Is there any evidence that "child prodigies" amount

Terry tao

>>8155541
One case, sure, I'll grant you, but that isn't statistically significant

>>8155532
Probably a mixture, desu.
>>8155541
I'll see your Tao and raise you a Sidis.

>>8155532
They are prodigies in some very specific tasks or fields, people just extrapolate their facilites in everything and there you have a meme.

>>8155586
>Probably a mixture, desu.
That is most likely it, really. Some probably start being successful early and burn out just as fast, but I wonder how many.
I bet you just don't hear about most, I can't really remember ever hearing or reading something along the lines of "remember that child prodigy that was all over the newspapers years ago? Here is the breakthrough he made."

>>8155532

Child prodigies are useless if they don't do shit with it. Theres one in my country and all hes been doing is some stupid shit; promoting iq foods and crap

>>8155541
>>8155586
>amount to anything
>mathematicians

kek

ITT: Jealousy

>>8155532
they are memes made by tabloid journals to get clicks

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have you guys heard about the "infant scholar of Lübeck" christian heinrich heineken (germany)

he was an extraordinary child prodigy in the early 18th century he could speak french and latin at age 2 and he could read the Pentateuch even at age one according to wikipedia at least

also he authored "a history of denmark" at age 3

he died while being only 4 years old because of some shitty celiac disease that wasnt known at his time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Heinrich_Heineken

>>8155532
Most people don't amount to anything. As a corollary, many child prodigies amount to nothing. I suspect if you looked at the percentage of child prodigies who amount to something and compare it to the general population, it would be quite high.

>>8155595

This to be honest, just because somebody is gifted in certain areas doesn't mean they aren't a dumbass

>>8155544
norbert weiner

>>8155532
mendellson, mozart, saint saens, wittgenstein, tao, neumann, powell, mill ect. most smart adults were smart children. most smart children will be smart adults

>>8155910
Never heard of this child before.
Everything about this makes me want to call it a hoax. Reading about his achievements sounds like two posters on /sci/ jokingly trying to one-up each other.
But this case seems to be very well documented indeed.

Some become nobodies

Some kill themselves: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-prodigy-14-commits-suicide/

Some kill others:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski

Some become very successful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Tao

What happens if I just started at 25?

am I normal?

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There's this guy from Germany.
He's named Franz Király. He's in his ending 20's and earned all degrees before 23. Now he's teaching at UCL.

Here's his profile.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/statistics/people/franz-kiraly

Just look at his CV.

>several PhD
>Math, Medicine, Physics, CS
>Philosophy as well, but didn't include it in the CV
>pic related

>>8155921
Can confirm

>>8155921
what's a dumbass?

>>8155910
>be me
>get born
>mom's reading
>get rid of the fucking horoscope book mom i'm tryna learn
>piss on her
>she gets mad
>squashes my head
>"Oh he died of a uhh heart condition"

>>8156059
shit he is good lol

>>8156059
funny how people here who look down on "low IQ plebs" would be rightfully looked down upon by this guy lol

It's always survival of the fittest.
This guy woudl rekt us hard

Most definitely there are

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f4V_uaxBVOw

>>8155532
>Blaise Pascal
>Any Baroque Musician

>>8156232
>Not just pressured by his parents to play

I would say almost any kid could do that if the parents are forcing them.

>>8156248
He's not just technical he's gifted with that emotional element that the greats have. He's only 12 and it was his decision to play.

>>8156059
>Magna cum laude

Kek what a dummy

Gauss was a child prodigy

>>8156890
if gauss was so smart how come he never built the gauss gun? rekt by evolution #science

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>>8156886
Thanks for that anon, got a good laugh.

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>>8156059
>that fucking moustache

With a power level like that I guess it doesn't matter.

>>8156059
Same here, mastered it all @ InterU.

$1200/year tuition, lots of pretty ladies, time of the life.

>>8155532
Carl Friedrich Gauss.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
q.e.d.

>>8155910
Sounds like Germans lying to convince people of the superiority of Germans.

>>8155532
There's a program in China's USTC that's basically all child prodigies (very small classes, can be filled due to china's giant population). There were 3 of those kids in various years of my PhD program (all 3 started PhD under 20, can't remembr exact ages. One was 18). They go through basically your typical non-US level curriculum in STEM (as in math major type analysis, algebra courses for math majors in the first year), and the average starting age there is like 15. I, on the other hand am very slow. I took a year off, basically needed to relearn all undergrad math the months before grad school because of how shittily I learned it. I got my PhD when I was 28. By that time 1 of those prodigies were tenured professors, and the other two had quit math. I still have better research than those two guys :P. The prodigies have the advantage of a young mind that can learn a lot early. That's a huge advantage, but not NEARLY sufficient to be a good mathematician.

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IF THEY ARE SO SMART WHY DO THEY DIE AND BECOME DUST LIKE THE REST OF US?

