the myth of prodigy

[mizanation]

read an interesting article today about precocity and why it doesn't matter that much.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/...le.cfm?id=2026

 

[Piobaire]

Interesting article, thanks.

Think Michael Jordan would fall into an example similar to the one successful adult runner citied?

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Interesting article, thanks.

Think Michael Jordan would fall into an example similar to the one successful adult runner citied?

Maybe. MJ might've played JV for a year or two, but he was heavily recruited out and was a star right away at UNC. Better examples would probably be the guys that were stars in the NBA and the NFL that went to smaller schools because they weren't highly recruited, or were drafted very low because they didn't really shine in college. T.O coming from U of Tennessee-Chattanooga, being drafted in the third round and becoming arguably the best WR in the league at one point (he wasn't a star in High School at all either). Or Scottie Pippen, who was a walk-on at University of Central Arkansas and grew 7" while he was there.

There's some confusing in the article, at least in terms of athletics, of whether he's speaking of results at a young age begets results in adulthood, or talent at a young age begets results in adulthood. For all the examples of a blue-chip recruit that ends up mediocre, I think most of the stars in, at least in the NBA, were expected to do well either out of HS or college. I think it has more to do with such a large population of either athletes or intellectuals being funneled into a smaller grouping of greatness as they get older, as others may be late bloomers or simply don't take their pursuits seriously until then. There are a lot more successful high school and college players than NBA players simply because there are far more high school and college athletes than can fit in the NBA or NFL, so players that were once All-Americans fall by the wayside. It doesn't mean that success in high school or college athletics is a poor predictor of later success. It's still the best one we have.

 

[imageWIS]

Everyone always mentions Mozart, no one ever mentions Beethoven or Mendelssohn

Anyways, the writer needs to recheck his facts regarding Mozart.

Jon.

 

[mizanation]

this article is very interesting to me because of my own childhood. i was labelled as "gifted" after scoring at a college level on an assessment test in the 5th grade. my parents then made me take the college SAT's and i scored higher than the average high school senior (which wasn't that hard). this got me into CTY (Center for Talented Youth) where i spent three unhappy summers with a bunch of brainy whiz kids. later, i went to an ivy league school where i was a horrible student, eventually dropping out after my junior year. anyways, now, i'm making decent money on wall street, but nothing to write home about--definitely nothing interesting. i went from being a "gifted" child to being a merely above average adult. i hope to be a "gifted" adult, someday.

 

[LabelKing]

 

[globetrotter]

my mother was considered a prodigy, and was more or less given to believe that she would achieve great things. unfortunatly, she didn't, and I think that the high point of her life may very well have been about age 12.

my son is very bright - apperently very very bright. we discussed it very seriously and have decided to push him on a track that is as "normal" as possible - basically not pushing high to advance in school faster than normal unless it seems that to not do so would be harmfull, not to try to push him in any field of study beyond a little bit above normal. I would rather he be a pretty good high school wrestler, and a pretty good high school debater (for instance) and have a normal high school experiece than start university at age 14.

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

my mother was considered a prodigy, and was more or less given to believe that she would achieve great things. unfortunatly, she didn't, and I think that the high point of her life may very well have been about age 12.

my son is very bright - apperently very very bright. we discussed it very seriously and have decided to push him on a track that is as "normal" as possible - basically not pushing high to advance in school faster than normal unless it seems that to not do so would be harmfull, not to try to push him in any field of study beyond a little bit above normal. I would rather he be a pretty good high school wrestler, and a pretty good high school debater (for instance) and have a normal high school experiece than start university at age 14.

This is nice to hear. Whatever a kid can achieve at a young age, it's just as important for him to go through the typical social experience of middle school and high school and learn how to interact with kids his own age, and girls. There's a reason home schooled kids are always a little off.

