MATH WHIZ A COLLEGE HONOR GRAD AT 13

NY Post ^ | April 20, 2003 | LARRY O'DELL

[Pharmboy]

ASHLAND, Va. - He was solving math problems at 14 months, reading and correcting grammar by 2 - the same age he decided to become a vegetarian. He was explaining photosynthesis to kindergarten classmates at 5. He breezed through school in three years - graduating with honors from a Jacksonville, Fla., high school at age 9 - founded an international youth advocacy organization, met with presidents and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Twice.

[Pharmboy]

Geez...what did his parents do in his environment to make him so smart? (snicker)

[sit-rep]

I'm glad the kid was given a gift. I hope he does not miss the other lessons of life. Being smart is not "all you need".

[aruanan]

He was solving math problems at 14 months

"If my mother's right breast contains 89% of the milk of the left breast, how long will it take me to deplete it considering that it took me 10 minutes to deplete the left one and that my hunger is decreasing logarithmically?"

[OldPossum]

You're right. This boy's accomplishments just add to the evidence that intelligence is an inherited trait; environment has very little to do with it. Otherwise, you could randomly select people off the street and in the "proper environment" train them all to be nuclear physicists. No?

[Pharmboy]

Yep--a fact that the edumakashun establishment never admits to.

[texas booster]

According to Baghdad Bob and Je$$e, his striking Nubian looks and superior intelligence are the consequence of his Mesopotamian heritage.

[battlegearboat]

If this kid is so smart, why is he hanging out with such losers as Gorbachav, clinton, and queen Noor?

He sounds like a windbag to me and I wouldn't pay one nickel to hear a thirteen-year-old speak about anything.

[libertylover]

Smith has traveled the world and has met with Bill Clinton, former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev and Jordan's Queen Noor.

He needs to start making better choices or his brains will be wasted. At present, that seems to be the most likely outcome.

[texas booster]

He charges for his words because he can.

He talks liberalspeak because he hasn't yet begun to pay taxes or to get mugged. Remember, all he know of life is shaped by the NEA.

[Betteboop]

No--his life was not shaped by the NEA--they are not prepared to deal with a SuperGenius!!

[lowbridge]

Geez...what did his parents do in his environment to make him so smart?

They put him in a public school.

They bought him a 25 inch color tv, vcr, and cable access for his bedroom.

They gave him his own key to the house, because no one was ever home when he got back from school.

They bought him all the popular video gaming systems.

They went on the welfare dole, and starved him, or exposed him to unhealthy eating habits the few times there was anything edible to be had.

They refused to allow him to get a job, because they were afraid that the welfare office would reduce their welfare check as a result.

They hit him.

They screamed at him.

They openly told him they wished he was never born.

They cursed him to his face.

No, wait a second, that's what my parents did to me.

[battlegearboat]

Thanks for straightening that out for me.

[fight_truth_decay]

A man of genius is unbearable, unless he possesses at least two things besides: gratitude and purity. - Nietzsche

[cynicom]

One reads of this type of child nearly every year, yet they seem to disappear. Rarely are they heard of again. Even more rare, are those with accomplisments of note.

[dogbyte12]

Child prodigies do burn out. Name one under 16, college graduate who has really amounted to the top of any industry, field,... other than in music.

[ErnBatavia]

2 - the same age he decided to become a vegetarian.

Hmmmm...I don't care how smart someone is; I don't think a humanoid is capable of such dietary decisions at that age - on his own.

[anobjectivist]

So...let's see.

In order to completely rule out the affect of parenting on this kids ability, we need to know a few things:

1. What level of education did his parents have, in what fields?

2. Did his parents hire a tutor at an early age to teach him?

3. Any other oddities in his environment that were never mentioned?

[cynicom]

None...Progress in this world in accompished by an inquisitive mind, not genius.

[EggsAckley]

In Santa Cruz we had our own home-grown prodigy, Adragon de Mello. Graduated UCSC when he was 11.

Now he's in the news because his nutcase father was arrested.

[pragmatic_asian]

Intelligence, like many traits, doesn't have to be either genetic or environmental. A good environment allows a person to maximize their potential. I have an extensive network of family in the US and Vietnam. The cohort of children born in the US are much larger/taller at the same age as relatives in Vietnam; start speaking much earlier and generally more active and happy. Chalk it up to better nutrition and many more opportunities here in the US - they're getting piano lessons, dance lessons, tutors for math, Mandarin and Vietnamese.