Most people strive to achieve excellence in their professional field - some reach the top of their careers in adulthood, but others are so talented that they sometimes surpass adults as children. Here is a list of ten modern geeks who have achieved success in various professions.
1. Michaela Fudolig
Mikaela Irene Fudolig entered the University of the Philippines at age 11, and at 16 she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in physical science—she became a valedictorian valedictorian. Mikaela is currently a professor at the same university and focuses on econophysics - the mathematical modeling of behavior in systems and biological systems.
2. Akrit Yaswal
Akrit Pran Yaswal from India became famous when he performed his first surgical operation - he was then only seven years old. Although he was not yet a doctor at that time, he already had a reputation as a medical genius in a narrow circle of acquaintances. His eight-year-old friend received severe burns on his hand, and Akran separated his fingers.
Akran entered medical school at the age of 12, and by the age of 17 had earned a master's degree in applied chemistry. Today he is looking for a cure for cancer.
3. Taylor Wilson
Taylor Ramon Wilson became the youngest person in the world to create a working fusor, a device designed for nuclear fusion reactions. At the age of 10, he designed a nuclear bomb, and made a fusor when he was 14. In May 2011, Taylor received an award at the Intel International Science and Technology Fair for a transition radiation detector.
In February 2013, he spoke at the TED-2013 conference, where he spoke about his ideas for autonomous underground nuclear fission reactors. Taylor has developed a compact nuclear reactor that he says is capable of generating 50 MW of electricity, and the device only needs to be refueled once every 30 years.
4. Cameron Thompson
Cameron Thompson is a math genius from North Wales. When he was four years old, he corrected his teacher, who said that zero was the smallest number, by stating that he had forgotten about negative numbers. At the age of 11, he received a degree in mathematics from the Open University in the UK. At the same age, the boy successfully passed two final exams at a mathematical school and was shown by the BBC as one of the brilliant teenagers. Unfortunately, Cameron has learning difficulties due to Asperger's, but he is nonetheless one of the world's young math geniuses.
5. Jacob Barnett
Jacob Barnett is an American mathematician. When he was two years old, he was diagnosed with severe autism: doctors said that he would not be able to speak, read and perform small household activities. At the age of three, it turned out that the doctors made a big mistake - Jacob could tell the alphabet in the forward and reverse order.
At the same age, during a visit to the planetarium, Jacob answered the presenter's question about why the moons of Mars are such a strange shape. He entered Indiana University at Indianapolis at the age of 10.
While working on his doctoral dissertation, Barnett claimed that one day he would be able to disprove Einstein's theory of relativity. He is currently working on a dissertation in quantum physics.
6. Mark Tian Boedihardjo
Mark Tian Boedihardjo was born in Hong Kong, he is the youngest person to enter the University of Hong Kong: he was then nine years old. He studied in a special program, where special attention was paid to mathematics and statistics, at the same time he passed eight final exams at school.
Mark now has two degrees, a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in philosophy in mathematics, which he received in 2011 - a year ahead of schedule. He is currently pursuing a PhD in mathematics from the United States.
7. Priyanshi Somani
Priyanshi Somani from India has an amazing ability to perform complex mathematical calculations in his mind. At the age of six, she mastered mental counting, and at 11 she won first place in the Mental Calculation World Cup competition: Priyanshi beat 36 other competitors from 16 countries by calculating the square root of ten six-digit numbers in a record 6 minutes and 51 seconds. To top it off, she was the only contestant in the history of the contest to not make a single mistake when adding, multiplying, and extracting square roots.
Priyanshi set the new world record for mental square roots in January 2012 when she calculated the square root of ten six-digit numbers in 2 minutes and 43 seconds.
8. Akim Kamara
Akim Kamara is a violinist from Berlin. He began playing the violin at the age of two and has a remarkable memory for music, which he heard in diapers. His teacher noticed his natural "ear for music" and began teaching the boy music lessons twice a week. Akim learned to play the violin exceptionally quickly, in just six months of training, and made his debut in December 2003 at the age of three at a Christmas concert.
