CHILD PRODIGY IN INDIA

federica

Did anyone see that programme yesterday evening on UK-TV (channel 5)

"Extraordinary people" ?

This was quite an eye-opener... But the whole series is astounding.... Click back a page to see a synopsis of all the programmes so far.... click on the image required... quite brilliant, sometimes....

federica

Sorry... I've just realised the 'click-back' function won't work in this case... so I've gone back a page and here is the relevant page for you to select the synopses of the different programmes.....

YogaMama

I have seen a show on "The Real Rain Man" - he is amazing. I have a question...what does the word "stone" mean in the one show that says "The Woman who lost 30 stone"?

Brian

1 stone = approximately 12 lbs.

YogaMama

Thanks.

This part about that child in India is so sad:

"However, Akrit’s progress came at a price: frustrated with the perceived lack of support for his gifted son, Akrit’s father became depressed and left the family home last year, telling him not to get in touch until Akrit had found a cure for cancer. Adored by his self-sacrificing mother and treated as a genius, Akrit has no doubt he will do this."

federica

16 ounces in a pound, 14 pounds in a stone...144 pounds in 1CWT or in Onehundredweight.... It's really simple... so much so that England is going metric 'cos' kids can't get their heads round it at all... who can blame them??:wow: :hrm:

federica

YogaMama wrote:

Thanks.

This part about that child in India is so sad:

"However, Akrit’s progress came at a price: frustrated with the perceived lack of support for his gifted son, Akrit’s father became depressed and left the family home last year, telling him not to get in touch until Akrit had found a cure for cancer. Adored by his self-sacrificing mother and treated as a genius, Akrit has no doubt he will do this."

Mind you, you should have heard him talking about it...Very matter-of-fact... and he was so thrilled to finally meet the experts in the UK with whom he could talk on the same level, but get this:

He met students (twice his age), who all said that in all probability, his technical and theoretical knowlege was far greater than theirs -

However, he'd never set foot in a research or technical laboratory, so it was all very new to him.

He started out by saying that he would never have partners, only employees or associates, and he wouldn't share his knowlege freely with anyone...many of the ideas in his head, he said, were top secret and not to be bandied about. He was obviously wary of having his ideas pinched...
He came across as fairly arrogant and precocious - but this was understandable, given the attention he's been given in what is, to all intents and purposes a relatively "backward" country... yet it's astounding to me how many really good specialists and experts in the UK come from India... He was just very self-assured and determined. he will find a genetic cure for cancer and Aids. this is his goal. to change the genetic set-up and eliminate these diseases, full stop.

Then the big slammer:
He sat a series of IQ tests, set by some leading British experts on Child intelligence and assessment of same. These were not your fly-by-night enthusiasts. These people are seriously qualified leading experts in this field....
Akrit's intellectual knowlege was far in excess of what would be expected in a boy of his age...
However, his practical, visual and creative skills were way below average... he had "sacrificed" one set of skills for another.
He had difficulty putting a series of coloured and patterned blocks together, for example.....

Their conclusion was that he should take a 'step back' and have some fun. He'd never had fun as a normal boy.

But he now has two highly respected mentors at St mary's Institute in the UK, who are keeping an eye on his progress and monitoring his education - and who want him, even at this age, to spend a couple of months with them learning the ropes, and trying research based on their programmes, in their laboratories, before he launches off into independent research of his own....
And he came round to the idea that, even if one person has all the ideas, you need a big team to do the donkey-work. Advances like this are not done by just one person;

So it was a good programme, with a positive and uplifting end...

YogaMama

federica wrote:

However, his practical, visual and creative skills were way below average... he had "sacrificed" one set of skills for another.
He had difficulty putting a series of coloured and patterned blocks together, for example.....

So my daughter could whip his butt in some areas...ok, good, that makes me feel better.

That boy sounds amazing. I wish I could have seen the show. And I agree...he needs to spend some time having a bit of fun.

Airmech

There is a programme with the kid who had meditated without food etc for ages on tonight.

It's on in the UK on the Discovery Channel tonight at 10PM.

Should make some very interesting watching, I very sceptical of the claims Ive heard in this case, hopefully the show will answer some of these doubts in one way or another.

zenmonk_genryu

If it's the Discovery Channel, I wouldn't hold my breath though...

buddhafoot

Why is that, ZM?

Are you saying that the Discovery Channel doesn't really discover anything true?

-bf

Airmech

It was an OK programme but didnt answer any of my questions instead just posed more. The conclusion of the show was a bit of a let down as well but I guess the circumstances were out of their control.

Celebrin

u talking bout the child surgeon who thinks he can cure cancer im thinking.. who was thinking of studying in england . and had theories and idea's of his own.. dude was very well read and practised from looks. but to me looked like he was still a child at heart