Prodigy

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A child prodigy is an individual who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age. It is an extreme form of giftedness. One generally accepted heuristic for identifying prodigies is someone who, usually around the age of twelve, displays expert proficiency or a profound grasp of the fundamentals of one or more domains. Researchers Gardner and Feldman define a prodigy as an individual who passes through one or more domains with tremendous rapidity, rendering him qualitatively different from other individuals. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a quintessential child prodigy because of his extraordinary gifts in the musical sphere.

Overview

The term Wunderkind (from German: "miracle child" or "wonder child"") is sometimes used as a synonym for prodigy, particularly in media accounts, although this term is discouraged in scientific literature. Wunderkind also is used to recognize those who achieve success and acclaim early in their adult careers, such as Steven Spielberg and Steve Jobs. Other prodigies include Carl Gaus, mathematician; English painter John Everett Millsis; and chess player Samuel Reshensky. However, not all child prodigies go on to become great creators, inventors or to make great contributions to the world; some no longer stand out when their peers catch up with them; most do become experts in an area that draws on one or more of their intelligences. No matter how powerful the adult talent of a grownup child prodigy, he is no longer a prodigy, because the term is linked not solely to ability, but also to age. Many adults, even if continuing to excel in their earlier domains, are forever ex-prodigies. Others, such as Mozart, continue to develop and excel in their fields and become known as geniuses. And there are those who were never identified or perceived as gifted when they were children, such as Darwin, Edison, and Einstein

Characteristics of a prodigy

An often asked question is "Are prodigies born, or can prodigies be made?" Is giftedness a genetic outcome, or can it be created through environment—by parents, schools and mentors. Most researchers recognize that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, the environment that the individual resides in, the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures, and the personal characteristics of the individual. Gardner and Feldman's research reveal the following factors:

• an initial, possibly inborn proclivity
• considerable pressure from parents and family
• excellent teachers
• high motivation, and perhaps most importantly,
• a culture in which that proclivity will have a chance to flower.

In their opinion, the prodigy is an astouding amalgam of the highest amounts of proclivity with the greatest amounts of stimulation and structure provided by the individual's family and society.

Solely environmental theories to account for the performance of prodigies have been developed, examined, and to some degree 'tested'. For example, Laszlo Polgar set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasisizing the potency an environment has in determining the area toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.

Prodigies, regardless of their portrayal, are people, and as such are generally confined by much the same constraints on learning and emotional issues that most people deal with. It is impossible to learn to play tennis in a prison, and it is rewarding to learn music with encouragement. Time and energ, is required to learn and absorb the proper skill set. Emotions play an incredibly important role (as in almost all people), from the catastrophic tendencies exhibited by stereotypical examples of 'tortured geniuses', to the obvious distracting quality of bouts of uncontrollable depression, to the less tangible and poorly understood qualities of the effects of emotions on one's creativity and general thought patterns. Biographical accounts by prodigies themselves show that most child prodigies devote a substantial amount of time to learning and studying, that some prodigies experience serious problems which appear to be related to their unusual early lives, and that very few prodigies emerge in families that do not provide good opportunities to learn. In addition, scientific investigation of the gifted reveals the importance of drive and hard work in achievement of any kind.

Cognitive studies on child prodigies

Few studies have examined the neurological activity of prodigies. However, Michael O'Boyle, an American psychologist working in Australia, has recently utilized fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanning of blood flow during mental operation in prodigies to display startling results. “Calculators,” those capable of mentally performing arithmetic, geometrical, or other complex mathematical operations, normally reserved for electronic calculators, achieve six to seven times the typical blood flow to parts of the brain observed to be active during mathematical operations.

Mental calculators are not to be confused with other mathematical prodigies, because mechanically carrying out and keeping track of progress in a calculation is very different from having an understanding of the deeper principles behind mathematics. This is potentially one of the reasons why mental calculators do not necessarily go on to become mathematicians. A similar principle, for nearly the same mental mechanism, can be observed among players in games, such as, for example, chess or go.