9. Ethan Bortnik
Ethan Bortnik is a musician, songwriter and actor. When he was three years old, he began to play the harpsichord, and at the age of five he began to write music. His debut performance took place on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2007, after which the boy performed repeatedly in the future.
Ethan entered the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest solo artist in the world. He is also the youngest headliner to ever perform in Las Vegas - the concert took place when Ethan was ten years old.
10. Tanish Matthew Abraham
Tanish Matthew Abraham is one of the youngest members of the Mensa, where he joined at the age of four. His genius manifested itself at four months when he began to look through children's books and correctly answer questions about their content.
Upon joining Mensa, he achieved a score of 99.9% on Mensa's standardized IQ test. At the age of five, Tanish completed five courses in mathematics from Stanford University's Educational Program for Gifted Youth in just six months.
At the age of six, he entered high school and then college - in all subjects, his GPA never dropped below 4.0. He also frequently publishes essays on the NASA Lunar Institute website.
Ekaterina Morozova
Reading time: 7 minutes
A A
How does it feel to know that you are better than millions of your peers? Only child prodigies can simultaneously bathe in the rays of popularity, feel the respect of others - and be afraid not to live up to the hopes of parents and teachers.
Here is the TOP 10 most gifted children in Russia.
Irina Polyakova
Russian Irina Polyakova at the age of 5 read 26 volumes of works by Jules Verne. The girl learned to read early and loved books. Irina's mother, a specialist in early childhood development, has been teaching her daughter from a young age.
Ira went to first grade not at the age of 7, like her peers, but 2 years earlier. She quickly mastered the school curriculum and "jumped" from class to class.
After graduating from school at the age of 13, the girl easily entered Moscow State University. After graduating from university, she rapidly climbed the career ladder, becoming the youngest member of the board of directors in a large company.
Today Irina is a beloved mother and wife, but for her child she does not want a repetition of her fate. Irina notes that she, like many child prodigies who showed their abilities early, experienced enormous difficulties in the social sphere. When her classmates and classmates in the first years of the institute walked in noisy companies, "little Ira" was at home with her parents.
It was very difficult for the girl to find contact with the guys from her environment. During the institute period, she diligently concealed her age so as not to feel like a "black sheep", but still could not afford much of what her classmates were allowed to do.
The name of the young poetess Nika Turbina was known all over the world. Her first poems appeared when the girl was only 4 years old. Moreover, their content was by no means childish.
At the age of 9, Nika wrote the first collection of her poems, which were translated into different languages of the world. Her creative guardian was Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who took the young poetess to perform in Italy and America.
At the age of 12, Nika was awarded the Golden Lion in Venice.
But soon the girl's interest in poetry dried up. A surprise for fans of her work was the marriage of Nicky with a professor from Switzerland, who was 60 years older than her. The marriage did not last long - after a year of married life, the girl returned to Russia without a husband.
Nika could not find a way to earn money in Russia, she started drinking. At the age of 29, the girl jumped out of the window.
Russian gifted children record their achievements in the Guinness Book of Records.
Andrey Khlopin from the Krasnodar Territory from an early age showed an extraordinary desire for knowledge. He, like many other child prodigies, began to read early. But instead of children's fairy tales, Andrei chose more serious literature - about space. One of the first books he read was Mars. The kid became interested in astronomy thanks to his parents, who encouraged the curiosity of the young genius.
At the regional competition in honor of Cosmonautics Day, Andrey took first place, voicing his hypothesis about the appearance of an asteroid belt between the planets Jupiter and Mars. Then the boy was 9 years old.
The next victory is the Astronomy Olympiad, where Andrey once again surprised the jury members with his knowledge. The young genius unraveled the mystery of the "silvery clouds" that glow in the dark. Scientists have puzzled over this question for more than a century. For this, the boy was inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Andrei, whose photo was published in all the newspapers of the Krasnodar Territory, does not consider himself special. He is sure that all children have equal abilities from birth, but it is important to develop them. For this he is grateful to his parents.