HAHA CHECKMATE YOU FUCKING NERDS

They're probably all too smart to get on the academia treadmill and choose to enjoy their lives instead. What of it?

>>8157544
Eternal ""Aryan"" strikes again.

>>8156059
>unmarried
>no children
yep, checks out

>>8155921
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome

>>8156015
oh.

Tai Lopez. Next question.

>>8157882

Basically High-Functioning Autism

>>8157881
>wanting to be a marriedcuck in 2016
lel @ you

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>>8158283
You mean Asperger's syndrome.

ramanujan

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>>8155532
>>8155544
>>8155595
>>8155916

pic related

>>8155532
I do not think it is as "miraculous" or amazing as people seem to think.

Just like the idea of psychopaths and/or eidetic memory, it's not a true thing. Just an exaggeration. I guess by that logic it is a "thing".

My mother bought me puzzles as a child, and video games. So I'm pretty good at both. I'm sure if she bought me chemistry books and I was put in a position where chemistry was fun, I would have a better intuition about it.

A 30 year old picks up some programming books and develops a cool app and makes lots of money, nothing.

a 15 year old picks up the same books, makes the same app, makes the same amount of money, HOLY FUCKIN SHIT PRODIGY THIS KID IS EINSTEIN.

Despite the people learn and develop talents more efficiently at younger ages. The 30 year old is more impressive from a neurological perspective.

Sure, prodigy is a fine word. But simply to describe a child with talent. Its not a "godsend".

>>8159163
>despite the
meant: despite the fact that

>>8159163
>A 30 year old picks up some programming books and develops a cool app and makes lots of money, nothing.
>a 15 year old picks up the same books, makes the same app, makes the same amount of money, HOLY FUCKIN SHIT PRODIGY THIS KID IS EINSTEIN.
So much this. It's possible to have an "advantage" but it's blown out of proportion as an excuse to normies as to why they are stupid and should give up trying to educate themselves because they weren't already born educated.

>>8159163
This guy gets it

>>8159163
Agree for the most part.

There is no evidence of eidetic memory in healthy full functioning adults. Just claims. I believe it is a function in toddlers to recognize safe environments/people better. The function goes away in favor of shortcuts and brain efficiency. So technically, if you claim you have eidetic memory, you are by default claiming your brain is underdeveloped and inefficient.

I watched a doc on psychopathy. Everyone seems to have tendencies. True psychopathy would mean no brain activity for emotions or fear, which I don't think has been observed outside of patients with brain damage. Dull, or a developed lack of empathy/fear? Yeah, sure, I agree with that.

>>8156059
Hm... hist last name Király seems to be Hungarian, go bro, go.

>>8155532
Honestly, I think it's bullshit
Yeah it might give them a headstart in learning, but I've seen people who were absolutely average make amazing scientific discoveries.
I think it's mostly down the being in the right place at the right time sort of thing
Having knowledge, especially specialized knowledge, just makes it more likely that you'll discover something new
On the other hand I guess some people will naturally be smarter from birth by just having a higher density of neurons or some shit

>>8159175
You could claim that any deviation is "brain damage", but it really does not make sense if other areas of the brain are protected / enhanced at the same time.

Not being responsive to fear makes you much more able to focus on getting good at stuff as you won't be very responsive to distract by propaganda and sociopathic manipulation of your thoughts and emotions.

Viewed in that light it really is a benefit to have mild "brain damage" in our modern society where so much seems to be about juggling with peoples thoughts and emotions.

Of course you could be a pain in the ass for anyone responsible of managing you. And if you don't learn how to avoid accidentally stepping on peoples toes.

>>8155967
Mozart in line with those...
Mozart was a musician, an artist. Do we consider Lil Wayne being a genius now?

>>8159163
>>8159171
I don't think you understand how brain development works.
You're right when you mention learning new things is easier when you're younger, but there are concepts most children can't quite grasp at a young age. It takes a while to understand the concept of time correctly. It takes a while to understand numbers, to understand an idea, to understand shape, language. So yeah, when there's a story about a child (not a teenager, child) understanding five languages or solving math problems that are considered hard for college students more than twice their age, that child is indeed special.

>>8159304
He did have an incredible memory. The Vatican had a composition that was secret, he heard it once when he was 14 and copied it down from memory

>>8155938
I go to Tufts and he gets more respect than Caitlyn Jenner at an LGBT rally in our math department.

>>8159643
It takes time to understand, that is true. But it will help to have presented the concepts early on and their brains will munch on it automatically in the background.

>>8159792
>munch automatically
If that was true you'd see families filled with "child prodigies", and there'll be zero chance to find any of those to parents working in shitty blue collar jobs/school drop outs.

If it's really that simple why don't we produce learning programs that'd to just that? Let children "munch complex information in the background" from the moment they're born? Do you really think the average 3 year old will understand math and reading while its brain is still trying to figure out and make connections between different objects?