In other studies, Paul Thompson and his colleagues used MRI to study the brains of 20 pairs of identical and fraternal twins. They found that intelligence was linked significantly to the amount of brain matter in the frontal lobes. An EEG study of working memory, specifically the "visiospatial sketchpad" which holds visual and spatial information, found that high IQ individuals showed activated areas in the rear of the brain. In EEG studies of alpha waves done by Norbert Jausovec on high IQ individuals revealed that they used less mental effort than average IQ individuals when solving closed problems; highly creative and gifted individuals used less mental effort in creative problem solving.

More recently, research scientist Dr. Jeremy Gray found significant brain activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex, the region involved in working memory, planning and goal-directed activity, in individuals with high IQ test scores when they performed exacting memory tasks. Using [[fMRI], he also found increased activity in several other brain areas, including the anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum. This confirmed earlier studies by Dr. John Duncan who used positron emission tomography (PET) scans in similar research. He called Gray's study "a significant step" toward understanding the specific brain mechanisms that were recruited into action by the kinds of problems found on intelligence tests. Gray's study on memory tasks suggests that fluid intelligence involves the ability to stay focused and keep new information in mind in the face of distraction.

Social and Emotional Issues

See main article gifted child. The personal growth of child prodigies has traditionally captured a decent share of attention in popular culture, and has over the years been the subject of reasonable historical and sociological inquiry.

The tragic happening strikes many as a captivating and defining plotline. The vehicle upon which these personalities enter the public consciousness varies, but the essential elements are always, if perhaps unfairly, amplified. Famous examples include Thomas Chatterton, Bobby Fischer, José Raul Capablanca, David Helfgott, Ryan Chan, Blaise Pascal, and Ruth Slenczynska. In cases such as Zerah Colburn, William James Sidis, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, history is colored by early achievement and promise of something greater, and tragic events of adulthood are particularly emphasized in historical or popular accounts. One early literary example of a child prodigy with a tragic fate is found in The Hampdenshire Wonder, but again the portrayal is rather colored, describing not an accurate account but a fictionalized idealization.

Counter examples, such as Jeremy Bentham, Thomas Young, John Stuart Mill, Murray Gell-Mann, Karl Benz, the Vilna Gaon or Pablo Picasso, suggest that it is possible for prodigies to have continued success well into old age.

It is often expressed that prodigies sometimes have difficulty adjusting socially. In the 1940s Leta S. Hollingworth noted that the "optimum IQ range" appeared to be between 125 and 155. Those above 155 had more problems with personal adjustment.[13]. Above a certain point there was a slight inverse relationship between performance on "the Concept Mastery Test Form A," a test of verbal intelligence, and personal adjustment. It should be pointed out that this is based on a dated test: the IQ scale that Hollingworth used, the ratio IQ, is no longer widely used today, and on a normed test 155 IQ is roughly 3+2/3 SD above the mean.

Although Hollingworth's findings may be outdated, some adjustment issues for child prodigies are obvious. It is not uncommon for the highly intellectually capable to be ostracized in school, or at least be emotionally dulled by the conversation of their average classmates. They typically have very different priorities than other people, with popularity, friendship, and common excitement being secondary to the quest for knowledge, mastery of skill, or more personal yearnings, creating a mis-step with society. In addition, the unusualness of a prodigy's priorities and capabilities may lead to difficulty in relating to peers.

Some may simply dream too large. The possibilities seem endless when one is young: one can progress rapidly through a subject which might take an average uninterested student much more time. As one matures, however, those that one is competing with are proportionally not much older, and possibly just as driven. Also, the subjects become increasingly difficult. For example, mastery of the fundamentals of calculus is not beyond most bright youngsters, but if this ability is misconstrued as a cue to jump into Quantum Field Theory when an individual is not ready, the result may be discouragement and burnout.

