(Soft quesion) When is it too late to become a contributing mathematician? [duplicate]

(Soft quesion) When is it too late to become a contributing mathematician?
[duplicate]

div class=question-status question-originals-of-duplicate pThis question
already has an answer here:/p ul li a
href=/questions/237002/too-old-to-start-math dir=ltrToo old to start
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/div pEver since I was a child numbers have fascinated me. I had a genuine
interest for mathematics, and a couple of tests I was forced to do as a
child indicates that my cognitive abilities are suited for the field.
However, one needs to start early is a phrase that's often heard in these
competitive fields. Reading about modern, great mathematicians, you often
see them labeled with the word child prodigy and great results in
competitions such as the IMO. /p pDue to several unfortunate situations, I
didn't attend school as much as I'd ought to as a child. While I fell
behind, I didn't have a hard time catching up or even surpassing my peers.
However, my mind was elsewhere at the time. Once I started high school, I
acquired the basic skills for each field quickly, using the rest of the
time looking up things that piqued my interest further. For example, while
doing basic trigonometry, I spent most of the time looking at complex
numbers, which is completely outside of the curriculum. While I did this
after learning basic trigonometry, many of the tests have some questions
where you'd need some experience solving some of the trickier tasks. I
obtained good, but not extraordinary grades. /p pI just started
university, and I am doing well in single-variable calculus, seeing as my
going off-topic during high-school often included subjects described
there. Looking at the curriculum for the coming years, I feel reassured,
like I am finally given the tools to do math the way I've always liked to
do. I am currently 19./p pThis became quite a stroll, but given the nature
of the question, some information on my background might be necessary.
Lately, I have felt that I've been able to grasp new mathematical concepts
with ease, but I think its going to slow. I'm hungry to acquire knowledge,
and I feel at incredible ease when challenged with a problem that is
emjust/em out of reach given my current knowledge. However, right now, I'm
just a 19-year-old kid with mathematical knowledge that is slightly above
his fellow students. Given the situation that I've described, is it
unrealistic to hope to become a publishing mathematician that makes real
contributions to a field?/p