Child Prodigies: What causes this phenomena?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Here is something that may interest you all, and your views are welcome on this. I have read about child and youth prodigies, such as six year olds and ten year olds and other age children who are called "idiot savants" or who are normal children but have super abilities in some areas, such as music and math. My question is: How is this possible, what is the exact cause? Is it genetic traits that are passed down and are somehow manifested in that child or is it something else? What could cause it? The stories are amazing and many are verified. I have read of children who could not read music but who were sat down before a piano and could play entire musical scores that even the best adult masters could not do, or, would have taken them more preparation time and training. Are these genetic anomalies or some unknown neurological aspects of the brain or what?


Wikipedia even has a list of some of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies

My other question, when it comes to practical applications, which I am always interested in, is this: What would be necessary for people to figure out the exact cause of this, and try to reproduce it in others, so those who are not born with said abilities, can have them, or will that possibility forever elude us?

[Bodog]

Here is something that may interest you all, and your views are welcome on this. I have read about child and youth prodigies, such as six year olds and ten year olds and other age children who are called "idiot savants" or who are normal children but have super abilities in some areas, such as music and math. My question is: How is this possible, what is the exact cause? Is it genetic traits that are passed down and are somehow manifested in that child or is it something else? What could cause it? The stories are amazing and many are verified. I have read of children who could not read music but who were sat down before a piano and could play entire musical scores that even the best adult masters could not do, or, would have taken them more preparation time and training. Are these genetic anomalies or some unknown neurological aspects of the brain or what?


Wikipedia even has a list of some of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies

My other question, when it comes to practical applications, which I am always interested in, is this: What would be necessary for people to figure out the exact cause of this, and try to reproduce it in others, so those who are not born with said abilities, can have them, or will that possibility forever elude us?

Brains are computers. Just because some computer was manufactured with some anomaly that allows them process one application quicker at the sacrifice of other important applications doesn't mean that computer is necessarily better. It means it was manufactured with an anomaly. Doesn't mean it's better or worse. It depends on what you're testing for.

[James Y]

Oftentimes people who are prodigies in one area are deficient in other areas. I've heard of some kids that were ready to attend university before they hit their teens. Sometimes you hear that someone who was once a child prodigy is all messed up by their 30s. As if their growth, peaks and declines were vastly accelerated. I've even heard of one who seemed to 'become' average by middle age.

It can't always be genetic traits passed down, because often (usually?) the parents of such prodigies are quite average themselves.

Some spiritual views would conclude that prodigious abilities present in childhood are the result of reincarnation, a subconscious recall and continuation of abilities developed in a previous life or lifetimes. I am not going to get into any arguments online about spiritual beliefs. I'll just say that I am open to any and all possibilities, and I avoid saying that it's 'impossible'. Also note that reincarnation DOES NOT mean that the reincarnated person will have any extraordinary abilities, or would have been some special or famous person in a previous incarnation. But the discussion here is abilities that seem already present in very young children that otherwise seem unexplainable.

Jim

[Daveho]

The leaning capacity of a child’s brain is also quit different to that of an adult, look at studies of language for examples.
Music and maths are also extremely closely related.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Here is another way to look at this:

Picture that the original human race was much more advanced and the genetics were much greater, their DNA had not aquired the same levels of mutations that we presently have had happen over the past millenia and centuries. That would mean the original people were more "super like" when it came to physical and mental abilities. What we see with these child prodigies are "throw backs" to that earlier state.

The cost or price is that these children generally, as some have stated, have other problems and weaknesses in other areas; they may be able to instantly multiply 673889020929020 x 738393920292020 and give you the answer in two seconds flat, but, they can't tie their shoes. That sort of thing.

As Michael pointed out in a different thread, the laws of thermodynamics prove that everything is sliding downwards from an upwards starting point. According to the laws of thermodynamics things cannot be moving either straight-line nor can they have started at a lower state and move to a higher state, without the input of fresh information, energy, and material.