In spite of this, most individuals formerly identified as prodigies, go on to lead generally happy lives. A famous study by Lewis Terman indicates this, and although the participants were pre-selected to some extent, the results are true of the majority of individuals. The spectacular reversals of celebrity are held in the upper echelons of public awareness, but it should be emphasized that our history is filled with geniuses who have displayed phenomenal early talent. One must note that phenomenal early talent is de rigueur in classical musical performance, startlingly commonplace in the hard sciences and engineering, extremely well established in writing, journalism, debate, and law, and as is becoming increasingly clear as the World Wide Web opens up a showcase for blossoming talent, in artistic endeavours as well. One author notes that an extraordinary number of Nobel Prize winners in physics, Fields medalists, Dirac medalists, Abel medalists, and Turing Award winners were educationally accelerated (sometimes remarkably), had remarkable school careers, had an early obsession with computers, or more recently, won major international academic olympiads.

An interesting question concerns the effects of early public celebrity in mass media in the transition of child prodigies into adulthood. Some child prodigies, such as Gregory R. Smith (USA), James Harries (UK), or Carlos Blanco (Spain), attracted a strong public attention and even had frequent collaborations in high-share TV programs, where they were able to show their skills, however, this early public recognition might result in problems at later times, as it happened with William James Sidis (1898-1944).

Notable child prodigies

These are examples of people who in childhood (at or before 11) showed abilities in a specific field comparable to those of a highly skilled adult; hence the term "child prodigy."

• Shirley Temple: At 5 years old she proved a spontaneous talent as an actress in Hollywood; she was also a great tap dancer. When she was 7 she received a special Academy Award.
• Lope de Vega: wrote his first play at the age of 12. Could read Latin at 5 and was translating Latin verse at ten.
• Isaac Albéniz-Public performance at age 4.[14]
• Martha Argerich-Public performance at age 4. Orchestral debut at age 8.[15]
• Claudio Arrau-First public concert at 5. Could read notes before letters.[16]
• Steve Barakatt-First public concert at 5. Guest soloist of Quebec Symphonic Orchestra at 13.[17]
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first compositions, Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro (K. 1b), were written in 1761, when he was five years old.
• David Oistrakh-Debut at age six.[18]
• Gregor Piatigorsky-At the Moscow Conservatory by age 11, heading a quartet at 15.[19]
• Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga-Composing at 11 and a two-act opera at thirteen.[20]
• Samuel Barber-Composing at age seven, attempted an opera at age ten, and attended the Curtis Institute of Music at 14.[21]
• Georges Bizet-Paris Conservatoire at age 10.[22]
• Frédéric Chopin-Concerts and polonaises at seven, well-known composer by 15.[23]

Visual arts

• Akiane Kramarik: 12 year old Christian artist who has been featured on television and in museums since age 10.
• Jan Lievens: Painter apprenticed at 8 and an independent artist at 12.
• John Everett Millais: Painter who entered the Royal Academy at eleven.
• Alexandra Nechita: Painter with solo exhibit at age eight.
• Dylan Scott Pierce: Wildlife art illustrator at 10.
• Pablo Picasso: His Picador is from age eight, see List of Picasso artworks 1889-1900.
• Stephen Wiltshire: An example of autistic artist child prodigies, he is an English artist
• Zhu Da: Prodigy poet by age 7 and later a painter.

Humanities

Academics

• Michael Kearney: Several degrees with the first being earned at age 10. He is currently noted as a "17 year old professor."
• Gregory R. Smith: He entered college at age 10 and was first nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize at age 12.
• Kim Ung-Yong: Attended university physics courses at age 4, Ph.D in physics before age 11.

Business

• Y.Siddharth Reddy: Youngest-ever CEO of a Public Limited Company

Law/philosophy

• Jeremy Bentham: He studied Latin at age 3 and entered The Queen's College, Oxford at 12.
• Saul Kripke: philosopher by 12 and invited to apply for a teaching post at Harvard while still in high school.
• John Stuart Mill: Knew several dead languages by age eight and studied scholastic philosophy at 12.
• Eugene Volokh: Earned a BS in math/computer science from UCLA when he was 15. Proceeded to earn a JD, and clerk for judge Alex Kozinski and justice Sandra Day O'Connor before becoming a professor at the age of 26.

