In psychology research literature, the term
child prodigy is defined as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain to the level of an adult expert professional.[1][2][3]
Mathematics and science
Mathematics
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher who wrote a treatise on vibrating bodies at the age of nine; he wrote his first proof, on a wall with a piece of coal, at the age of 11 years, and a theorem by the age of 16 years. He is famous for
Pascal's theorem and many other contributions in mathematics, philosophy, and
physics.[4]
Norbert Wiener (1894–1964) was an American philosopher and mathematician. He graduated from
Ayer High School at 11 years of age. He was awarded a
BA in mathematics in 1909 at the age of 14.[5]
Lev Landau (1908–1968) was a Soviet physicist who mastered calculus by age 13. He graduated from the Baku Gymnasium aged only 13 as well. Landau is today best known for his work in
superconductivity and
a series of textbooks he co-authored with
Evgeny Lifshitz.
John von Neumann (1903–1957) was a "mental calculator" by the age of six years, who could tell jokes in classical Greek.[6][7] Von Neumann went on to make numerous contributions to mathematics, economics, physics, and computer science. (Note: Several mathematicians were
mental calculators when they were still children. Mental calculation is not to be confused with mathematics. This section is for child prodigies largely or primarily known for calculating skills.)
Terence Tao (1975-) A
child prodigy,[8] Tao exhibited extraordinary mathematical abilities from an early age, attending university-level mathematics courses at the age of 9. He is one of only three children in the history of the Johns Hopkins
Study of Exceptional Talent program to have achieved a score of 700 or greater on the
SAT math section while just eight years old; Tao scored a 760.[9]Julian Stanley, Director of the
Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, stated that Tao had the greatest mathematical reasoning ability he had found in years of intensive searching.[10][11]
Sho Yano (1990-) is an American
physician. Yano is a former
child prodigy. He entered Loyola University at age 9 and graduated summa cum laude just three years later. At 13, he went on to the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine.[13]
William Cullen Bryant published his first poem at the age of 10; at the age of 13 years, he published a book of political satire poems.[14]
Minou Drouet caught the notice of French critics at the age of eight, leading to speculation that her mother was the true author of her poetry. She later proved herself to be the author.[15]
Visual arts
Edmund Thomas Clint (1976–1983) was an Indian child prodigy.[16] He is known for having drawn over 25,000 paintings, though he lived to be just six years and 11 months old.[17]
Games
Chess
See
Chess prodigy for details of child prodigies at chess.
Some children become famous and are called a prodigy although it is questionable whether they have produced meaningful output to the level of an adult expert professional.[20]
Arden Hayes (born 2008) who as a five-year old appeared in newspapers and television shows because of his ability to memorize information about certain topics.[21]
^Feldman, David H.; Morelock, M. J. (2011). "Prodigies". In Runco, Mark A.; Pritzker, Steven R. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Creativity. Encyclopedia of Creativity (Second Edition). Academic Press. pp. 261–265.
doi:
10.1016/B978-0-12-375038-9.00182-5.
ISBN978-0-12-375038-9. For the purposes of this and future research, a prodigy was defined as a child younger than 10 years of age who has reached the level of a highly trained professional in a demanding area of endeavor.
^Rose, Lacey (2 March 2007).
"Whiz Kids". Forbes.
Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2015. At the moment, the most widely accepted definition is a child, typically under the age of 10, who has mastered a challenging skill at the level of an adult professional.