 

[mizanation]

i skipped 2nd grade and it was actually a good thing for me. the school told my parents i could skip two grades, but they didn't want me to have trouble adjusting socially. many of my classmates in college had also skipped a grade, so it wasn't such a big deal.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

my mother was considered a prodigy, and was more or less given to believe that she would achieve great things. unfortunatly, she didn't, and I think that the high point of her life may very well have been about age 12.

my son is very bright - apperently very very bright. we discussed it very seriously and have decided to push him on a track that is as "normal" as possible - basically not pushing high to advance in school faster than normal unless it seems that to not do so would be harmfull, not to try to push him in any field of study beyond a little bit above normal. I would rather he be a pretty good high school wrestler, and a pretty good high school debater (for instance) and have a normal high school experiece than start university at age 14.

Ya, that's a good idea. I was very good at the piano at a young age. In grade 4-5, I was doing grade 9 conservatory after a year and a half of study with the top guy at the royal conservatory in toronto (regular kids generally do 1 grade a year). It honestly sucked though. If I hadn't been pushed so hard by everyone I may have continued playing it (and really regret that I didn't), but my memories of the time were my friends banging on the windows to come out and play and my mother making them go away because i had to practice. It's best to leave bright kids to find out on their own what they want to pursue isntead of forcing them along some path you think is best for them. It took me a long time to break from the path of what people expected me to do and start doing things I actually enjoyed.

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

my mother was considered a prodigy, and was more or less given to believe that she would achieve great things. unfortunatly, she didn't, and I think that the high point of her life may very well have been about age 12.

my son is very bright - apperently very very bright. we discussed it very seriously and have decided to push him on a track that is as "normal" as possible - basically not pushing high to advance in school faster than normal unless it seems that to not do so would be harmfull, not to try to push him in any field of study beyond a little bit above normal. I would rather he be a pretty good high school wrestler, and a pretty good high school debater (for instance) and have a normal high school experiece than start university at age 14.

It's so funny how every parent thinks their kid is Einstein, and they just end up being maybe slightly above average at a state school. It seems everyone knows somebody who was "supposed" to be fantastic. Unfortunately, the human species doesn't work that way. Pretty much everyone is average. I also have no doubt that now at least half of style forum is going to come out about their genius at childhood... the bullshit continues.

Let the kid live... kids who skip grades are losers, and most of the successful people in the world grew up in a relatively normal way. It's good you think this too.

I just have to laugh at this current culture of every child being some kind of wunderkind.. I'm not saying this is your case, but I'm sure you see what I mean.

I'm in an "industry" which brings together some of the most astonishing intellectual and musical prodigies you can imagine. A lot of them just dont pan out because of neurotic stage parents. Funny enough, the new trend if you're a young star pianist or violinist is to not go to a conservatory, and attend Harvard instead. It seems like everyone's doing that now.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Ya, that's a good idea. I was very good at the piano at a young age. In grade 4-5, I was doing grade 9 conservatory after a year and a half of study with the top guy at the royal conservatory in toronto (regular kids generally do 1 grade a year). It honestly sucked though. If I hadn't been pushed so hard by everyone I may have continued playing it (and really regret that I didn't), but my memories of the time were my friends banging on the windows to come out and play and my mother making them go away because i had to practice. It's best to leave bright kids to find out on their own what they want to pursue isntead of forcing them along some path you think is best for them. It took me a long time to break from the path of what people expected me to do and start doing things I actually enjoyed.
I was considered intellectually precocious as well, and also trouble-prone but my parents were not any typical parents as they did not pressure extra-curricular activities or schoolwork on me thus I meandered into my own esoteric interests. In fact, they weren't active at all in academic type things; instead they tended to look with disdain at such comunity organizations like PTA, church, etc. They felt the socialization such things entailed were hypocritical and false.

 

[johnapril]

I first read Proust when I was 22, and now that I'm reading it a second time, it doesn't feel like the second time. I basically wasted a month of my life when I was 22.

 

[Violinist]

.....

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

That two-headed kid is creepy.