The youngest geniuses in the world. Children who surprised the world. The most extraordinary child prodigies in history. How to Handle Gifted Children

What parent doesn't dream of a gifted child? Some children are always ahead of their peers, developing by leaps and bounds, which never ceases to please the pride of their mothers and fathers. God's gift, or the wisdom of education - what underlies genius? And most importantly, does a child need to grow up to be a child prodigy?

History knows a lot of examples when children at three years old did complex calculations, at 8 years old they composed music, and at 12 years old they easily entered university. Children with obvious manifestations of genius range from 1 to 5%. Although, according to experts, giftedness is characteristic of almost any child, the main thing is to recognize it in time.

Where do geniuses come from??

The genius of a child depends on his genotype, upbringing and education. True, experts cannot say for sure where there is more responsibility. There are only average data - Mother Nature is responsible for 70% of the child prodigy, and the remaining 30% depends on the parents. But scientists insist on a number of other facts. So, statistics show that mothers aged 30-35 have every chance of giving the world a genius. If the father is engaged in mental work, the chances of gifted offspring increase. Oddly enough, even radiation affects child prodigies. When it is at the upper limit of the norm, there is a surge in the birth rate of gifted children. Scientists have also found that climate plays an important role in middle lane there are an order of magnitude more young talents than in the tundra or, say, in the south. It is also curious that almost all great discoveries were made by younger children, but firstborns can boast of the maximum IQ.

What are they?

Experts divide gifted individuals into four main types.

Prodigies. In their case, nature did its best. Children like this are from the very beginning early age shock adults with smart questions, excellent memory, a burning desire to constantly learn something. Child prodigies are interested in everything; they begin to speak, read, and count early; they easily memorize poems and literally grasp things on the fly. new information. Parents sometimes do not know how to answer the questions of such miracle children, and they, in turn, continue to demand from their elders an explanation of why the snow is white and the grass is green. Such children are very addicted. They take on any activity with interest. Child prodigies are offered special schools, external studies, and in-depth education.

Very capable . Such children are ahead of their peers in development, love to study and achieve the highest results in school. They are efficient, focused, and flexible. They enjoy learning, especially if the task requires a lot of thought. At the same time, they don’t care what to teach - life safety or astronomy.

Motivated. These are the majority of children. They just want to learn. They like to be good students. Motivated children are diligent and diligent. They complete all assignments and approach their studies with responsibility. Regular school program and traditional requirements are what they need.

Creative natures. These are special gifted children - they are incredibly original, non-standard individuals. Their talent is noticeable to the naked eye; all it takes is a little conversation with the child. Look for the most incredible solutions to problems, put forward hypotheses, fantasize, experiment - their character traits. Creative people usually do poorly in school because they are not interested in chewed-up knowledge. It is much more exciting to get to the bottom of the truth yourself. Sometimes it is simply vital to disassemble a TV or something more complicated. They love to create something new and break stereotypes.

Cons of genius

As long as the baby pleases the parents’ pride with his exclusivity, everything is wonderful. But sometimes problems begin as soon as a genius crosses the threshold of school. The child meets standard scheme education and average children. They cannot share the interests of the child prodigy, considering him strange, and teachers drive him into the general framework of education. If parents do not send their child to specialized school For gifted children, he inevitably begins to experience stress and dissonance with the world around him. Often, gifted children study poorly, become “black sheep,” suffer from their own underestimation and tightly withdraw into themselves. But even as adults, geniuses rarely find their place. Scientists have established that gifted individuals live on average 14 years less than ordinary people. The brighter the talent, the worse the prognosis. The worst is that of genius. Ordinary world It simply doesn’t meet the needs and offers the wrong foundation for life. Gifted people are not understandable to the world, and the world is not understandable to them.

How to recognize a genius?

The period of “why and why” does not end by the age of 5; on the contrary, from morning to evening the child haunts his parents, bombarding them with more sophisticated questions. Increased curiosity is one of the clear signs of giftedness. Learning to read or count on your own is quite normal for a genius. Such children are drawn to elders and do not like to communicate with peers - they are simply not interested. Gifted natures, despite their early age, can be passionate about something. Without remembering daytime sleep or lunch, they are constructing a car of the future or other miracle technology. Prodigies often suggest non-standard methods solve ordinary problems, like to get to the bottom of any issue, and easily establish cause-and-effect relationships. Geniuses have a keen sense of justice and a desire to achieve perfection in any matter. Experts will help you determine whether your child is a genius. It is worth contacting them if you see that your child is clearly different from his peers.