[demoncase]

Nothing "causes it" apart from where someone is on the normal distribution curve.

A very small number of folks are towards the highest end.
Like there's otherwise normal folks at the bottom end- and they are the ones the majority should be looking out for to help.

There's nature as genetics involved, but just as much nurture, our ability to measure learning capability and the opportunity to exercise it:

You get born a child prodigy in 1840s slums England then it won't matter a jot: yer going up a chimney or down a coal mine, son....I'm sure that, right this second, there is some poor unfortunate child genius who had the bad luck to be born in a village in India, which means they'll spend their genius herding goats and scratching a living.

[Bodog]

:

You get born a child prodigy in 1840s slums England then it won't matter a jot: yer going up a chimney or down a coal mine, son....I'm sure that, right this second, there is some poor unfortunate child genius who had the bad luck to be born in a village in India, which means they'll spend their genius herding goats and scratching a living.

While that may be true for some, it's not the norm now nor has it ever been unless it happened in a place and time where parents didn't give two shits about the well being of their offspring. That's really only manifested itself in a couple of societies in recent history. Most of the time parents could recognize inherent and abnormal talents and abilites in their offspring and would rather give their children to someone else who can and will make their children rise above gruelling work, even at the expense of their own well being. Even in the middle ages Europeans would rather give their children to knights to work as squires if the child had any perceptable ability.

For the longest time Hispanics would send their best and brightest to America to make something of themselves while the parents stayed in their home countries and simply hoped that their offspring would remember them. It's only a recent phenomena where people will sacrifice their own children for their own benefit, blatantly evil people notwithstanding. But it makes a nice narrative, that back in history people would kill their own children's destinies for their own well being. It makes it far more acceptable to do it now.

[Bodog]

Like there's otherwise normal folks at the bottom end- and they are the ones the majority should be looking out for to help.

There's nature as genetics involved, but just as much nurture, our ability to measure learning capability and the opportunity to exercise it:

And no, society should not be looking to help anyone. That's a pipe dream. If you as an individual choose to help someone or some group, that's on you but you should receive no credit for it. You chose to do so. Others can either join in your efforts or not based on their own personal convictions.

"Society" cannot and will not help anyone.

And yes, genetics are the absolute indicator of capability and capacity. You think there's some other reason why there's a major war against genetics now? You have the genetics to do something or you don't. Your ancestors chose correctly or they didn't. There is no need to feel bad or good. It isn't nor has it ever been your choice, until now. Who you choose to reproduce with is your choice and what comes from that is completely on you as a free individual. Choose wisely.

[Bodog]

Genetics are absolutely destiny

[JD Spydo]

My oldest nephew was always quite different than the rest of the family,. Even when he was only 8 years old he seemed like being in the company of another adult. He could hold very intelligent conversations than many people in my own age group at the time. He quit high school when he was only 15 ( claimed he was bored out of his mind) and went to a local 4 year college to see how he could do on their exam. He did so well at age 15 that they immediately admitted him to college. He did about a year there then he got a scholarship at the University of Missouri at Rolla ( School Of Mining & Metallurgy). He did about a year there and ended up going to the University of New Mexico and ultimately got a Phd in Astro-Physics. He got all of that done while he was still in his early 20s,.

When he was 12 years old he had a science project that was so complex for his age that he won a couple of state awards for it. The Science Project was about the fertilization of trout eggs working in a fish hatchery. The Science Project went on to show all of the professional aspects of fish breeding. I was personally amazed at how he knew so much about a rather complex subject at such a young age. None of his brothers or sisters were anywhere near as smart as he is>> and most of them are fairly successful in their life ventures.

He is the only child prodigy in our family that I know of. I went to school with a couple of them and one of the guys ended up being an M.D. doctor before he reached 25 years of age. He even graduated high school about 3 years before anybody in his age group,. It is most interesting how a select few people seem to be years ahead of anyone else in their peer group.