At one time, Andrei was one of the most famous boys of the Kuban. He received a scholarship from the Helena Roerich Foundation. But over time, the boy began to doubt whether he really wants to connect his life with the study of space.
As a teenager, he started kickboxing. After moving to Krasnodar with his parents, he entered law school and rarely tells his friends about his past accomplishments.
Child prodigies, who showed their unusual talents early, often appear on the stage of the popular Russian TV show "Minute of Glory".
In one of the episodes, the hall exploded with applause after the performance of a three-year-old kid - Mark Cherry. He counts complex examples in his mind: he multiplies, adds, subtracts three-digit numbers, extracts square roots, tells the table of sines and cosines. The kid quickly gained fame as a "calculator boy."
Parents recall that the baby counted up to 10 at the age of one and a half, and at 2 years old - up to a billion. By the way, the boy's parents are philologists. For them, the son's love for mathematics came as a surprise.
Like many other gifted children of Russia who participated in the talent show, Mark was popular only for a while. Then the boy was at a very young age - 3 - 4 years old, and still did not understand why they showed such interest in him.
Further, in order not to develop a “star fever” in the child, the parents decided not to stir up interest in his person among others, and not to tell Mark himself about his appearance on television. The boy grew up as an ordinary child, like all his peers, and only at the age of 9 he learned about his triumph at the "Minute of Glory".
It has been 11 years since the baby appeared on the TV show. Today, Mark no longer dreams of becoming a mathematician. He likes to draw and wants to work as an animator. The young genius plans to study at the University of Texas as an animator or.
Musically gifted children are rare. Milena Podsineva is one of those talents.
At the age of 7, the girl masterfully played the domra. She participated and won prizes in city, regional and international music competitions. The young talent was nicknamed the Nizhny Novgorod child prodigy.
The girl dreamed of Gnesinka, but everything turned out differently.
Milena's parents were alcoholics. Despite all the persuasion of their daughter, they continued to drink. The girl's mother died, her father was placed in a rehabilitation center, and Mila herself was placed in an orphanage.
There was no question of any musical education. The girls quickly forgot about the unique talent.
They are admired, talked about and written about in newspapers. But how is their life after a few years? How do grown-up children geeks live? In Russia, examples are often tragic.
One of these gifted children is Pavel Konoplev.
At the age of 3, he read, solved mathematical problems that were difficult for his age. At the age of 5, he knew how to play the piano, and at 8, he surprised me with his knowledge of physics. At 15, the boy studied at the Moscow University, and at 18 he entered graduate school.
Pavel participated in the development of the first programs for household computers, was engaged in mathematical forecasting of the future. He was predicted to be a great scientist.
But the young genius could not withstand such a load. He went crazy.
Pavel was placed in a psychiatric clinic, where he was treated with "heavy" drugs, the side effect of which was the formation of a blood clot. It was a blood clot that entered the pulmonary artery that caused the death of a genius.
At the age of five, the talented Polya played compositions on the piano, and at the age of 6 her first solo concert took place.
The girl was taught to play a musical instrument by her father, who dreamed of his daughter's fame. She studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, in the class of Marina Wolf, trained with Vera Gornostaeva at the Moscow Conservatory.
At the age of 13, the girl ran away from home and told reporters a cruel story about how her father taught her music using his own Double Stress method. Her father beat her, forced her to play for hours, and sometimes for days, and even used a hypnotic effect on the girl.
Today Polina is a famous pianist, she performs all over the world, takes part in festivals, creates her own works.
Few child prodigies in Russia have been able to overcome the turning points in their lives - and build up their talent. Among them is Polina Osetinskaya.
At the age of 2, Zhenya Kissin, according to his relatives, has already improvised on the piano.
A unique child at the age of 10 performed with the orchestra, playing works by Mozart. At the age of 11, he gave his first solo concert in the capital, 2 years later he performed 2 concerts at the Moscow Conservatory.
From the age of 16, he began touring Eastern Europe, conquered Japan.
As an adult, the pianist continues to tour various countries and is considered one of the most successful musicians of our time.
On the popular TV show “You are the best”, the audience was captivated by a unique child - Timofey Tsoi. The boy was called the genius of geography.
Timothy showed a special interest in the countries of the world. At the age of 5, he easily recognizes the flags of different countries, he can name the capital of any state without hesitation.
Russian child prodigies are known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. An example of this is Gordey Kolesov.
The boy was born in 2008 in Moscow. When Gordey was 5 years old, he won the Talent Show in China. He sang a song in Chinese, played the guitar and asked tricky questions to the jury members, amusing the audience with this.
The boy surprised everyone with his excellent knowledge of the Chinese language. After Gordey's victory in the Chinese TV show, the boy's parents received dozens of invitations from TV channels.
Unfortunately, not all child prodigies who have shown their unique abilities at an early age, having matured, continue to amaze the world with them.
But those who managed to overcome the so-called "crisis of giftedness" and increase their talent become real geniuses of our time.
Such children who will put any adult in the belt... Read more...
Willie Mosconi - professional pool player at age 6
William Joseph Mosconi was a famous American billiards player from Philadelphia. His father was the owner of a billiard room, but he did not allow the child to play, so the boy trained in the literal sense of the word on tomatoes, and instead of a cue, he used a mop handle.
The father soon noticed that his son was showing signs of success, and began to arrange exhibition tournaments in which his son had to stand on a stool to see what was happening on the table. At the same time, he almost always won against older players.
In 1919, an exhibition competition was held between the six-year-old Willy and the reigning world champion, Ralph Greenleaf. Ralph won, but Willy's brilliant game opened the way for him to professional billiards. Since 1924, at the age of 11, William has been regularly putting on shows showing off his dainty trickshots.
Later, between 1941 and 1957, he held the BCA World Championship 15 times in a row. The number of various records related to billiards and set by William Mosconi should be listed for a long time, I can only say that the record for continuous clogging of balls (consecutive balls) in his performance is 526! That is, he continuously and without errors pocketed 526 balls into the pockets ...
The smartest person in the world is prodigy Kim Ung-Yong. University at 4 years old
The Korean wonder baby was born in 1962 and still holds the Guinness World Record for having the highest IQ of 210.
At the age of 4, the boy could read Japanese, Korean, German and English. When he was 5 years old, Kim solved a complex system of probabilistic differential equations (I don’t remember what it is after university..).
After that, he was invited to a show on Japanese television, where he demonstrated his knowledge of Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog (Filipino), German, English and Korean. From the age of 3 to 6, Kim was a student at Hanyang University, at the age of 7 he received an invitation to work at NASA. There, at the age of 15, he received his Ph.D. in physics from Colorado State University and worked in the United States until 1978.
After that, Kim returned to Korea with the intention of pursuing civil engineering and construction. To do this, he defended his doctoral dissertation on this subject, after which he was invited to the most famous Korean university, which he refused, preferring to work in a provincial university. Since 2007, he has also worked as an assistant at Chungbuk National University. Kim Ung-Yong is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smartest person in the world, his IQ = 210
Gregory Smith - Nobel Prize at 12
Born in 1990, Gregory Smith learned to read at the age of two and entered university at age 10. To his credit, the boy is not only engaged in the exact sciences, but also travels the world as an activist in the movement for the protection of children's rights. Gregory is the founder of the International Youth Advocates movement, which is dedicated to building understanding among children around the world (I wonder how?)
The gifted boy was honored with a conversation with Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, and also delivered a speech from the rostrum at one of the UN meetings.
For his work, he was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize, however, he never received it. Of the latest achievements, it can be called obtaining a driver's license
Akrit Jaswal - 7 year old surgeon
Akrit Yaswal was born in India, where he is called the smartest, as his IQ reaches 146, which, with a competition of a billion people (the country's population), is an excellent result.
