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Autistic boy, 12, develops his own theory of relativity
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ProfessorF
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm Posts: 12030
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 |  |  |  | Quote: Autistic boy,12, with higher IQ than Einstein develops his own theory of relativity By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 10:23 PM on 24th March 2011
A 12-year-old child prodigy has astounded university professors after grappling with some of the most advanced concepts in mathematics. Jacob Barnett has an IQ of 170 - higher than Albert Einstein - and is now so far advanced in his Indiana university studies that professors are lining him up for a PHD research role. The boy wonder, who taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry and trigonometry in a week, is now tutoring fellow college classmates after hours.
According to the Indiana Star, Institute astrophysics professor Scott Tremaine -himself a world renowned expert - confirmed the authenticity of Jake's theory. In an email to the family, Tremaine wrote: 'I'm impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far. 'The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics. 'Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize.' But for his mother Kristine Barnett, 36, and the rest of the family, maths remains a tricky subject. Speaking to the paper, Mrs Barnett said: 'I flunked math. I know this did not come from me.' And it hasn't gone un-noticed by Jake, who added: 'Whenever I try talking about math with anyone in my family they just stare blankly.' Jake was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, a mild form of autism, from an early age. His parents were worried when he didn't talk until the age of two, suspecting he was educationally abnormal. It was only as he began to grow up that they realised just how special his gift was. He would fill up note pads of paper with drawings of complex geometrical shapes and calculations, before picking up felt tip pens and writing equations on windows. By the age of three he was solving 5,000-piece puzzles and he even studied a state road map, reciting every highway and license plate prefix from memory. By the age of eight he had left high school and was attending Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis advanced astrophysics classes.
Genius: Jake Barnett is now set to become a paid astrophysics researcher His classroom presence is quite unnerving for many of the 18-plus year old students at his IPIU lectures. Speaking to the Indy Star, Wanda Anderson, a biochemistry major said: 'When I first walked in and saw him, I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to school with Doogie Howser.' She added: 'A lot of people come to him for help when they don't understand a physics problem. 'People come up to him all the time and say, 'Hey Jake, can you help me'. 'A lot of people think a genius is hard to talk to, but Jake explains things that would still be over their head.' And his Professor John Ross said his performance in lectures had been 'outstanding'. 'When he asks a question, he is always two steps ahead of the lecture. 'Everyone in the class gets quiet. Poor kid. . . . He sits right in the front row, and they all just look at him. 'He will come to see me during office hours and ask even more detailed questions. And you can tell he's been thinking these things through. 'Kids his age would normally have problems adding fractions, and he is helping out some of his fellow students.' According to his parents Jake has trouble sleeping at night as he constantly sees numbers in his head. But far from complaining, Jake has turned the sleepless nights to his advantage - debunking the big bang theory. The next step, according to professor Ross, is for Jake to leave class altogether and take up a paid research role. |  |  |  |  |
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369595/Jacob-Barnett-12-higher-IQ-Einstein-develops-theory-relativity.htmlFWIW, Einstein's brilliance was fairly short lived. Most of his best work was all done by his 30s, wasn't it?
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:36 pm |
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brataccas
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:14 pm Posts: 5664 Location: Scotland
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why are all "not normal" people so superior in intelligence? like that pentagon hacker etc? Im not praising myself, but I was discussing this to a friend how not normal people like me for example have higher perception than ordinary people but come across as weird and struggle in situations, and then u have "normal" people who are BETTER at coming across more normal and better at communicating etc etc but their level of perception is (in my experience irritatingly) low so the way I often see it not normal people = high perception low "confidence" normal people = low perception high "confidence" sortof like when blind people have higher hearing, really probably haven't explained right 
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:55 pm |
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adidan
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:43 pm Posts: 5048
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_________________ Fogmeister I ventured into Solitude but didn't really do much. jonbwfc I was behind her in a queue today - but I wouldn't describe it as 'bushy'.
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:00 pm |
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ProfessorF
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm Posts: 12030
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I think you're pretty normal, all things considered. That thing about the blind? They don't. It's just something we tell ourselves to feel better about being sighted.
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:00 pm |
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lumbthelesser
Occasionally has a life
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 11:38 pm Posts: 442 Location: Manchester
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I believe research has suggested that much of the sight processing area of the brain gets given over to processing input from the ears if there is no input from the eyes. I cannot however provide any link to the research.
_________________ According to a recent poll, over 70% of Americans don't believe Trump's hair was born in the USA.
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:04 pm |
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ProfessorF
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm Posts: 12030
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I'll wager good money that the blind test no differently on a hearing acuity test to the sighted. What emphasis they put upon that sense will be different, but better hearing? Sorry, no.
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Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:25 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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I pay more attention to my hearing when I'm in the pitch black.
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:08 am |
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cloaked_wolf
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:46 pm Posts: 10022
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I don't have the research paper but I also recall about the brain and the way it handles info. From external senses, eyes take up the majority of the brain's processing power - it has greater priority compared to info from elsewhere. Hence once you take eyes out of the equation, the next level of senses can use more processing power.
The ears of the blind do not become more sensitive - the canals, tympanic membranes etc don't becoms more sensitive. It's just that there's not much else for the brain to focus on, so it concentrates more on the sounds. In the same way you can interpret colours/pattern recognition etc you can do this to sound.
I think I'm blabbing but it's almost 3am.
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:51 am |
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veato
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:17 am Posts: 5550 Location: Nottingham
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:25 am |
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ShockWaffle
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:50 am Posts: 1911
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There was a blind guy on tv walking down a normal street clicking his tongue so that he could listen for echos. If you do the same thing, would you ever hear an echo? I wouldn't. I suppose he might have been just pretending to have bat like navigation skills, he was after also carrying a stick.
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:02 am |
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mikepgood
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:23 pm Posts: 710
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back to original topic - an obsessive/compulsive thing? Focus,focus,focus.
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:10 am |
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ProfessorF
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm Posts: 12030
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I bet most of us could, given practice, and spending time ignoring the visual input. It gets better than walking down the street - Daniel Kish can ride a bike and recognise buildings using echolocation.
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:50 am |
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hifidelity2
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:03 pm Posts: 5041 Location: London
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Me to - if I am working were I cant see -= say trying to fix a screw behind a desk where I cant see it I close my eyes as I find it helps me "visulise" what is happening
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Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:59 pm |
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