5 ms·

A 12-year-old is off to the Ivy League

25 points by ALee 10y ago

schoen 10y ago
Unexpected random problem from the article: he couldn't apply to college online because of COPPA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Pr...
leakybit 10y ago
Another story about a child "genius" that you'll never hear about in the future.
- zem 10y ago
  why the quotes? whether he ends up burning out early or not, he is undoubtedly a child genius.
  - kwhitefoot 10y ago
    Depends on what you mean by genius. I always assumed that people meant by it someone who made an original contribution to the world, did something unexpected and clever in the widest sense of the term. Most of the few child prodigies that I am aware of haven't done that. But I don't begrudge him the chance to get ahead if that's what he wants. Starting early means more time to change direction later. Missing a childhood, well, one person's idyllic childhood is another's vision of hell so let's not all judge too harshly.
- force_reboot 10y ago
  While I don't know if this is the right path for the kid, or if he really is a genius (from the article he seems very smart) your comment comes across as mean spirited. Do you not believe in the existence of genius, or that people vary in intelligence? If not, why do you doubt his intelligence? Terrence Tao is an example of a child prodigy who became a famous mathematician, although I would say winning gold in the International Mathematics Olympiad is a more objective standard than admission to Cornell.
  - ktta 10y ago
    I think he/she means to say we never know what they are doing later in life most of the time. I assume you've seen stories about kids who are very intelligent and there would've been news about child prodigies every year since decades so why don't we hear about the ones who are adults today? My take is that there are those child prodigies making great scientific progress but we don't hear about them because they want to keep their past private. Although I agree the quotes kinda give a doubtful vibe to the child's prodigy, which I definitely disagree with.
    - magic_beans 10y ago
      I think the real issue is that once child prodigies turn into adult prodigies, their stories are much less interesting. Of course the WP is going to write a story about a 12 year-old genius, but readers won't be so interested in a 24 year-old wunderkind.
- intopieces 10y ago
  I hope we don't. I hope this is the only article we read about him unless he happens to make a breakthrough in a field we are interested in. I hope the media doesn't follow him. I hope he is able to lead a long, fulfilling life sharing his talent in a way that makes him happy.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- kevindeasis 10y ago
  People usually hear about child geniuses when they enter post secondary at an early age and less than a decade later when they finish their PhD. Sometimes you don't hear about them because the media isn't interested in their field of study
Symbiote 10y ago
There was a 13/14 year old in my maths class at Imperial College London. I can't find a reference, but there's a current student that age: [1] The boy was American, and I understood no American university had been willing to enroll someone so young, so the family had moved to London. [1] http://www.antonmurray.com/the-worlds-youngest-investment-banker/ http://www.antonmurray.com/the-worlds-youngest-investment-ba...
dx034 10y ago
Is it really worth it though? There are so many opportunities to learn online, should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age and get the knowledge via online courses/remote learning? Can't imagine that you can have a proper childhood if everyone you interact with is >6 years older..
- Symbiote 10y ago
  It probably wouldn't be great spending all his time at a normal school — that would lead to boredom. Hopefully he'll have time outside university for socialising.
- rlpb 10y ago
  > should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age I doubt a child as gifted as this would have a "normal" time spent with other children of the same age.
  - SCAQTony 10y ago
    More the reason to put him with children his own age for Jeremy would have to learn new skills on how to navigate with kids below his maturity and intelligence. YMMV
    - dismantlethesun 10y ago
      It's interesting that with every other kind of education, we take a hands-on approach to teaching children, yet with social skills its akin to 'sink or swim'. We simply put children in close association with each other, then monitor them to prevent the worst excesses. Social skills can be taught. From reading individuals, to reading a crowd, to speaking with the proper poise for a certain scenario... these skills are directly teachable. We don't have to rely on hoping that they'll be re-invented by every child who happens to find themselves in an appropriate circumstance. I'd suggest a renaissance style education, of the sort given to those in the gentleman's class. Teach science, teach maths, teach memorisation and the such, but also directly teach children how to function in society and how to grease its wheels to suit their desires.
natalietaylor 10y ago
That's amazing! But not sure how a 12 years old will handle being at a college but I guess that's where he needs to be to advance and further challenge himself.