Akrit attracted public attention in 2000, when he accidentally performed his first "surgical" operation. He was seven years old, his patient - a girl next door - eight. Due to the burn, the girl could not unclench her fist, and Akrit, having no special medical skills, was able to carry out the necessary actions and returned mobility to the fingers of his eight-year-old patient.
After this incident, the boy went to study for a doctor at Chandigarh College and is now the youngest student among all in Indian universities.
Cleopatra Stratan is the youngest pop star on the planet. Takes 1000 euros for the performance
Cleopatra was born in October 2002 in Chisinau in the family of singer Pavel Stratan. Surprisingly, in her case, her genes and talent have developed in such a way that the girl is the youngest performer to achieve commercial success since the release of the album La vârsta de trei ani ("At the age of 3").
At her more than a young age, she has the experience of two hours of performing in front of a large audience in a concert hall, receives money for this, received an MTV award for the youngest performer.
Aelita Andre - 2 year old artist
Aelita is a celebrity among certain circles of connoisseurs of abstract painting, she began to "create" her works when she was not yet two years old. It is clear that there is no talk of landscapes, but she succeeds in abstractionism well, like all children.
One day, the director of the Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne, Mark Jemison, at a meeting with one of the photographers, saw pictures of works by an unknown author, and agreed to include them in the program of the annual exhibition. Booklets were printed, advertisements were given in specialized magazines.
When the car was started, he learned that the author of the pictures was the daughter of the photographer, two-year-old Aelita. The director was, of course, in shock, but it was decided not to change the program of the exhibition, and the paintings of the young talent saw the light.
A student who taught at Harvard - child prodigy Saul Aaron Kripke
Saul Aaron Kripke was born in New York in 1940 - the son of a rabbi.
In elementary school, Saul managed to study a full course of algebra, geometry and philosophy. His life is a series of unexpected insights and discoveries.
In the fourth grade of the school, he took a course in algebra, and by the end of the lower grades he had completed the study of geometry and philosophy. During his teenage years, Saul wrote a series of papers that changed the teaching of modal (formal) logic, which led to the fact that the gifted teenager received a job offer from Harvard. As an obedient Jewish boy, Saul wrote back: "Mom says I have to finish school and college first."
After graduating from high school, Saul nevertheless went to study at Harvard. Sile Kripke is the recipient of the Schock Prize, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in philosophy, and is now considered one of the most prominent modern philosophers.
Michael Kevin Kearney University at 10
24-year-old Michael Kearney is known as the youngest graduate of the university - he was only 10 years old at that time. In addition, in 2008 he won a million dollars in the show "Who wants to be a millionaire."
Born in 1984, Kevin has set many intellectual records in his life and has been a college teacher since the age of 17. The boy said his first words at 4 months, at 6 months he said at the pediatrician's appointment "I have an infection in my left ear" (I'm sure the doctor fainted), and learned to read at the age of 10 months.
When Michael was 4 years old, he successfully passed the Johns Hopkins precocious math program. At the age of 6, Kevin left school, entered Santa Rosa Junior College, and at the age of 10 he graduated with a degree in geology and archeology.
Michael entered the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest university graduate to receive a bachelor's degree in archeology. He also holds the record as the youngest graduate student (at that age, I personally only pulled the pigtails of girls at school and studied in the 3rd grade). In 2006, Michael became famous all over the world after winning the game "Gold Rush" and winning $1 million.
Fabiano Luigi Caruana - chess grandmaster at age 14
Fabiano, at the age of 16, is a grandmaster and chess celebrity, he has honorary citizenship of Italy and the USA.
In 2007, at the age of 14 years and 11 months, Fabiano received the title of grandmaster, becoming the youngest chess master in the USA and Italy. In April 2009, according to FIDE, he has a rating of 2649 points, which is the highest in the world among players under 18 years old.