How to deal with gifted children?

In the case of a gifted child main principle- do no harm. Children often become hostage to the ambitions of their elders; they are expected to do more than they can achieve, literally bombarding them with classes, tutors, clubs and sections. Such children have simply had their childhood stolen from them, because they have no time for anything other than education. Parents should be very sensitive and attentive in order to understand in what area the child has and what his soul lies in. It happens that a child has brilliant abilities in mathematics, but he cannot stand it, and spends his days composing poetry. In such cases, the main thing is not to impose your politics on the child, respect his opinion and be very attentive to his wishes. It will be better if you hire specialists who will draw up a special development program for your gifted child, which he can follow at home. In general, the earlier giftedness manifests itself, the earlier it is worth engaging with your child. Then there is every chance of success. Otherwise, the talent will disappear, as artistic and aesthetic skills sometimes disappear by the age of 7. According to teachers good results can be achieved if you work with a child from 8 months to 3 years. And from the age of three, a child is able to master a huge number of languages. You can teach a little genius almost anything; in pedagogy there is even such a concept: quasi-abilities. In this case, the main condition is a bright, talented teacher, the effect of personality has the most big influence. Parents, in turn, should do their best to support the child’s interest: do not spare money on encyclopedias and dictionaries, educational games and activities. At the same time, it is important not to force the baby with your demands and expectations - the child’s psyche may not be able to stand it, the miracle child will become anxious, he may develop an inferiority complex, and develop nervousness and psychosomatic disorders. Sometimes, fixated on the child’s talents, parents do not attach importance to universal human values ​​and qualities. Although the age from 3 to 7 years is the time to lay moral standards. Otherwise, you will grow up to be a “trained undergrowth” who will have a hard time in life.

To find a middle ground in the upbringing and development of an unusual child, teachers will help. Find those who have experience working with gifted individuals. Today in Russia there are a lot of programs, classes in which will help develop

Childhood achievement: In April 2009, Alice Roberts (born in London in 2007) became the youngest member of the high-IQ club Mensa in its history. The girl was only 2 years and 4 months old. According to her parents, Alice loves to count in Spanish and can name most of the world's capitals.

9. Heidi Hankins

IQ: 159

Child achievement: In 2012, 4-year-old Heidi Hankins (born 2008) also received an invitation from Mensa. Heidi lives in Winchester (England) and can't wait to go to school. However, there is no guarantee that her school success will be brilliant. Her IQ level is one less than Einstein’s, and he, as you know, was never the first student.

8. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

IQ: 165 (estimated)

Childhood achievements: Began writing music at the age of 5. He performed before many of the most august persons in Europe. By the age of 17, he received a position as a court musician in Salzburg.

Childhood Achievements: Mathematical genius Theodore Kaczynski (born 1942) was accepted into Harvard University at age 16 and graduated at age 20.

By the age of 26, he became a professor at the prestigious University of California at Berkeley. Today, Kaczynski's name is no longer associated with mathematics but with his mail-bomb campaign, which earned him the nickname "Unabomber." On April 3, 1996, Theodore Kaczynski was arrested and sentenced to 4 life sentences. Mentioned in the movie Good Will Hunting.

Childhood achievements: Entered the top 100 best chess players on the planet (including both women and men) at the age of 13; became the youngest grandmaster in history, surpassing Robert Fischer's achievement by one month.

Childhood achievements: At a very young age, the Korean prodigy Kim Ung-Yong (born in 1963) was included in the Guinness Book of Records for his IQ, which is estimated at 210. At the age of 4, he solved a complex mathematical problem in one of the Japanese television programs. At the age of 5 he spoke four languages, at 8 he was invited by NASA to study at the University of Colorado.

