Never Too Early

What is a Prodigy?

(c) Excerpt from Exploring Giftedness: Is a Child Prodigy Born or Made? Retrieved 06 February 2024. https://www.theswaddle.com/gifted-child-prodigy-brain
FOR CLASSROOM AND LIBRARY USE ONLY
“Everyone loves a prodigy […]. Prodigies get us off the hook for living ordinary lives. We can tell ourselves we’re not special because we weren’t born with it, which is a great excuse,” Nathan Hill writes in his satirical novel The Nix — and we’d be lying if we didn’t agree resoundingly. Although the precise definition of a prodigy has been widely debated among psychologists (it can be hard to detect ‘genius’ in a 4-year-old), the current consensus is that a prodigy is a child who masters a challenging skill at the level of an adult professional before the age of 10. Curiously, they tend to appear in mostly “rule-based” fields like music, chess, mathematics, and arguably, even fine art. “Fields like literature require maturity and life experience,” Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love–Narcissism Revisited, told Forbes, explaining this phenomenon. “Prodigies, no matter how gifted, rarely possess the requisite emotional spectrum, an acquaintance with the nuances and subtleties of human relationships, or the accumulated knowledge that comes from first-hand exposure to the ups and downs of reality.”

Recommended Media

General Web Resources

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
Srinivasa Ramaujan
Blaise Pascal

Web Resources: Print

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart2. Felix Mendelssohn: https://www.biography.com/musician/felix-mendelssohn3. John von Neumann: https://www.ias.edu/von-neumann4. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: https://www.biography.com/writer/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juana_In%C3%A9s_de_la_Cruz Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: https://daily.jstor.org/sor-juana-founding-mother-of-mexican-literature/5. Srinivasa Ramanujan: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Srinivasa-Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan: https://ima.org.uk/13780/srinivasa-ramanujan-1887-1920-the-centenary-of-a-remarkable-mathematician/6. Stevie Wonder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder7. Michael Jackson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson8. Blaise Pascal: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Blaise-Pascal Blaise Pascal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal Blaise Pascal: https://iep.utm.edu/pascal-b/9. Judit Polgar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_Polg%C3%A1r10. Enrico Fermi: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1938/fermi/biographical/11. Pablo Picasso: https://www.pablopicasso.org/ 12. J. M. W. Turner: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/j-m-w-turner-ra13. Arthur Rimbaud: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/arthur-rimbaud14. Dylan Thomas: https://poets.org/poet/dylan-thomas15. Clara Schumann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Schumann Clara Schumann: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/arts/music/clara-schumann.html Clara Schumann: https://www.laphil.com/about/watch-and-listen/get-to-know-clara-schumann16. Jean Francois Champollion: https://gcpawards.com/blog/jean-francois-champollion/
Clara Schumann

Web Resources: Video

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 6 (aged 11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGb0j-xUd-Q2. Felix Mendelssohn: STRING SYMPHONY NO. 1 (aged 11): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UcfWfAwZHM3. John von Neumann: Computer Programming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po3vwMq_2xA4. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Overview of life (TED Talk): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wSOt3z_-YY5. Srinivasa Ramanujan: Overview of life (History Channel “Ancient Aliens): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yn7QAS5Wpw6. Stevie Wonder: Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZqdGDmS4EE7. Michael Jackson: “Who’s Lovin’ You” Ed Sullivan Show 12/14/1969 (11 years old): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9U9A4_cgyI8. Blaise Pascal: Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nb4nYqNXyM9. Judit Polgar: 2016 TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ttu7dyBCU10. Enrico Fermi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAp9dO2RCZc11. Pablo Picasso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0XyFupLpbA12. J. M. W. Turner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxKpM4JoqN813. Arthur Rimbaud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6NAq2n748w14. Dylan Thomas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7un92sotdOc&t=3s15. Clara Schumann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxuo6-JFfK0 Clara Schumann (Piano Concerto): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXyqaDkE7PU16. Jean Francois Champollion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAoegNDfOZg