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Thank you so much for sharing László Polgár! I have not heard of him before - I love his work now! I believe his claim: if we tried, we could turn "any healthy

by yboris 5y ago

Thank you so much for sharing László Polgár! I have not heard of him before - I love his work now! I believe his claim: if we tried, we could turn "any healthy newborn" into "a genius". László Polgár raised his children focusing on chess. His two daughters became the best and second-best female chess players in the world.

Scarblac 5y ago
He had three daughters, the youngest was "only" an IM, but one of her tournament results was so astonishing people still refer to it as "the sack of Rome". ( https://www.chess.com/blog/damafe/the-sack-of-rome-magistrale-di-roma-1989 https://www.chess.com/blog/damafe/the-sack-of-rome-magistral...).
- sireat 5y ago
  Sofia is the middle daughter - reportedly the most talented. Judith being the youngest had that kill instinct at an early age. The sibling dynamic is something I did not appreciate until I had kids of my own.
  - yboris 5y ago
    I feel like there's a bit of irony in using the word "talent" in light of what László Polgár's work was attempting to demonstrate.
  - ZephyrBlu 5y ago
    Curious about what sibling dynamics you've observer. I'm the oldest child, and my youngest sibling definitely doesn't have, "that kill instinct".
The_Colonel 5y ago
> I believe his claim: if we tried, we could turn "any healthy newborn" into "a genius". I don't. Intelligence is partially heritable, which is also the problem with his experiment. He was himself a leading intellectual, the probability that his daughters will inherit his high intelligence is pretty good. (it's not that much known about the mother, but I assume he married someone with above average intelligence as well).
- yboris 5y ago
  I agree that intelligence is partially heritable. But there is also "regression to the mean" - where, for example, we should expect children of taller parents to be taller than average, but often not as tall as their parents. There is likely tremendous potential that we as a society waste by not providing resources and opportunities for and and encouragement of better education at earlier stages of life. Personally, I learned to read by 3 years old, but not because I was a prodigy -- but because my mom spent numerous hours encouraging me and building in me a love of it. I am confident more than 50% of children can learn to read by age 5 - meanwhile in the US we don't expect that kind of success until after a few years of schooling.
yesenadam 5y ago
Susan "merely" became women's world champion. Judit didn't bother playing in women's events, was at one time #7 in the world, and is considered by far the strongest female player of all time. No-one else has come anywhere near the top 10. In comparison, Hou Yifan, the 2nd strongest female ever, women's world champion at the age of 16 (!), was #59 in the world at her peak rating in March 2015, and is now #81. (Although she's been busy with university studies the last few years) Judit is still very involved in chess, and is an excellent online commentator. e.g. Norway Chess 2020 with Kramnik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5h-lj6z8x0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5h-lj6z8x0 2020/21 Candidates, Round 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVsAfGhoeWk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVsAfGhoeWk See "Women's Highest Ever" rating table on the right: https://2700chess.com/women https://2700chess.com/women

by yboris 5y ago

Scarblac 5y ago

He had three daughters, the youngest was "only" an IM, but one of her tournament results was so astonishing people still refer to it as "the sack of Rome". ( https://www.chess.com/blog/damafe/the-sack-of-rome-magistrale-di-roma-1989 https://www.chess.com/blog/damafe/the-sack-of-rome-magistral...).

sireat 5y ago
Sofia is the middle daughter - reportedly the most talented. Judith being the youngest had that kill instinct at an early age. The sibling dynamic is something I did not appreciate until I had kids of my own.
- yboris 5y ago
  I feel like there's a bit of irony in using the word "talent" in light of what László Polgár's work was attempting to demonstrate.
- ZephyrBlu 5y ago
  Curious about what sibling dynamics you've observer. I'm the oldest child, and my youngest sibling definitely doesn't have, "that kill instinct".

The_Colonel 5y ago

> I believe his claim: if we tried, we could turn "any healthy newborn" into "a genius". I don't. Intelligence is partially heritable, which is also the problem with his experiment. He was himself a leading intellectual, the probability that his daughters will inherit his high intelligence is pretty good. (it's not that much known about the mother, but I assume he married someone with above average intelligence as well).

yboris 5y ago
I agree that intelligence is partially heritable. But there is also "regression to the mean" - where, for example, we should expect children of taller parents to be taller than average, but often not as tall as their parents. There is likely tremendous potential that we as a society waste by not providing resources and opportunities for and and encouragement of better education at earlier stages of life. Personally, I learned to read by 3 years old, but not because I was a prodigy -- but because my mom spent numerous hours encouraging me and building in me a love of it. I am confident more than 50% of children can learn to read by age 5 - meanwhile in the US we don't expect that kind of success until after a few years of schooling.

yesenadam 5y ago

Susan "merely" became women's world champion. Judit didn't bother playing in women's events, was at one time #7 in the world, and is considered by far the strongest female player of all time. No-one else has come anywhere near the top 10. In comparison, Hou Yifan, the 2nd strongest female ever, women's world champion at the age of 16 (!), was #59 in the world at her peak rating in March 2015, and is now #81. (Although she's been busy with university studies the last few years) Judit is still very involved in chess, and is an excellent online commentator. e.g. Norway Chess 2020 with Kramnik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5h-lj6z8x0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5h-lj6z8x0 2020/21 Candidates, Round 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVsAfGhoeWk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVsAfGhoeWk See "Women's Highest Ever" rating table on the right: https://2700chess.com/women https://2700chess.com/women