Childhood Achievements: At age 8, Terence Tao (born 1975) entered the Johns Hopkins University Exceptional Talent Program and scored an incredible 760 in the math section. In 1986, at the age of 10, Tao became the youngest participant in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Childhood achievements: By the end of the first year of his life, William Sidis (1898 -1944) learned to write, at the age of 4 he read Homer in the original, at 6 he studied Aristotelian logic, and by the age of 8 he mastered eight languages. He entered Harvard at age 11 and graduated at 16.

The name Sidis is often used as an example of what mature age prodigies may not achieve great success. As an adult, Sidis worked as a simple accountant, remained a bachelor and tried not to attract attention to himself. He died at the age of 46 from intracerebral hemorrhage. After his death several were discovered scientific works, which he did not want to publish during his lifetime.

Childhood achievements: Gregory Smith (born 1990) could memorize entire books by the age of two, and entered university at the age of 10. But Gregory's interests are not limited to science. He founded the International Youth Advocates movement and travels around the world advocating for children's rights. By the age of 16, Gregory had been nominated twice for Nobel Prize peace

The news about the brilliant little girl, who already speaks seven languages ​​at the age of 4, amazed Runet users. The girl became a real star after the TV show “ Amazing people"on the channel "Russia 1", where she demonstrated her unusual abilities.

The baby owes her success to her mother, who communicated with her daughter in Russian and English from birth. And then, seeing that the girl was showing talent, she added other languages.

We decided to figure out which of the children can actually be considered a genius, is it a blessing or a curse, and where should the parents of young Einsteins and Mozarts go?

7 Signs of a Child's Giftedness

According to long-term research, from 1% to 5% of children around the world are born with the inclinations of genius, but only every hundred of the gifted manage to demonstrate them. The chances of raising an adult genius from a small one are very slim, but it’s worth a try.

First you need to distinguish a child with unusual inclinations from his peers. A child of genius always has the following traits:

• A craving for communication with adults and problems with peers due to a lack of common interests;
• Perfectionism;
• Increased curiosity that does not decrease over the years;
• Ability to independently acquire new skills (reading, counting, drawing);
• Obsession with your favorite activity, reluctance to switch;
• Emotional instability;
• The ability to build cause-and-effect relationships at a very early age.

If you discover several of these qualities in your child before the age of 4-5, contact a specialist. An experienced child psychologist or teacher will tell you whether the child’s development corresponds to the norm, and if he is ahead of it, then by how much.

Child psychologist Tatyana Lyubeznova often repeats to the parents of her little charges:

The peculiarity of gifted children is not only intelligence or talent for creativity, but also an extremely “fragile” psyche. Often adults, seeing a precocious child, communicate with him on equal terms, without making any allowance for the level of psycho-emotional development. For such children, any rude phrase or intonation can cause injury. Two extremes (communicating as with an adult and lisping as with a baby) are equally unacceptable when working with such children. Both kill the child’s self-esteem and his trust in loved ones.

4 types of giftedness in children

All talented children who are ahead of their peers in development can be divided into four groups:

Creative kids- the rarest of the gifted, show talent for one of the types of creativity already in the first year of life. Otherwise, they develop on par with their peers, but they can be lazy and not show interest in the general development program. Requires work with experienced teachers and individual mentors.

Prodigies- children who are interested in everything, gifted by nature. From a very early age they show a craving for learning and new knowledge, very early they learn to read, write, count and begin to obtain information in all available ways. Most often they are not interested in communicating with peers, playing games, physical activity. They require special education, training in special boarding schools, and are not adapted to everyday life.

Hypermotivated children- diligently study everything that is required of them. Interested in learning for the sake of praise, typical excellent students and “nerds”, they try to study better than anyone within the framework of the general program, and win competitions in one or more subjects.

Capable children- are slightly ahead of their peers in development, love to learn, are extremely curious, and from childhood it is clear whether a child is a “techie” or a “humanitarian”, because he is interested only in a certain type of knowledge. It is these children who learn to read by the age of 2-2.5 years and consider a book the best gift. Non-conflict, obedient, assiduous. They rarely show interest in their peers and can become outcasts in the team due to their reluctance to communicate.

Features of raising gifted children

Raising a gifted child is always an additional burden on parents. However, it is important to understand that for a child such mental activity is no less stressful. Any genius has " side effects", and children require a special approach from the first days of life.