>>8159643
>I don't think you understand how brain development works
what a fucking dense individual

>do you know about this model corvette?
>a little, built around the 50s and the first color was red
>you fucking idiot, it was built in 49 and the first color was crimson
ok

>>8159920
What are you even trying to say?

>>8159925
He's right, you are fucking dense

>>8159933
Just as I expected. You're bringing nothing new to the converstation other than insults.

>>8158610
How come our generation doesn't have nearly as many great scientists? We no one even in the same league as Einstein or Dirac. Why?

>>8159920
>>a little, built around the 50s and the first color was red
>>you fucking idiot, it was built in 49 and the first color was crimson

I hate when people are like this.

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>>8159938
It's practically still the beginning of this generation dumbass.

nah nigga, gooks ain't no meme

>>8159943
Einstein published relativity at age 23

>>8159938
perhaps because greatness is rare xD

>In 1986, 1987, and 1988, Tao was the youngest participant to date in the International Mathematical Olympiad, first competing at the age of ten, winning a bronze, silver, and gold medal respectively. He remains the youngest winner of each of the three medals in the Olympiad's history, winning the gold medal shortly after his thirteenth birthday.
It's not fair /sci/, it's not fucking fair.

>>8159950
there are a number of things that prevent people from making major contributions earlier- we now have just over 100 years of contributions to advanced math and physics to study, so the average age for a major publication will be significantly later. also, he was 26 when publishing special relativity- in our generation, most scientists are in the later end of grad school at that point. we should expect major contributions from our generation within the next 5-8 years, I'd wager.

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>>8159950
2000-2016
>expecting more famous scientists than 20th century 1900-1999

>>8155544
Carl Gauss
Blaise Pascal
William Rowan Hamilton
Ramanujan
Galois
Norbert Wiener
Ted Kaczynski
Charles Fefferman
Terence Tao
Erik Demaine
Ruth Lawrence
Enrico Fermi
Richard Feynman
Wolfgang Pauli

Not to mention all the prodigies in music like Mozart.

>>8156059
>Franz Király
Okay well hold on a second... he got a bunch of MSc degrees. Each one in 1-2 years. THAT isn't really that hard at all. You don't really have to do anything super tough or original to get an MSc degree.

PhD in Math is impressive; so is his PhD in medicine.

>>8156033
No your random XDDD

>>8159994
>I bet you would even need fulltime for 1 MSc. at all.

Keep in mind he studied 3 subjects at the same time and all were really good.
He completed high-school (Abitur) with 13/14 years old.

What age is everyone here counting as prodigy? If you run through the calc sequences by 15 like Einstein is that considered prodigy level?

I consider people tackling college stuff in early high school impressive, but I wouldn't call it prodigy level.

>>8155921
Potential > Actions

>>8159982
There is a total survivorship bias here though. Child prodigies that became something are far more visible than those who didnt, for obvious reasons.

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>>8155532

Meme.

It is impossible to have so much knowledge in so little time. It is impossible at the age of 15 years, they have spent 10 years learning everything.

>>8157568
Two s's in scheisse

>>8159304
Is Lil' wayne able to hear a piece of music and play it back from memory after one playing?

>>8159920
kek

>>8159958
Wow that guy sure is dumb! Society is fucked for sure.

>>8156059
This guy takes 'catch'em all' to a whole new level.

>>8157547
Indeed. Part of the notoriety is being so young to enjoy all the power of a youthful creative brain. It seems that the problem in a lot of cases is overestimating their own abilities and burning out of unmet, unrealistic expectations.

>>8156059
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruNfajgUr0

>>8155910
That doesn't sound like complete fucking bullshit at all

>>8156059
>>8155532

Not all prodigies chase after expensive degrees. You'll never about the ones that spend their lives working some dead-end job trying to make ends meet because they've just given up on the world.

>>8159879

I did not say it would work automatically for Everyone. But for the ones it does work for, it helps.

Plant a seed of knowledge early enough and it will take root (if the ground is fertile).

Also fame is a social concept which does not have to be related to any actual achievement. It could be ( and often is, especially in modern times ) a tool to make money.

>>8155541
why even live? mfw i'lll never amount to this

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>>8155532
>"child prodigies" amount to anything
you sound like my Grandpa

>>8155532
Meme

Work Ethic >>>> Abnormal Intelligence

>>8162830
Not because of any better performance, but rather normaltypical people's reaction towards you.

>>8162617
Tell yourself that it is a big theater to play with your emotions and to laugh internally at it. That way you can defend rather well against it.

>>8155532
What does it mean to "amount to something"? Being allowed into big publishing houses?

>>8155532
Only "child prodigies" can amount to anything significant at all.

The difference nowadays is that media will use any oppurtunity to make a story out of it.

Becoming a genius, being a child prodigy is a condition.

Most still fail, but a few will make it.

The rest of the populace are nothing but supporters at best.

>>8162827
Your Grandpa managed to fuck a women at some point in his life.

Did you?