Linguistics/translation

• Jean-François Champollion: He knew several dead languages at age 10 and at 16 he read an important paper at the Grenoble Academy.
• Thomas Young (scientist): More noted as a physicist, he was a polyglot at a young age who worked on translating Demotic Egyptian
• Émilie du Châtelet: translated ancient Greek and other ancient texts in her late childhood. Later famous for translations of Newton's works, with her own additional commentary and analysis, into French.

Sports

• Freddy Adu: Joined the Major League Soccer's D.C. United at age 14.
• Rhain Davis: Joined English football giants Manchester United at the age of 9 after the club where sent a DVD of him in action.
• Wayne Gretzky: Began skating at the age of 2 and then scored 378 goals in one season at the age of ten. He went on to become the greatest player in hockey history.
• Lionel Messi: Was signed by soccer team FC Barcelona at age 13.
• Cherno Samba: He was signed by Millwall FC after scoring 132 goals in 32 goals as a 13 year old.
• Sonny Pike: He was signed by Dutch football club Ajax, at the age of 7.
• Fu Mingxia: Referred to as a child prodigy by at least two sources, and was an Olympic gold medalist at 13. She is a diver.
• Ronnie O'Sullivan: snooker player. Scored his first century break aged 10, his first maximum at 15 and was youngest ever winner of a ranking event at 17.
• Ricky Rubio: Youngest ever to play in Spanish basketball league ACB at age 14.
• John Tavares: Drafted by the OHL‘s Oshawa Generals at age 14.
• Mike Tyson: Beat world-class heavyweights such as Frank Bruno in training before turning 18.
• Michelle Wie: Qualified for the USGA Women's Amateur Public Links at 10 and won the same event at 13, making her the youngest person both to qualify for and win a USGA adult national championship.
• Tiger Woods: He first won the Optimist International Junior tournament at age 8, playing in the 9-10 age group since there was no group for 8-year-olds at the time.

Legendary

This is for historic children who have become representatives of the "prodigy" phenomenon, inspiring literature on it, but whose actual accomplishments have not been firmly established due to the poor sourcing or records of their era.

• Gaon of Vilna: A historically significant rabbi called a prodigy in youth and who has been said to have had a variety of skills by age 11.
• Christian Friedrich Heinecken: The book The Life, Deeds, Travels and Death of the Child of Lubeck was based on his life and he was an influence on The Hampdenshire Wonder. He allegedly "knew by heart the principal incidents in the Pentateuch" by age 1.
• Okita Sōji (1842 or 1844-1868): Prodigy of kenjutsu (swordsmanship), who defeated a kenjutsu master by age 12 and became a master of kenjutsu and a school head (Jukutou) at 18 or so. He died from tuberculosis in his mid-twenties.

Prodigies in fiction

An early film example is Dear Brigitte with Bill Mumy as a prodigious son of a professor, although there are films with child prodigies that predate that one. The Royal Tenenbaums, a recent work shows characters who began life as child prodigies. Another example is Little Man Tate, a film depicting the struggles of a doting working-class mother trying to care for a child prodigy.

Child prodigies are also a staple in much science fiction. Several episodes of the X-Files featured varying kinds of child prodigies; ranging from noble to violent and psychotic. Books such as Ender's Game, Matilda, Odd John, Beggars in Spain, Dune, Artemis Fowl and others deal with child prodigies or focus on them. There is also the Wesley Crusher character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars.

Most fictional examples given here ultimately could be deemed troubled or even tortured prodigies, even the seemingly happy ones.

The final episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. seems to parody the idea: he appears on a talk show with child prodigies who end up confessing outrageous mental problems, but at the end he essentially agrees it applies to him as well. He therefore quits medicine in search of some kind of philosophical answer to his problems. Anakin Skywalker clashes with authority and eventually falls to the dark side, only to be redeemed in the end.

A few films take a slightly different approach. In Little Man Tate, the character suffers from burnout in the middle of the film, but by the end he recovers and is ultimately better adjusted than he was before the film story began. A vaguely similar result occurs in Searching for Bobby Fischer where, after a tormenting level of external pressure, the prodigy finds his own way toward stability and even being "a good person."