Marina Kudeikina, a preschool teacher with 35 years of experience, recommends remembering the following aspects of education:“The earlier you identify a child’s talents, the easier it will be to improve them. For example, it is easier to develop creativity abilities if you start classes at 3-4 years old, languages ​​- at 3 years old, music - from 1.5 years old.

• Find a specialist who will create an individual education program for your child, as well as a teacher or several who will work with him. Please pay attention Special attention not only the knowledge of the teacher, but also his contact with the child. A teacher who is too strict or unpleasant can discourage a child from studying and nullify any innate talent.
• Do not demand constant results and achievements from your child, let him study for pleasure and in no case put pressure on him or blackmail him. Even an ordinary child who hears “you didn’t do the task, and that’s why daddy and I don’t love you anymore” will panic, but brilliant children with their heightened perception can give an unpredictable reaction.
• In pursuit of records, do not forget about such aspects of life as sports, communication with other children, and emotional development. Pets and older children will be good helpers in this. Remember, very often genius borders on emotional coldness, so teach your child not only to solve algorithms, but also to love, express affection, and have compassion for the weak.
• Do not show off your child's peculiarities; this will only lead to envy on the part of other children (and parents) and will prevent him from making friends.
• Remember that most brilliant children by the age of 7-8 are compared in terms of development with their peers, which means do not teach your child that he is better than others. If the difference in development is erased, the awareness of one’s normality will be a severe blow for the little man, who is accustomed to looking at others with condescension.”

Many works have been written about the phenomenal capabilities of such children. Adults and scientists are trying to unravel the nature of their unusual abilities. Some people admire the guys’ talent, others feel sorry for them. Today I present to your attention 10 amazing child prodigies of our time.

Michaela Fudolig

At the age of 16, the girl graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Michaela currently works as a professor at the same university and studies econophysics.

Akrit Yasval

Akrit from India performed his first surgical operation at the age of 7. Already at 12 he entered medical university. And at 17 he received a master's degree in applied chemistry.

Taylor Wilson

At the age of 10 he became the youngest designer of a nuclear bomb. And four years later he assembled a fusor - a device for nuclear fusion reactions. Now the boy speaks at numerous international conferences with his ideas about underground nuclear reactors.

Cameron Thompson

This math genius earned a degree in mathematics from the UK's Open University at age 11! The BBC TV channel filmed a story about a brilliant young mathematician.

Jacob Barnett

At three years old, he denied doctors' diagnosis of autism. At the age of 10, the boy entered Indiana University and is now working on a dissertation in quantum physics. Jacob promises to disprove Einstein's theory of relativity.

Mark Tian Boedihardjo

He is the youngest person to be admitted to Hong Kong University. At that time he was 10 years old! Mark currently has two degrees, a BA in Mathematical Sciences and a Master of Philosophy in Mathematics. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Mathematics in the United States.

Priyanshi Somani

Priyanshi becomes the new world record holder in retrieving square roots in her head in January 2012, when she calculated the square root of ten six-digit numbers in 2 minutes and 43 seconds.

Akim Kamara

Young violinist from Berlin. Akim remembers the music he heard while still in diapers. The boy learned to play the violin extremely quickly, in just six months. His first performance took place at the age of 3 at a Christmas concert.

Ethan Bortnick

Ethan entered the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest solo artist in the world. At age 5, he began writing his own music, and at age 10, he headlined a concert in Las Vegas.

Tanish Matthew Abraham

Tanish, at the age of 4, joined Mensa, the largest organization of people with high IQs. In six months, he completed 5 mathematics courses at Stanford University. In his free time, the boy writes essays for the NASA Lunar Institute website.

Wow! I just can’t believe that children are doing all this! Or maybe you belong to such miracle children? After all, if you like to sing or draw, or perhaps you like to solve mathematical problems, then you can also try and become a great musician, artist or mathematician;)

Stories about brilliant children always amaze the imagination - they are pinned on big hopes and are waiting for the appearance of a new Mozart or Einstein. However, there are many cases where young prodigies grow up and never achieve significant success or receive recognition. T&P follows five teenagers who not only try to change the world for the better, but also share their knowledge with others.

