12 y.o. astrophysicist boy questions Einstein

[Bliss Sage]

I saw this article and it made me think of Steve. The boy's IQ is 170.

I also recommend watching the video clip lower down on the page. The boy asks questions about Einstein's theory.

For 12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit - Yahoo! News

I'd say he's going places in life.

[tamzdance]

I am speechless.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

This is certainly uplifting. Let's just hope the kid actually does go places and doesn't just quit while he's ahead and become a media curiosity. I am going to ignore him until he has some groundbreaking theories just in case

[Anderson samba star]

How incredible. Let's see what kind of future there will be for this boy

[goldberg]

Originally Posted by Bliss Sage

I saw this article and it made me think of Steve. The boy's IQ is 170.

I also recommend watching the video clip lower down on the page. The boy asks questions about Einstein's theory.

For 12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit - Yahoo! News

I'd say he's going places in life.

Well firstly the IQ number is normally scored relative other children of the same age, so it is not as impressive as it sounds, he is an early bloomer, much like the kid in class who is a head taller than everyone else, that kid does not end up being a 10 foot monster.

Often times what ends up happens with 'child prodigies' like this is that they grow up to be smart individuals but not a genius as everyone else catches up to them.

But because such high expectations are set at such a high age then end up not doing so well.

Video looks like a dog and pony show to me.

[GeorgeMagister]

Originally Posted by goldberg

Well firstly the IQ number is normally scored relative other children of the same age, so it is not as impressive as it sounds, he is an early bloomer, much like the kid in class who is a head taller than everyone else, that kid does not end up being a 10 foot monster.

I was hoping that someone would articulate this better than I could without sleep.

In an effort to actually contribute to this thread, though:

I think that if he actually has something of value for any subfield of physics that remains to be seen, that isn't simply enough. Getting attention doesn't bode either way for his potential accomplishments. A lot of brilliant people don't fit in with the establishment and can't forge a career, as a trailblazer or otherwise.

I used to be a physics enthusiast and perhaps thought I may have had a future in it, then I realized the sheer amount of accomplishment and luck you need to have behind you just to get a research fellowship. Writing a great peer-reviewed idea that shows promise seems to be the highest form of achievement these days. Experimental confirmation also trails far behind an idea's making waves. It's not the sort of field any single person can hope to be a huge innovator in. I'm hard pressed to think of any physicists that became household names in recent decades. There really should be, but there simply aren't.

[Cochonette]

Originally Posted by goldberg

Well firstly the IQ number is normally scored relative other children of the same age, so it is not as impressive as it sounds, he is an early bloomer, much like the kid in class who is a head taller than everyone else, that kid does not end up being a 10 foot monster.

Often times what ends up happens with 'child prodigies' like this is that they grow up to be smart individuals but not a genius as everyone else catches up to them.

But because such high expectations are set at such a high age then end up not doing so well.

Video looks like a dog and pony show to me.

While I wouldn't make much of the IQ score either (taken out of context and all), I would make much of this:

By 8, he had left high school, and is currently taking college-level advanced astrophysics classes—while tutoring his older classmates. And he's being recruited for a paid researcher job by Indiana University.

Obviously he is not going to seem quite as "genius" as an adult, because you can't really go higher than being an adult - the things he's talking about are "adult" things to talk about. But define genius. Do you ever meet people you think are geniuses? If you met some of the people you know now when they were kids, maybe you'd think they were geniuses. And they're probably still just as much smarter than the rest of us as they were then.

It's like, when I was in 8th grade and played my sax really fast, the high schoolers were like, "Whoa! That's amazing! Look at this little kid." When I was in 12th grade and played my sax, the 8th graders were like, "Oh. It's because she's in 12th grade."

[GreenSmoothieGirl]

I didn't understand a word that he said - wow. That's insane!

[GeorgeMagister]

Anemone alive, I really shouldn't post after 6 a.m.

This makes better sense now:

Originally Posted by GeorgeMagnus

I used to be a physics enthusiast and perhaps thought I may have had a future in it, then I realized the sheer amount of accomplishment and luck you need to have behind you just to get a research fellowship.