25 points by ALee 10y ago

Unexpected random problem from the article: he couldn't apply to college online because of COPPA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Pr...

leakybit 10y ago

Another story about a child "genius" that you'll never hear about in the future.

zem 10y ago
why the quotes? whether he ends up burning out early or not, he is undoubtedly a child genius.
- kwhitefoot 10y ago
  Depends on what you mean by genius. I always assumed that people meant by it someone who made an original contribution to the world, did something unexpected and clever in the widest sense of the term. Most of the few child prodigies that I am aware of haven't done that. But I don't begrudge him the chance to get ahead if that's what he wants. Starting early means more time to change direction later. Missing a childhood, well, one person's idyllic childhood is another's vision of hell so let's not all judge too harshly.
force_reboot 10y ago
While I don't know if this is the right path for the kid, or if he really is a genius (from the article he seems very smart) your comment comes across as mean spirited. Do you not believe in the existence of genius, or that people vary in intelligence? If not, why do you doubt his intelligence? Terrence Tao is an example of a child prodigy who became a famous mathematician, although I would say winning gold in the International Mathematics Olympiad is a more objective standard than admission to Cornell.
- ktta 10y ago
  I think he/she means to say we never know what they are doing later in life most of the time. I assume you've seen stories about kids who are very intelligent and there would've been news about child prodigies every year since decades so why don't we hear about the ones who are adults today? My take is that there are those child prodigies making great scientific progress but we don't hear about them because they want to keep their past private. Although I agree the quotes kinda give a doubtful vibe to the child's prodigy, which I definitely disagree with.
  - magic_beans 10y ago
    I think the real issue is that once child prodigies turn into adult prodigies, their stories are much less interesting. Of course the WP is going to write a story about a 12 year-old genius, but readers won't be so interested in a 24 year-old wunderkind.
intopieces 10y ago
I hope we don't. I hope this is the only article we read about him unless he happens to make a breakthrough in a field we are interested in. I hope the media doesn't follow him. I hope he is able to lead a long, fulfilling life sharing his talent in a way that makes him happy.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
kevindeasis 10y ago
People usually hear about child geniuses when they enter post secondary at an early age and less than a decade later when they finish their PhD. Sometimes you don't hear about them because the media isn't interested in their field of study

Symbiote 10y ago

There was a 13/14 year old in my maths class at Imperial College London. I can't find a reference, but there's a current student that age: [1] The boy was American, and I understood no American university had been willing to enroll someone so young, so the family had moved to London. [1] http://www.antonmurray.com/the-worlds-youngest-investment-banker/ http://www.antonmurray.com/the-worlds-youngest-investment-ba...

dx034 10y ago

Is it really worth it though? There are so many opportunities to learn online, should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age and get the knowledge via online courses/remote learning? Can't imagine that you can have a proper childhood if everyone you interact with is >6 years older..

Symbiote 10y ago
It probably wouldn't be great spending all his time at a normal school — that would lead to boredom. Hopefully he'll have time outside university for socialising.
rlpb 10y ago
> should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age I doubt a child as gifted as this would have a "normal" time spent with other children of the same age.
- SCAQTony 10y ago
  More the reason to put him with children his own age for Jeremy would have to learn new skills on how to navigate with kids below his maturity and intelligence. YMMV
  - dismantlethesun 10y ago
    It's interesting that with every other kind of education, we take a hands-on approach to teaching children, yet with social skills its akin to 'sink or swim'. We simply put children in close association with each other, then monitor them to prevent the worst excesses. Social skills can be taught. From reading individuals, to reading a crowd, to speaking with the proper poise for a certain scenario... these skills are directly teachable. We don't have to rely on hoping that they'll be re-invented by every child who happens to find themselves in an appropriate circumstance. I'd suggest a renaissance style education, of the sort given to those in the gentleman's class. Teach science, teach maths, teach memorisation and the such, but also directly teach children how to function in society and how to grease its wheels to suit their desires.

natalietaylor 10y ago

That's amazing! But not sure how a 12 years old will handle being at a college but I guess that's where he needs to be to advance and further challenge himself.