A good question is did the kid take apart an alarm clock and just rebuild it in another case or did he make a synthesis of many different parts? In that Brad Pi

A good question is did the kid take apart an alarm clock and just rebuild it in another case or did he make a synthesis of many different parts? In that Brad Pitt movie about the Dalia Lama, the later had to take apart a clock to learn how it worked, I think the quote is "the best way to learn how something works is to take it apart." However, in this case the kid might have put together several different parts such as an LCD screen, the circuit from an alarm clock, and something that rings to act as the alarm. I don't think the point is that the kid is some type of genius but rather that he is doing it and not until today afraid to do it. That at 14 he started the process of learning so in 10 years at the age of 24 he can be at the top of a career in EE. It's not the skill level that is impressive it's the passion.