How to Accomplish the Impossible

Genius sometimes just means not realizing that something is impossible.

A college student arrived a few minutes late for his final exam in mathematics.  The room was quiet, with everyone working hard, and the profes­sor silently handed him the test.  It consisted of five math problems on the first page and two on the second.  The student sat down and began to work.  He solved the first five problems in half the time, but the two on the second page were tougher.  Everyone else finished the exam and left, so the student was alone by the end of the time period.  He finished the final problem at the last second.

The next day he got a phone call in his dorm room from the professor.  “I don’t believe it!  You solved the final two problems?”

“Uh, yeah,” the student said.  “What’s the big deal?”

“Those were brain teasers,” the prof explained.  “I announced before the exam that they wouldn’t count toward your final grade, but you missed that because you were late.  But hardly anyone solves those problems in so short a time!  You must be a genius!”

“Genius”