[Bodog]

My oldest nephew was always quite different than the rest of the family,. Even when he was only 8 years old he seemed like being in the company of another adult. He could hold very intelligent conversations than many people in my own age group at the time. He quit high school when he was only 15 ( claimed he was bored out of his mind) and went to a local 4 year college to see how he could do on their exam. He did so well at age 15 that they immediately admitted him to college. He did about a year there then he got a scholarship at the University of Missouri at Rolla ( School Of Mining & Metallurgy). He did about a year there and ended up going to the University of New Mexico and ultimately got a Phd in Astro-Physics. He got all of that done while he was still in his early 20s,.

When he was 12 years old he had a science project that was so complex for his age that he won a couple of state awards for it. The Science Project was about the fertilization of trout eggs working in a fish hatchery. The Science Project went on to show all of the professional aspects of fish breeding. I was personally amazed at how he knew so much about a rather complex subject at such a young age. None of his brothers or sisters were anywhere near as smart as he is>> and most of them are fairly successful in their life ventures.

He is the only child prodigy in our family that I know of. I went to school with a couple of them and one of the guys ended up being an M.D. doctor before he reached 25 years of age. He even graduated high school about 3 years before anybody in his age group,. It is most interesting how a select few people seem to be years ahead of anyone else in their peer group.

I do believe that starting in middle school a child's curriculum should be self-paced. Sure, there should be teachers of various subject, mentors, and counselors and whatnot but at that age a child should be able to go at whatever pace works best for them. Some would graduate high school at 14, some would stay until they're 20. That's how life really works, so why not allow a kid to sink or swim based on their true capabilities rather than try to box them in with everyone else? That's one of the worst parts of public education, that they'll take a round peg and carve it into a square rather than let the round peg do what round pegs do.

[Doc Dan]

Here is something that may interest you all, and your views are welcome on this. I have read about child and youth prodigies, such as six year olds and ten year olds and other age children who are called "idiot savants" or who are normal children but have super abilities in some areas, such as music and math. My question is: How is this possible, what is the exact cause? Is it genetic traits that are passed down and are somehow manifested in that child or is it something else? What could cause it? The stories are amazing and many are verified. I have read of children who could not read music but who were sat down before a piano and could play entire musical scores that even the best adult masters could not do, or, would have taken them more preparation time and training. Are these genetic anomalies or some unknown neurological aspects of the brain or what?


Wikipedia even has a list of some of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies

My other question, when it comes to practical applications, which I am always interested in, is this: What would be necessary for people to figure out the exact cause of this, and try to reproduce it in others, so those who are not born with said abilities, can have them, or will that possibility forever elude us?

SEF, here is a partial answer. Some friends had a baby girl. I was always over at their house and when I played with her, even as a baby, I was not doing goo-goo stuff. Rather, I was teaching her something each and every time, even if we were using Strawberry Shortcake dolls. When she got into school, the parents noticed she was a bit different and not performing as well as she did at home. They took her to the doctor, who sent her for testing, and she came back as having genius level intelligence. They questioned the parents about the daily life of the child and they told them about me and what I had been doing. They were then told that this child would have been of good intelligence, but because of the things I had been doing, it raised her developing intellect into the genius level.

I have seen this before. When studying psychology, of course, we all learn about professors who have taught their children advanced calculus by the age of four. Children at those ages soak up information and instead of a steady diet of Sponge Bob, they can learn things adults cannot and leave the adults behind intellectually. It takes time and attention. Most parents are going to baby sit by putting kids in front of the TV or a video game, but that, in my opinion, should be done only for a short time. The rest of the time is better spent learning and exploring. Take child prodigies Chris Thile and Sierra Hull. They expressed interest in the musical instrument at 2 and the parents gave them one and had them start learning, and by the time they were still youngsters, top schools were already after them.