William James Sidis was born to Jewish emigrant parents from the Russian Empire, now Ukraine. His father, Boris Sidis, had emigrated in 1887 to escape political persecution. Boris graduated from Harvard University, where he taught psychology. He was also a psychiatrist, and published numerous books and articles, paving the way for psychopathology.
. William James Sidis walked at 1 1/2 years old, read the New York Times and studied Latin from the age of 4, and could read Homer in the text at the age of 5.
By the age of 8, William could speak eight languages with ease: French, German, Russian, Greek, as well as Latin, Hebrew, Armenian and Turkish. At the age of 7, he passed an anatomy examination.
At the age of 8, he passed the Harvard entrance exam, but his young age prevented him from entering. He entered Harvard at the age of 11, and graduated with honors in 1914, at the age of 15.
His life after Harvard was a series of unfortunate incidents. He gave up mathematics to study law, which he in turn abandoned.
It seems like all that natural born talent for academics amounted to nothing more than a bit of recognition in History.. Which is impressive, but aside from that he seemed like a quitter..
This man has never known happiness. He was the Frankenstein project of his parents, who did everything to stimulate his intelligence and were never satisfied with him. He was seen as a circus freak by journalists, teachers, and so on. He finally couldn't stand it any longer and decided to stop all research into mathematics.
He gave up voluntarily because he was fed up with the media etc., from an early age he was observed as if he were an animal in a zoo. He got fed up with it all so he sent it all to hell.
He wanted to stop all the research. And in terms of intelligence, he surpassed everyone. He passed the exams to become a doctor when he was only 8 years old. At 11, he gave a mathematics demonstration at Harvard in front of an audience of the most brilliant people on earth. After that he got fed up, as I explained, and decided to lead a simple life.
If he found happiness then he was a success. Becoming famous isn't necessarily a great thing. Following your own star is what should be everyones goal.
This man has never known happiness. He was the Frankenstein project of his parents, who did everything to stimulate his intelligence and were never satisfied with him. He was seen as a circus freak by journalists, teachers, and so on.
If that is the case then he was an unfortunate victim of his and society's pressures to "achieve" something without being allowed to develop as a person.
No, just because he didn't want to use his intelligence for math or science doesn't mean he wasn't a prodigy. He just rejected all that because of the harassment he suffered. But he still had an impressive intellectual capacity.
Well it's common knowledge people like Mozart, Brahms the Bronte sisters, poet Blaise Pascal who are thought to have been prodigies and used their talent constructively. There are lots of others who, like the guy you mention who are normal people with a talent because of their inherent traits and environment they grew up in.
People are free to do what they want. Nothing is an obligation. But that doesn't mean their ability isn't exceptional. Just because Sidis didn't want to use his abilities doesn't mean he wasn't a prodigy. In fact he's probably the person with the highest IQ we've ever known. After all, Free will is what counts
People like this are a precious resource. If we had any sense we'd be studying them in depth to find out which genes produced these traits. That way we could make more of them until the entire human race was like this. This is what we need not worthless junkies. In our day with our knowledge of genetics in 50 years or so we could do it.
@DonaldDarko How would your backward attitude have stunted me at all? If you were worried about creating suffering then you wouldn't have such a toxic perspective in the first place.
@DonaldDarko : "This man'"? "Incredible power?" ... I couldn't actually see your image until I squinted really closely right now. You're just a troll account putting on a persona, aren't you? Figures. Pointless.
Despite having a high IQ (290-300), the loss of potential is sometimes proof that life is more like playing backgammon than chess—where major achievements require luck.
This man has never known happiness. He was the Frankenstein project of his parents, who did everything to stimulate his intelligence and were never satisfied with him. He was seen as a circus freak by journalists, teachers, and so on. He finally couldn't stand it any longer and decided to stop all research into mathematics.
It would seem that he is the greatest prodigy this world has ever known, but who has unfortunately decided to give up mathematics. And he was never happy.
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