10-year-old college student and maths genius

[greenwitch]

I love these stories! The girl is just so excited to learn and doing so well.

http://thegrio.com/2015/03/11/esther-okade-10-year-old-math-genius-college/

“I want to (finish the course) in two years. Then I’m going to do my PhD in financial maths when I’m 13. I want to have my own bank by the time I’m 15 because I like numbers and I like people and banking is a great way to help people.”

Okade could have started college at an even younger age, but she had to beg and plead with her mother for three years first. “I actually wanted to start when I was seven. But my mum was like, ‘you’re too young, calm down,'” Okade recalled.

That’s right kid, calm down.

By the time she was four, she was doing quadratic equations.

[coase]

In graduate school I met a student (E) who had begun his Ph.D. in math at age 15. (The program is top ranked.) By age 25 he had been denied tenure at a middling university and had left academia. Some classmates of his who started the Ph.D. at 21 or 22 are now full professors at top programs. I often wonder how things would have changed if E had slowed down a bit.

[happy1]

^^Agreed, the one “genius” kid I know whose parents pushed him ahead ended up flaming out as well (dropped out of his PhD program). My brother who has an off the charts IQ was kept in our so-so public school (with some enrichment to keep him motivated) through HS, went to a great college a great grad school and now has a fantastic career. No sense rushing life…if you are smart you will always be smart.

[ucbalumnus]

However, it looks like the kid is the one pushing herself, not the parents.

[JEM]

I have a member of my extended family who, a math whiz, started college at 12, and began an Ivy Ph.D.program at 16 (living in undergrad dorms so he would be amongst students closer to his age). He is now a tenure track associate prof at a very top university, doing very meaningful research, speaking at international conferences, happily married, well socialized, etc. He never mentions that he was a child prodigy, and is actually very modest.

I believe it is not necessarily a gift to be so gifted, and it can be a major challenge for the child’s parents. But I also believe that sometimes it works out well.

[MommaJ]

I had to smile at the quote about banking being a great way to help people. A math genius, but still very much a 10-year-old!