just intuited them. He was probably smart enough to be given a hard problem and upon pondering for a minutes figure out the shortcut.
1) Knowing when to apply previous experience is a skill that requires work and practice. 2) Someone else knowing a shortcut that I don't know means they worked hard when I was not observing them.