13-Year-Old Prodigy Heads to Grad School

Yahoo! News ^ | Wed Jun 4, 3:25 PM ET | AP

[yonif]

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Greg Smith, who graduated from Randolph-Macon College at age 13, will attend graduate school at the University of Virginia, the university said Wednesday.

Smith will pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. He plans to take two summer courses and attend U.Va.'s orientation on Monday, his 14th birthday.

"It has been my plan since I graduated from high school to apply to U.Va. for my graduate work," said Smith. "I am so excited to have this wonderful opportunity to study at one of our country's best universities."

Smith has kept a rapid academic pace since early childhood, solving math problems at 14 months and reading by age 2. He was 10 when he enrolled at Randolph-Macon, where he majored in math and graduated cum laude Saturday.

Smith has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with International Youth Advocates, a group he founded to champion nonviolence and children's rights.

"His record of intellectual achievement, combined with his dedication to international service, fit well into the U.Va. tradition,' said Gene Block, the university's vice president and provost.

[GraniteStateConservative]

The Clintoon clone

[nhoward14]

I'd like to see him buck the usual course of these childhood prodigies and remain a prodigy at 25. Burnout usually claims these kids just after they turn 20. Meanwhile, if you check his website and listen to him speak, he is just a typical liberal. In about 2 years, he'll be as big a liberal as Tom Daschle.

[fml]

Prodigy and liberal. Oxymoron?!?

[Guillermo]

A mathematicians greatest work is done by age 30, so there isn't too much to worry about...

[Nataku X]

rolled my eyes at his website... one of the most self-important sites I've seen. Nice kid, but you probably can get a fairly high percentage of kids to repeat his same academic accomplishments if they were pushed. Also, work-wise, math is the easiest major to take--no essays, no projects, most homeworks are optional...

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Smith has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize...

Kid can't be that smart if he lost a contest to Jimmy Carter.

[AppyPappy]

Yeah, he'll be OD'ed in a ditch by 25. They are weird that way. I know some people who are either close to Bill Clinton or worked for him and they say he is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. But he is white trash with a capital W and incapable of running his own life.

[AppyPappy]

I may be wrong but I thought anyone could be nominated for a Nobel prize.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I think you're right. And Carter (among others) proved that any fool can win one.

[nhoward14]

Hey now... I'd like to know where you can get a math degree without doing homework. I had to work my butt off for my math degree... and my engineering degree.

[nhoward14]

All you need is an eligible person to write a letter of nomination. Being nominated for a Nobel Prize is no more an accomplishment than having Publisher's Clearing House inform you that you may already be a winner.

[Fred Mertz]

ping!

[Manic_Episode]

I saw this kid in an interview on Entertainment Tonight when he was about age 10, where he said first he wanted to cure cancer, then become POTUS, then become head of the UN.
My first thought was hmmmmmmm.....future antichrist?

[ikka]

He's got screwy politics, but after he tries to apply his math in the real world he will end up Republican, conservative or libertarian. What happens when he realizes that loony libs won't pay attention to math and other hard facts?

[headsonpikes]

The kid's not that bright - he didn't escape detection by the authorities.

[FITZ]

I know some people who are either close to Bill Clinton or worked for him and they say he is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

You sure can't see it in his speeches. Did he ever have his grades released? I don't think Clinton is brilliant---he never got much accomplished. I think certain people are good con-artists, they boast and use language to make others think they are brilliant ----since the average IQ is 100 and it's hard for someone at 90-100 IQ to know if someone at 120 IQ is bullshitting, I think that's what a lot of it is. This kid might be bright but we'll see if he ever accomplishes anything.

[Snerfling]

A mathematicians greatest work is done by age 30

Practically all artists' greatest work is done before 30. Should be a lesson to anyone considering programming as a career. Boring admin jobs are the best for the long haul, but you'll never get to feel the rush of living on edge.

[TheGrimReaper]

His record of intellectual achievement...

We should be wary of anyone whose chief asset is "intellectual achievement".
Do we even know what that means?

[xsmommy]

i saw him being interviewed this weekend, and it was obvious the anchors were trying to get him to admit he is a geek with no friends his own age, but he wouldn't! the female anchor said, c'mon, who's your best bud? and the kid had some stock answer that he kept repeating. he could not/would not come up with a name.