Adora Svitak, 14 years old

Young writer, blogger and activist. She wrote her first stories when she was six years old, and a year later her book Flying Fingers was published, in which she shares advice with young writers. Today she studies and teaches - she gives visiting lectures at various schools and arranges video conferences. He is one of the organizers of TEDxRedmond, where children under twenty years old perform. In his life he strives to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Peace Prize. On Svitak’s personal website you can read her poems, fragments of her writings, learn about her achievements, or send her a letter.

In her TED talk, she calls for equality between children and adults, teachers and students: “Adults have a predominant restrictive attitude toward children, starting with every 'don't do this, don't do that.' As history teaches us, political regimes become despotic when the government is afraid of losing control. And, although adults are not as oppressive as totalitarian regimes, children have little say in setting the rules, given that the relationship should work equally on both sides, that is, adults should learn and take into account the wishes of the younger generation.”

Adora believes that the main thing when raising a child is to believe in his abilities and capabilities - not to limit his creativity and set him a super task: “My parents didn’t tell me and my sister to become doctors or lawyers. But dad read to us about Aristotle, about the first fighters against germs, while the other children listened to funny songs.”

Berk Baer, ​​13 years old

Young Farmer Burke Propaganda healthy eating, talks about the importance of paying attention to what we eat: “I want you to know that we can all do something meaningful - by making different choices, buying food from local farmers or our neighbors who we know all life. Some people say that natural or local products are more expensive, but is that true? From everything I've learned about the food system, we either pay the farmer or the hospital."

Organic theme Agriculture attracted him at the age of eight when he read an article about chemicals, such as mercury, which are added to everyday foods. Today, he deepens his knowledge of farming with his grandfather, shares his insights at numerous organic conferences and forums, and recently published his own book, Burke on the Farm. Baer also has his own website where you can contact him.

Akrit Yasval, 19 years old

Akrit became famous when, as a seven-year-old boy, he performed surgery on a neighbor's girl - after a serious burn, her fingers stopped moving. Immediately after this incident, local doctors began to turn to the young surgeon for advice, and at the age of 12 he was already studying at a medical college. He became one of the heroes of the series documentaries about extraordinary people Extraordinary People. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he talks about his childhood: “It was then (at the age of 4 - translator’s note) that I read Gray’s Anatomy and books on chemistry. I studied physics at A-level standard. I was fascinated by science, the fact that it could answer all the questions that I had about life - how did we get here and why?”

More than anything, he wants to invent a cure for cancer, but the idea he came up with has not yet been tested: “This idea came to me at the age of eight. I have read many books and articles on the Internet on this topic. “My method is to change the wrong genes that contribute to the emergence of cancer cells and successfully restore them through the activation of enzymes or direct modification by the action of genotoxic drugs.”

Thomas Suarez, 13 years old

The Thomas Club has been included in the iPad Pilot Program, which aims to bring... educational process modern technologies. As part of this program, Suarez's team is working to create educational applications for educators. The young programmer believes that modern schoolchildren understand technology better than teachers, and in this area it would be nice to combine their efforts for common benefit.

Jacob Barnett, 14 years old

When Jacob was 2 years old, he could not talk or even look at his parents. Doctors diagnosed him with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism in which a person can concentrate on one subject or question and finds it difficult to socialize. Thanks to the efforts of his parents, the boy was able to overcome his illness, and now, at the age of 14, he is studying mathematics and physics at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Jacob's personal interests are astronomy and physics. Being the youngest student at the institute, he manages to help not only his classmates, but also graduate students with their studies. In this regard, Barnett was offered a paid position research fellow university. IN free time he tries to formulate an alternative theory of the formation of the Universe, and also tries to take his own look at Einstein's theory of relativity. The boy’s mother organized a fund in his honor to help children suffering from autism.

In his TED talk, Jacob offers his own formula for creative fulfillment: “Stop studying, start thinking.” He says: “To become successful, you need to start looking at the world like no one else, have independent thinking, be critical of the knowledge and understanding that they are trying to impose on you.”

As an example, he cites Isaac Newton, who decided to abandon his studies and began to think about the problem of astrophysics: “To formulate his laws of motion and gravity, Newton developed calculus, the classical theory of gravity, invented an optical telescope (reflector) and much more. And all this in two years, when he stopped studying and started thinking.”