More than one generation of scientists is struggling with the riddle of genius. Some believe that the whole point is in the features of genes and the structure of the brain. Others are sure that talent manifests itself only in the presence of a rare disease. “Genius is 99 percent labor to the point of exhaustion and one percent a game of the imagination,” said Thomas Edison. And the Soviet geneticist Vladimir Efroimson has a different point of view: “Studying the biographies and pathographies of geniuses of all times and peoples leads to an inexorable conclusion: geniuses are born.” And what of this is true, no one can say yet ...
Geeks, as a rule, show their abilities at an early age. These abilities can relate to any intellectual field of activity: mathematics, physics, music, encyclopedic knowledge, and so on. Already at an early age they can go to college, finish it and defend a dissertation, while their peers are still in school; gifted children with musical ability write operas; with the ability to chess - become champions.
Contrary to popular belief that nothing special comes out of child prodigies, they often keep their genius to themselves even in adulthood ...
Maria Agnesi
Maria Agnesi was born in Milan in 1718, it was just at the time when women were not very favored in scientific circles. But she was different: she spoke several languages as a child and gave scientific speeches to her father's friends.By the time of her death at the age of 80, Agnesi had received the title of professor. Not bad for the 18th century.
Carl Friedrich Gauss
1777 (the time of Gauss's birth), mathematics was not as we know it today. It didn’t take long for Gauss to start redoing everything, and it all started at the age of three, when he began to do some mathematical calculations, later, in elementary school, he easily and quickly added more than 100 numbers in his head.Gauss continued to study mathematics and made important contributions to the development of algebra and number theory. He also wrote several papers on magnetism, which is why you often see his name on a magnet: Gauss is the unit used to measure a magnetic field.
Paul Erdos
Do you know how many seconds you lived? Three-year-old Paul Erdos could easily give you the answer to this question. As a child living in Hungary in the 1920s, he amazed everyone with his amazing ability.When Paul crossed the 20-year mark, his skills in mathematics could only be envied, by this age, he received a doctorate in this science. He was also quite eccentric, developing his own unique set of vocabulary, and doing everything to ensure that his life passed "on the suitcases".
By the end of his life, Erdős was one of the most influential and knowledgeable mathematicians of all time, publishing over a thousand papers, many of them over the age of 70, proving that an early start does not mean a quick end to the race.
William Rowan Hamilton
How many teenagers in today's world know 10 languages? Hamilton knew 14. He was born in 1805 in Dublin, and by the age of 16 he was already studying higher mathematics.He spent most of his life studying optics, but his most important and influential work was on algebra and the quaternion, the number system that was created to become the essential foundation of computer graphics, quantum physics, and vector algebra today. No wonder the Irish are still so proud of him.
Kim Un-young
With an IQ of around 210, Kim Un-young began studying university programs at the age of 3, around the time the vast majority of us were playing with the magnetic alphabet.Korean Kim flaunted on Japanese television in the late 1960s, solving complex equations, writing poetry, and speaking a variety of languages, which helped him earn his Ph.D. He did all this at an age when ordinary children had not yet finished high school. Since then, however, he has calmed down and settled down to a normal life in his home country, where he still teaches at the college.
Jean Piaget
For someone who will study the cognitive development of children, Jean certainly had an unusual childhood. Swiss by birth, Piaget published his first scientific work in 1906 when he was 10 years old.Piaget watched children as they grew up, and how they turned from babies into adults, he studied how they learn about the world and develop. His conclusions changed the point of view of society on children and childhood, showing how important this period of a human being's life is.
John von Neumann
When a 6-year-old child can mentally divide 6-digit numbers, one cannot help but say that he is a genius. Being of Hungarian origin at the age of 8, John could memorize entire pages of phone books. However, by the age of 50, he surprised no less.Von Neumann, in the company of leading physicists of the world, opposed the mysteries of quantum mechanics, and also connected human behavior with the theory of games with economists.
Then he became a key person in the development of atomic and hydrogen bombs, moreover, was the first and most influential computer designer.
