But the father's thesis was that hothousing produces geniuses on demand. Not that they're a precious find that needs to be directed to where they can be most us

But the father's thesis was that hothousing produces geniuses on demand. Not that they're a precious find that needs to be directed to where they can be most use. By using a subject that was well-known, widely available, cheap and popular, and very well-measured, he increased his chances of achieving his goal - convincing the world that his methods would get results out of bright kids so good that they would appear as geniuses to the world at large. He seems to have wildly succeeded, and the world just kinda shrugged.