Ah so he didn’t just decide he didn’t like public attention, he went to a socialist rally and went to prison for sedition as a result, THEN realised maybe he was better off out of the public eye, where his politics was less likely to kill him…
He was smart but emotionally he was a kid. He was prodigiously intelligent for his age but emotionally he was developing at the normal pace for a kid. He was an 11 years old kid surrounded by 18 year olds and older. The university faculty even pushed back against him being admitted so young but his father pushed for it until they admitted him.
Ah, that sucks to hear. I’m absolutely with the university on this. Not because he doesn’t deserve a mental challenge, but because he deserves to be a silly kid.
I was basically shoved through graduation by the time I was 15. I had teachers and administators trying to graduate me when I was 13. I refused. I’m glad I did now. My reaction was that I wasn’t ready to be responsible for bills and food. I should have been far more worried about dealing with other people. I can tell you first hand that 18-23 year olds don’t appreciate having someone several years younger than them in their classes.
FYI William James Sidis (Wikipedia)
Ah so he didn’t just decide he didn’t like public attention, he went to a socialist rally and went to prison for sedition as a result, THEN realised maybe he was better off out of the public eye, where his politics was less likely to kill him…
Also I’d bet going through college at such a young age wasn’t exactly conducive to decent mental health.
Dude was probably burned the fuck out at a very young age.
He was smart but emotionally he was a kid. He was prodigiously intelligent for his age but emotionally he was developing at the normal pace for a kid. He was an 11 years old kid surrounded by 18 year olds and older. The university faculty even pushed back against him being admitted so young but his father pushed for it until they admitted him.
Ah, that sucks to hear. I’m absolutely with the university on this. Not because he doesn’t deserve a mental challenge, but because he deserves to be a silly kid.
I was basically shoved through graduation by the time I was 15. I had teachers and administators trying to graduate me when I was 13. I refused. I’m glad I did now. My reaction was that I wasn’t ready to be responsible for bills and food. I should have been far more worried about dealing with other people. I can tell you first hand that 18-23 year olds don’t appreciate having someone several years younger than them in their classes.