6 ms·

This is... super weird to read, knowing it was written by a nine-year-old. That said... I think he has a lot of room for improvement still. He says about getti

This is... super weird to read, knowing it was written by a nine-year-old. That said... I think he has a lot of room for improvement still. He says about getting into college: > I had to go through interviews and assessments to prove to the administration that I had both the scholastic aptitude and the executive functions to attend college. But then later: > Because of the asynchronous development, I do not have good time-management skills or strong note-taking skills, and sometimes I have trouble reading my own handwriting! My parents help me by typing out study notes from my textbooks, even though they might not understand the content. That is not what I would consider "the executive functions [needed] to attend college" if you were discussing the admission of a 9-year-old. He also says: > Also, I do whine a lot over homework because it is boring and long. and > my parents [...] keep reminding me that work ethic and ethos are more important than IQ and finally > I hope to transfer to MIT in two to three years. Hopefully, MIT will disagree with my parents’ definition of work ethic. I don't doubt that the kid is smart, and possibly much more well-adjusted than many other super-smart young kids you hear about from time to time... but I still wonder about it all. I think he still has a lot of emotional development to be done, despite his doctors telling him his "EQ (emotional intelligence) was also surprisingly high". The first half of the essay seems fairly humble, all things considered, with him saying things like "People always ask if I am a “genius,” but my parents explain that genius is an action ― it requires solving big problems that have a human impact", which I think is great. But the second half seems much more focused on him being very smart and fully capable and just as good as an adult, thank you very much... and I think that's something for his parents to watch out for. (Of course, I'm just some random person on the internet. His parents and support network probably know him better than I do. But these are just my thoughts.)

lern_too_spel 8y ago
> The first half of the essay seems fairly humble, all things considered, with him saying things like "People always ask if I am a “genius,” but my parents explain that genius is an action ― it requires solving big problems that have a human impact", which I think is great. But the second half seems much more focused on him being very smart and fully capable and just as good as an adult, thank you very much... and I think that's something for his parents to watch out for. There's a difference between being able to learn something quickly that many people have also learned (though perhaps much more slowly) and having an impact. It sounds like both the author and his parents understand this. The former will eventually help with the latter as long as the latter remains a goal.
CocaKoala 8y ago
Yeah, it occurs to me that a 9 year old could have the emotional intelligence of, say, a 15 or 16 year old and that would be "surprisingly high" but that doesn't mean that college is a good place for a fifteen year old, let alone a 9 year old with the emotional intelligence of one.
- souprock 8y ago
  It's not that crazy. My kids aren't terribly far behind him. I have a 7-year-old studying AP Chemistry for the test in May 2020, and if she does OK then she'll start college at 9. The older siblings started just a few years later. Homeschooling makes it easier. In times past, people would be employed and married at about the time they physically matured. This is natural. We've deviated from this due to overly lengthy and inefficient education. We're losing years of employment, affecting total lifetime earnings. We're losing years of low-risk childbearing. If you can get your education completed before you mature, then you can start your independent family life at the natural time. You can have a paid-off mortgage-free home and several children by age 20. I have a coworker that we hired at 18. He showed up with a degree and even some previous professional work experience. He has done well. By "doesn't mean that college is a good place for a", you seem to imply that something other than college is a good place for these young people. I don't know what that would be, because the obvious alternatives are surely worse. High school can be pretty toxic and useless. Bad stuff can happen anywhere. At least college offers more freedom and respect than high school does, even if it is still 70% a waste of time.
  - zozbot123 8y ago
    Has this kid really completed his pre-college education at 9? I very much doubt that. Anyway, these days MOOC's and the like are a natural alternative to an actual, formal college environment, which is going to require a lot more "executive function" and self-guided, long-term personal development and planning than could be reasonably expected from even an exceptional 9-year-old.
    - souprock 8y ago
Supermancho 8y ago
> that is not what I would consider "the executive functions [needed] to attend college" if you were discussing the admission of a 9-year-old. I don't see the problem. > my parents help me by typing out study notes from my textbooks, even though they might not understand the content. He attends 2 schools, so his time/attention is necessarily limited. This is only tacitly related to executive functions - for some undefined value of "having". Having someone print something out for you as part of your own time management is reasonable.
adamnemecek 8y ago
> This is... super weird to read, knowing it was written by a nine-year-old. That said... I think he has a lot of room for improvement still. I can imagine it was edited.

lern_too_spel 8y ago

> The first half of the essay seems fairly humble, all things considered, with him saying things like "People always ask if I am a “genius,” but my parents explain that genius is an action ― it requires solving big problems that have a human impact", which I think is great. But the second half seems much more focused on him being very smart and fully capable and just as good as an adult, thank you very much... and I think that's something for his parents to watch out for. There's a difference between being able to learn something quickly that many people have also learned (though perhaps much more slowly) and having an impact. It sounds like both the author and his parents understand this. The former will eventually help with the latter as long as the latter remains a goal.

CocaKoala 8y ago

Yeah, it occurs to me that a 9 year old could have the emotional intelligence of, say, a 15 or 16 year old and that would be "surprisingly high" but that doesn't mean that college is a good place for a fifteen year old, let alone a 9 year old with the emotional intelligence of one.

souprock 8y ago
It's not that crazy. My kids aren't terribly far behind him. I have a 7-year-old studying AP Chemistry for the test in May 2020, and if she does OK then she'll start college at 9. The older siblings started just a few years later. Homeschooling makes it easier. In times past, people would be employed and married at about the time they physically matured. This is natural. We've deviated from this due to overly lengthy and inefficient education. We're losing years of employment, affecting total lifetime earnings. We're losing years of low-risk childbearing. If you can get your education completed before you mature, then you can start your independent family life at the natural time. You can have a paid-off mortgage-free home and several children by age 20. I have a coworker that we hired at 18. He showed up with a degree and even some previous professional work experience. He has done well. By "doesn't mean that college is a good place for a", you seem to imply that something other than college is a good place for these young people. I don't know what that would be, because the obvious alternatives are surely worse. High school can be pretty toxic and useless. Bad stuff can happen anywhere. At least college offers more freedom and respect than high school does, even if it is still 70% a waste of time.
- zozbot123 8y ago
  Has this kid really completed his pre-college education at 9? I very much doubt that. Anyway, these days MOOC's and the like are a natural alternative to an actual, formal college environment, which is going to require a lot more "executive function" and self-guided, long-term personal development and planning than could be reasonably expected from even an exceptional 9-year-old.
  - souprock 8y ago

Supermancho 8y ago

> that is not what I would consider "the executive functions [needed] to attend college" if you were discussing the admission of a 9-year-old. I don't see the problem. > my parents help me by typing out study notes from my textbooks, even though they might not understand the content. He attends 2 schools, so his time/attention is necessarily limited. This is only tacitly related to executive functions - for some undefined value of "having". Having someone print something out for you as part of your own time management is reasonable.

adamnemecek 8y ago

> This is... super weird to read, knowing it was written by a nine-year-old. That said... I think he has a lot of room for improvement still. I can imagine it was edited.