Mom Tries to Rationalize Prodigy's Death (Child Prodigy 14 Yrs Old Kills Self)

AP / Lexington Dispatch ^ | 3-19-05 | SHARON COHEN

[eccentric]

``He was born an adult,'' his mother said. ``We just watched his body grow bigger.''

IQ is not the same as wisdom.

Are they SURE it was suicide?

so sad

[VietVet]

"Are they SURE it was suicide?"

Exactly my thought. Without a note, and with everyone saying that he seemed reasonably happy and well adjusted, what leads them to the conclusion that he took his own life?

[PistolPaknMama]

It sounds like he lived a lifetime in 14 short years.

Hardly. He was a victim of doting parent syndrome. I feel so bad that we lost this child. He could have been an Einstein had his parents been parents and allowed the child the only thing he never had...a childhood.

[isthisnickcool]

IQ is not the same as wisdom.

Einstein said "Imagination is More Important Than Knowledge". It sounds like they pushed this kid to do things as fast as he could in his formal schooling and he pushed himself too. People here can ponder what he did to himself but in the end it appears he died by his own hand. A stupid waste of life.

[Lexinom]

You are sadly correct, and probably have gotten well-flamed for expressing this. This child, for all his talent, was most likely a little god in his own eyes. This perception was continually enforced by authority figures around him and fed upon itself. It is the pride - the first evil - that dwells in every one of us.

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[international american]

He was 14. Are you God?

[isthisnickcool]

This is not a thread to start getting into a pissing contest over semantics, to be honest.

I agree. Let's not start that. I grew up with four sisters and I'm pretty sure the contest would not be fair. Don't get me wrong, females are wonderful. But considering the plumbing differences such a contest just isn't fair.

[international american]

Thank you. I wonder if the poor kid was rebuffed by his first love.

[international american]

Amen

[bewitched]

Poor kid. I remember once hearing that we are only capable of using a small portion of our brain. And if we could use all of it we would go crazy.

[Miss Behave]

"This child, for all his talent, was most likely a little god in his own eyes."

Wow.

[durasell]

I remember reading the same thing -- except it said that if we could use all of our brain, we'd go crazy, but all of our VCR clocks would tell the correct time.

[flushed with pride]

His I.Q. was high. His E.Q. was low.

[Lexinom]

We're all little gods, apart from a true, living faith in Jesus Christ. Not to pick on anyone here. In his case, the temptation for pride would be extremely strong. He is to be pitied, above all.

[spinestein]

No matter how many friends this kid had, or how well his parents may have raised him, or any of a number of other environmental factors, having an IQ of 178 and being able to out-think everyone else around him made him virtually alone.

For whatever reason, he wasn't able to cope with the mental isolation and killed himself.

Beyond that I'm not wise enough to judge him or his family.

[jacquej]

The trouble is that we all see him through our own eyes and experience. The very gifted often are overwhelmed by the stuff/conflicts we screen out. Their minds go "beserker" trying to make sense out of what we ignore.

It does no good to blame parents, for they also are doing the best they can in a morass of "values".

All we can do is pray that His will be done, and that we learn from the lessons put before us.

[Happygal]

How juvenile do you want to be?

[Fester Chugabrew]

And I suppose saying "oh, shut up" is [original]?

In a forum where folks tend to wax esoteric and poetic I thought it was salty. Screen name only made it sweeter.

[Chena]

beautiful :)

[Chena]

I was just thinking the same thing. :(