Comment

Aug 12, 2017
I grew up in the era of Sputnik, when child prodigies were the rage. I assumed that great things would come, that they were the heralding of a new super-intelligent group. Years later, I wondered why I never heard of them since they had matured? What gives, I wondered? I first attempted looking up a super-genius I became acquainted with in the third grade, the young fellow who, when we were assigned any project to make with cast off trash in the family kitchen, while the rest of us brought in various pathetic artsy projects, this kid brought in a fully-functioning portable weather station [and this was in the very early days of digital electronics, and his project was strictly analog, BTW]. When we drew in class, this kid drew equal or better to an Audobon. Incredible, I felt like an ant whenever I spoke with him. Could not find out a single thing about him, so I searched on other prodigies and found, with but one or two exceptions, they did not perform as one might have expected as an adult - - in other words, nothing special or remarkable. Boy oh boy, was I ever disappointed. The one of several exceptions: Lady Gaga. Yes, she was a child prodigy type, although her success wasn't in the field one would have predicted [she did not become a mathematician after all . . .]. Haven't seen this movie yet, just felt like ruminating on the subject.