Ekrit Jasvel
Few 7 year olds have surgery, or at least want to. Surely, many here will wonder what adult doctors were thinking about if they allowed this? But Indian-born Ekrit, now a university student as a teenager, has always been a little different.He is not a doctor, but his parents claim that he has always had a passion for anatomy and the sciences. From the age of 5, the boy enthusiastically read Shakespeare. Today, Ekrit talks about that. that he would focus all his efforts on finding a cure for cancer. Well, he has a lot of time ahead of him to reach his goal.
William James Sidis
William was born April 1, 1898 in New York. At the age of 18 months, he was reading the New York Times. At the age of 6, William consciously became an atheist. By the time he was eight, he had written four books. He was a mathematical genius, entered Harvard at the age of 11 and became a professor before he was 20.W. J. Sidis is rated by some biographers as the most gifted man on earth. Here are the moments of the biography that gave rise to this opinion:
- William learned to write towards the end of his first year of life.
- In the fourth year of his life, he read Homer in the original.
- At the age of six he studied Aristotelian logic.
- Between the ages of 4 and 8 he wrote 4 books, including one monograph on anatomy.
- At the age of seven, he passed the Harvard Medical School exam in anatomy.
- By the age of 8, William knew 8 languages - English, Latin, Greek, Russian, Hebrew, French, German and another one that he invented himself.
- In adulthood, William was fluent in 40 languages, and, according to some authors, this number reached 200.
- At the age of 11, Sidis entered Harvard University and was soon lecturing at the Harvard Mathematics Club.
- He graduated from Harvard with honors at 16.
Sadly, Sidis was perhaps the classic example of an ill-adjusted child prodigy "put in the spotlight" by overzealous parents.
After a socialist anti-war rally in 1919, he was imprisoned. There, Sidis abandoned his former life, renouncing his academic career and taking up a regular working profession, while lamenting the lost love of his life.
He died in 1944 at the age of 46. He may have been the smartest person on earth.
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal only lived to the age of 39, however, this 17th century Frenchman made the most of those 4 decades of his life as he had an "early start". At the age of 12, he began solving complex geometric problems and proving theorems.By the age of 16, he had created his theorem and was in the circle of prominent French mathematicians. He even invented the first mechanical calculator at the age of 19, which was called pascaline.
By the time of his death, Pascal went beyond mathematics, he became a philosopher, theologian and writer. Among his most famous philosophical concepts is Pascal's Wager. This is the argument that you can either believe in God or not believe in him, since there is no potential risk or great reward in believing in him. Very pragmatic.
Mozart and others
Music is one of the areas where geniuses can show themselves at a very early age and delight listeners with their composing or performing arts for many years. The most famous example here is the fate of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.At the age of three, he gave his first own concert. Even then, Wolfgang memorized to the note the works he had heard only once. At the age of six, together with his sister, he went on a long tour of Europe, where in every city he made a splash with his talent.
The further creative fate of Mozart is known - a huge number of brilliant works, forever included in the world treasury of culture.
The nature of Mozart's genius is beyond description. He himself said this:
“When I'm in a good mood - in a carriage, on a walk after a pleasant dinner, or at night during insomnia, sometimes a stream of thoughts and melodies falls upon me, that's all.
Where and how - I do not know: those melodies that are pleasant to me, I remember and hum them to myself - at least, so say those around me. Then I continue to develop these themes, make them more specific, concrete, so that over time they become almost complete in my head.
History knows many other musical prodigies. Chopin He made his public debut at the age of eight. Weber was appointed conductor of the Breslau Opera Orchestra at the age of 17. Strauss and Haydn started composing music at the age of six.
Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev was a typical child prodigy - at the age of 6 he composed small piano pieces, at 9 - a children's opera, at the age of 13 he entered the conservatory.
Unfamiliar to the general public and the name Tom Blind, the son of a black slave. But at the age of five, the boy could play two different compositions on the piano with both hands at the same time, while whistling the third melody ...
