In another post I already mentioned the story of Jake, the child with Asperger's syndrome who has some questions/insight into equations by Einstein (as regards properties of motion of light, and speeds faster than light). I'll leave this link to You Tube so you can see what he is talking about, although I don't know if it's going to make a lot of sense, this is what got people talking.
Later, I posted the following over at the Escapist website forum where a discussion was unfolding over this kid and his "genius". The Escapist is a site about video games, BTW. My contribution to the discussion was promptly ignored, which is fine. I was only hoping to lighten up the conversation over there, and I'm proud to say I think this is funny.
Much like the duality of light, Jake's sandwich has already been proven to be both nutritious and delicious. He is also working on a theory that explains how although he may be standing straight up, some of the bites he swallows will travel in his esophagus sideways, allowing small pockets of air to collect in his stomach. Hypothetically, this will lead to minor gas. Jake claims data proving this theory can be expected 6 to 8 hours after eating.
And taking a stab into theoretical physics, 12 year old Jake has also prepared a theorem which suggests with each passing of gas a new universe is added into the fabric of the multiverse, although on a magnitude many times smaller than the most fundamental theoretical particles. For now he has coined these new "universes" simply as "sharts".
Surprisingly, Jake's mother (who still does his laundry) is thrilled by the impact his work could have on the world of physics.
...or at least that's what I'd be writing about if I were his age *cough* ...
2 comments:
Ha, yeah.. kid is a genius. Preventing sideway sidewich travels is crucial. And, you gotta eat the crust first. If my mom still did my laundry, I'd propose a theorem too. Ha. Did your proposition go over well there?
This kid is interesting. I wonder if news channels publicizing these kids so much and parents trying to get their kids to excel puts so much pressure on these kids that they can't have normal lives.
As for kid prodigies, I think it's sad to strip a kid of their childhood and playtime and pressure them into skipping grade levels (or college). When you have a kid with an abnormally high IQ, it's great to challenge them with hard classes or independent research or advanced science projects, but what about their social life? A kid who's, say, 8, doesn't belong socially in college. They may be able to do the book work academically, but what about their social skills and emotional development? What good does skipping their childhood really do them in the long run? Sure, if the kid is bored, they might skip class.. that's why school districts need to know how to properly serve "special" kids (either prodigies, or those with special needs). Are there any studies of child prodigies after they became adults? Are they burnt out, friendless, or thriving? I get that rare exception kid wants to skip those years and prefers it, but there's a lot to be said for childhood creativity and playing around the playground.. you can't get those years back, and kids who are so young (under 10) put in adult situations (college, work) doesn't sound like a good situation.
There's no doubt that these kids are intellectually smart, but they don't have the life experience, wisdom, social development, emotional development, or physical development yet. They can be challenged with independent study/research, a few college classes perhaps (even online, after/during grade school), and can skip a few grades instead of a their whole childhood. While I'm certainly no child prodigy (obviously), I did create challenges for myself in my super easy middle school that was boring the crap out of me. I got the school to allow me to work on a science project independently during a few of my classes. The classes were easy (I came from another school district which was more advanced, then stepped down to an easy district). I opted to study retina degeneration and surgical intervention and found an eye doctor to "research" with (i.e, let him share info with me). I get that a prodigy would actually be, say, performing surgery so my example isn't quite relevant-- I'm not suggesting that I was a smart or unique kid. I'm just suggesting that school districts are doing gifted/scholarly students, prodigy students, and disabled students a huge disservice by not knowing how to cater to the kid's needs- academically, socially, emotionally, and developmentally. If a district can't cater to a kid strolling through middle school making 100's on everything without any effort like me (just because I changed school districts, not because I was talented), how could a district meet the needs of abnormally high IQ prodigies (often with unique social needs) or developmentally disabled kids?
I think districts should find a way to help prodigy or gifted students thrive, while still immersing them in their normal social environment (maybe skip a few grades at most). Or, maybe have "advanced" classes for smart kids who find normal grade level work boring, and who instead can engage in independent studies or science fair projects/research together?
Do you think society is pressuring these prodigy kids too much, or is letting them skip a dozen years of school a good thing? What's the end result of it? Is what they're contributing to society worth uprooting their childhood and throwing them into the adult world worth it? Maybe it is, and my average brain just can't get it. ;)
Well, you're right. I think this kid will never be a normal member of society, but with his capabilities I don't think even his parents could have prevented that. If you watch Jake working on math problems, he seems to be enjoying himself.
It's weird to let a kid his age skip ahead so far, I would be annoyed to see a kid sitting in my advanced physics class if I were 20 and in college.
In my case, I would have loved to skip grades! Well, at least have a chance to study what I loved to study as a kid (astronomy for me, geography and history too) but I got lumped in with the rest of the kids learning generally boring and dumbed-down subjects. I still didn't fit in, plus, at a certain point I quit studying my favorite subjects (given in to videogames, TV, and heavy metal music).
If someone had helped me join an advanced class in Elementary School, I think I would have gone to college after High School instead of be where I am now.
So, we could also scold parents who don't recognize their children's strengths in academics.
And what about us "normal" kids? Maybe the system we learned in molded us into thinking we don't have extra special talents that most other people don't possess? Maybe you could have learned how to perform eye surgery at an early age? I bet I could have been a virtuoso pianist before I was 7 if somebody sat me down in front of a keyboard!
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