Films intending to deal, comically or seriously, with the more tortured variety include Shine, the William H. Macy character in Magnolia, and The Royal Tenenbaums, as mentioned. The film Real Genius takes a mixed approach. It seems to indicate that impressive early ability, leading to grand self and external expectations, coupled with obsessive studiousness and a seriousness toward one's work and life, leads people toward burnout, a phenomenon well understood within the real life version of the thinly veiled environment that is portrayed (the California Institute of Technology). The central epiphany in that film occurs when the younger Mitch and the older Chris develop a balance within their lives, fueled by their rediscovered love of science.

In the series Artemis Fowl of books by Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl II is a 12 year old (turns 13) criminal prodigy, who also experiences family problems, his father was abducted and this led to Artemis's mother going through serious depression. In the Chronicles of Narnia Lucy Pevensie is portrayed as a wunderkind in the movie soundtrack in a song by Alanis Morissette called 'Wunderkind'.

Conclusion

The Unification theory of education maintains that in order to nurture the child prodigy and genius and prevent the problems that the gifted often experience, a balance is necessary. Education that nurtures the child's gift must be balanced by including education of character and heart as well as education of citizenship. With a balanced education, many more individuals would have the ability to develop their gifts and genius in a variety of areas. Education of character emphasizes development of the whole personality, including the faculties of intellect, emotion, and will in a balanced way, on the basis of heart (love). A person of character is altruistic, caring for their siblings, and ultimately contributing to the greater good of humankind. Education of citizenship refers to education of family and societal norms. A good citizen of the earth uses their gifts to improve the condition of humankind and the earth. Based on this balanced education, the gifted child can develop their greatest potential free from the social and emotional problems that result from the traditional unbalanced education.

Dabrowski's theory describes how human beings transform themselves from self-serving, conforming individuals to self-aware, self-directed persons who transcend their primitive natures and strive to "walk the moral talk." A Dabrowskian view of giftedness would require a revamping of the traditional definition; his theory is about authenticity, morality, becoming and being a good person; becoming truly human. Success in his definition is not material, nor is it related to academic achievement. Success rests in a life of service to others for the betterment of humankind.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Andreasen, N. C. (2005). The creating brain: the neuroscience of genius. New York: Dana Press. ISBN 1932594078.
• Galton, Francis. (2006). Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws and Consequences. Prometheus Books: London. ISBN 1591023580
• Gardner, Howard E. (May 1999). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465025091.
• Radford, John. (1990). Child Prodigies and Exceptional Early Achievers. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-02-925635-6
• Sousa, David A. (2002). How the Gifted Brain Learns. SAGE Publications. ISBN 076193829X ISBN 9780761938293.
• Stetter Hollingworth, Leta. (1975). Children Above 180 IQ: Standford-Binet Origin and Development:Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-06467-5.
• Winner, Ellen. (1997). Gifted Children: Myths and Realities. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01759-2 ISBN 978-0465017591.

External links

• The Origins and Ends of Giftedness by Ellen Winner
• Time Asia
• History of the education of gifted children by Ellen Summers
• Brain Scans Reflect Problem-Solving Skill

References

• Feldman, David Henry. 1991. Extreme giftedness: A developmental view. Trillium Press. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• Gardner, Howard E. (May 1999). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465025091.
• Gardner, Howard E. (2000). The Disciplined Mind. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140296247.
• Gardner, Howard E. The relationship between early giftedness and later achievement. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• Howe, M.J. The early lives of child prodigies. Ciba Found Symp. 1993;178:85-92. PMID: 8168372 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
• Marshall, Andrew. 2003. "Small Wonders." February 2003 TIME magazine. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• Tolan, Stephanie S. Discovering the Gifted Ex-Child. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• Winner, Ellen. 1999. Giftedness: Current Theory and Research. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1999, 9, 5, 153-156. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• The Lewis Terman Study at Stanford University. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
• The Davidson Institute for Talent Development: Provides free support and services for profoundly gifted young people, their parents, and educators. Retrieved August 4, 2007.
• Oxford to turn away child prodigies. The Observer (UK), August 21, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2007.

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