Amp power
Mathematics is the second area after music where a child can express himself from early childhood. Few people know that the great French physicist and mathematician André Marie Ampère was also a child prodigy. In addition to his amazing abilities in mathematics, he was distinguished by an extraordinary craving for reading. At the age of seven or eight, he literally devoured huge volumes, while giving preference to thick encyclopedias. Surprisingly, after many years, Ampère could repeat almost word for word everything he read in childhood.But his main passion was mathematics. At the age of 11, André was solving complex problems on his own in Joseph Lagrange's famous work Analytical Mechanics.
And the genius of Ampère has not disappeared over the years. He revolutionized mathematics, discovered the fundamental laws of electrodynamics, and wrote significant works on chemistry, poetry theory, and psychology.
Another famous mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, also demonstrated his remarkable abilities very early. Already at the age of two, he, having made a calculation in his mind, eliminated the mistake of his father, who incorrectly calculated the wages of several workers.
And at school, Karl was released from attending math classes, as the teacher admitted that the eight-year-old boy knows much more than he does.
At the age of 14, Gauss was invited to the court of Prince Brunswick, who admired the young mathematician's amazing memory and his ability to instantly perform complex calculations in his mind.
Mathematician Evariste Galois at the age of 16, he mastered the book "Principles of Geometry" in two days, designed for two years of systematic study. He also studied the monograph "Solution of Numerical Equations" in two days. And at the age of 17 he created a theory that had a significant impact on the entire mathematics of the 20th century ...
Many of the domestic geniuses of mathematics and physics were also child prodigies. Nobel Prize Laureate Lev Landau became a university student at the age of 13. A mathematician Sergey Mergelyan at the age of 15 he already went through the entire school curriculum, immediately entered the university, which he graduated at the age of 19. At 20, he already defended his Ph.D. thesis, for which he was immediately awarded a doctoral degree. And at the age of 28, Mergelyan became an academician!
Prodigy engineer
But sometimes the amazing abilities of mathematical geeks suddenly disappear for unknown reasons. Young American Zera Colburn at the age of six he was already speaking to the public, striking her with his skills. The boy spent seconds thinking and solving complex problems. It should be noted that many adults would not immediately overcome such tasks even in writing, for example: “What is the square root of 106,929?” or "Square 999,999."But a few years later, the young genius lost his phenomenal abilities, with difficulty solving even the most difficult tasks, and not at all in his mind. For science, it remains a mystery - where did his amazing talent go, and most importantly, where did he get it from ... The Englishman had similar abilities George Bidder. Already at the age of four, he amazed those around him, making the most complex calculations in his mind.
For example, to the question: “How long will it take to fill a 1 cubic mile tank at a rate of 120 gallons per minute?” two minutes later the answer was given: 14,300 years 285 days 12 hours and 46 minutes. Interestingly, when solving the problem, the boy took into account all the leap years for this period!
Fortunately, unlike Colburn, Bidder did not lose his abilities over time. But he did not turn into a great mathematician, as he applied his talent in another area - he became the most famous engineer in England and a very wealthy person.
talking baby
Geeks can appear not only in the field of music and mathematics. Sometimes their skills in adults are simply shocking.So, at the beginning of the last century, a boy was born in Poland, who, a few hours after birth, ... spoke. At the age of one he could already read the Bible, and at two he could recite it. John Stuart Mill, a famous philosopher and economist of the 19th century, at the age of three he was already reading books written in Greek.
Englishman Thomas Macaulay at the age of seven he wrote works on general history. His compatriot Basie Ashford at nine she wrote the novel The Young Guest, which was immediately recognized as a genius.
Hindu Ganesh Sittampalam at the age of seven he entered the university, where he was listed as the most capable student!
In conclusion, it must be said that most geeks grow up, coping with the difficult tasks of life and becoming famous. In the United States, they conducted an analysis and found that out of 282 American geeks, 105 achieved success in the very area in which their gift manifested itself from early childhood.
Studies by French scientists have shown that out of 287 great personalities, 230 already in their early years showed remarkable abilities and talents.
So the myth that geeks achieve nothing in adulthood is now practically debunked ...