4 ms·

Seems like a deliberate scam or an unintentional case of an overly kid-promoting parent & a gullible reporter. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/

by osipov 16y ago

Seems like a deliberate scam or an unintentional case of an overly kid-promoting parent & a gullible reporter. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mathboysmom#p/a/u/2/lNypTxvOxxQ http://www.youtube.com/user/mathboysmom#p/a/u/2/lNypTxvOxxQ The kid doesn't actually prove or say anything significant beyond what's stated in basic physics books or in various resources on the web (e.g. wikipedia). Kudos to the kid for being interested in these topics at such an early age but the "genius" label should come with some results. Also notice how the Princeton professor gently sidesteps the question of kid's genius: "I'm impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far," Institute for Advanced Study Professor Scott Tremaine wrote in an email to the family. "The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics."

kenjackson 16y ago
He seems like a genius (in the same way that most IMO competitors are math geniuses -- not necessarily Einstein genius though). With that said, bright 12 year olds aren't that uncommon. I mean to his parents or even a given city he might be uncommon. But every year you can probably find a handful of them in the US or China for every age group. A good movie is Beautiful Young Minds that follows a group of UK high school students who prepare for the IMO. In particular there is a very bright and confident student with Asperger's. While he could probably give a similar talk at a similar age, it is important to note that he doesn't make the UK's IMO team. He's bright enough that the average non-academic probably can't tell when he knows what he's talking about vs when he doesn't. I suspect the professor at Princeton heard some ambitious, if not naive statements. Wanted to encourage, but not to give validation to the statements. I don't sense a scam or over promotion. But I can imagine as a parent when you have a child this bright it can almost be overwhelming. You can't really guide the child directly and there's always a bit of fear that you're not properly nurturing the child.
- osipov 16y ago
  Good point about him being uncommon to his peer group...my perspective is skewed since I went to a school focused on math/physics studies and it was common for kids to know basic calculus at his age. Neither teachers nor parents considered them geniuses, just very (Asperger-like) focused on hard sciences. So I standby my claim, the kid is obviously very bright but not a genius, at least not to the extent where the definition of genius requires some remarkable results.
jshort 16y ago
I think by reading the rest of the article you can see that he does indeed have some extraordinary talents for such a young age.
shawnee_ 16y ago
Scam? Wow, that's pretty snide. The kid enrolled University classes at the age of 8: By the age of eight he had left high school and was attending Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis advanced astrophysics classes. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369595/Jacob-Barnett-12-higher-IQ-Einstein-develops-theory-relativity.html#ixzz1HYHPqU2m http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369595/Jacob-Barnet...
pdonis 16y ago
Even if the theory he's working on turns out to be wrong, the fact that a kid his age can arrive at even a wrong theory is a sign that he is smart enough to merit attention. The specifics of what he's thinking at the moment are far less important than encouraging him to keep on thinking.
tzs 16y ago
When a major university says it is running out of things to teach a 12 year old and is trying to move him into a paid research position, there would seem to be something more than an over-promoting parent and a gullible reports.

by osipov 16y ago

kenjackson 16y ago

He seems like a genius (in the same way that most IMO competitors are math geniuses -- not necessarily Einstein genius though). With that said, bright 12 year olds aren't that uncommon. I mean to his parents or even a given city he might be uncommon. But every year you can probably find a handful of them in the US or China for every age group. A good movie is Beautiful Young Minds that follows a group of UK high school students who prepare for the IMO. In particular there is a very bright and confident student with Asperger's. While he could probably give a similar talk at a similar age, it is important to note that he doesn't make the UK's IMO team. He's bright enough that the average non-academic probably can't tell when he knows what he's talking about vs when he doesn't. I suspect the professor at Princeton heard some ambitious, if not naive statements. Wanted to encourage, but not to give validation to the statements. I don't sense a scam or over promotion. But I can imagine as a parent when you have a child this bright it can almost be overwhelming. You can't really guide the child directly and there's always a bit of fear that you're not properly nurturing the child.

osipov 16y ago
Good point about him being uncommon to his peer group...my perspective is skewed since I went to a school focused on math/physics studies and it was common for kids to know basic calculus at his age. Neither teachers nor parents considered them geniuses, just very (Asperger-like) focused on hard sciences. So I standby my claim, the kid is obviously very bright but not a genius, at least not to the extent where the definition of genius requires some remarkable results.

jshort 16y ago

I think by reading the rest of the article you can see that he does indeed have some extraordinary talents for such a young age.

shawnee_ 16y ago

Scam? Wow, that's pretty snide. The kid enrolled University classes at the age of 8: By the age of eight he had left high school and was attending Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis advanced astrophysics classes. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369595/Jacob-Barnett-12-higher-IQ-Einstein-develops-theory-relativity.html#ixzz1HYHPqU2m http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369595/Jacob-Barnet...

pdonis 16y ago

Even if the theory he's working on turns out to be wrong, the fact that a kid his age can arrive at even a wrong theory is a sign that he is smart enough to merit attention. The specifics of what he's thinking at the moment are far less important than encouraging him to keep on thinking.

tzs 16y ago

When a major university says it is running out of things to teach a 12 year old and is trying to move him into a paid research position, there would seem to be something more than an over-promoting parent and a gullible reports.