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"Wunderkind" redirects here. For the Alanis Morissette song, see Wunderkind (song).
See also: List of child prodigies and Fictional child prodigies

A child prodigy is a one who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age. One heuristic for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 13 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavor. [1] [1] Examples would include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Pablo Picasso. There is controversy as to at what age and standard to use in the definition of a prodigy.

The term Wunderkind (from German: "miracle child" or "wonder child") is sometimes used as a synonym for prodigy, particularly in media accounts, although this term is discouraged in scientific literature. Wunderkind also is used to recognize those who achieve success and acclaim 'early' in their adult careers, such as Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jackson.

Contents

Cognitive studies on child prodigies

Neurological Activity of Child prodigies

Few studies have examined the neurological activity of prodigies. However, Michael O'Boyle, an American psychologist working in Australia, has recently utilized fMRI scanning of blood flow during mental operation in prodigies to display startling results. “Calculators,” those capable of mentally performing arithmetic, geometry, or other complex mathematical operations normally reserved for electronic calculators, achieve six to seven times the typical blood flow to parts of the brain observed to be active during mathematical operations.[2]


Memory capacity of child prodigies

PET ScansPDF (72.6 KiB) performed on several math prodigies have suggested thinking in terms of long-term working memory (LTWM). This memory, specific to a field of expertise, is capable of holding relevant information for extended periods, usually hours. For example, experienced waiters have been found to hold the orders of up to twenty customers in their heads while they serve them, but perform only as well as an average person in number-sequence recognition. The PET scans also answer questions about which specific areas of the brain associate themselves with prodigious number-manipulation. One subject never excelled as a child in mathematics, but he taught himself algorithms and tricks for calculatory speed, becoming capable of extremely complex mental math. His brain, compared to six other controls, was studied using the PET scan, revealing separate areas of his brain that he manipulated to solve the complex problems. Some of the areas that he and presumably prodigies use are brain sectors dealing in visual and spatial memory, as well as visual mental imagery. Other areas of the brain showed use by the subject, including a sector of the brain generally related to childlike “finger counting,” probably used in his mind to relate numbers to the visual cortex.

Nature versus nurture in the development of the child prodigy

Most researchers recognize that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures, and the personal characteristics of the individual. The environment also plays an extremely important role, many times in obvious ways. Solely environmental theories to account for the performance of prodigies have been developed, examined, and to some degree 'tested'. For example, Laszlo Polgar set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasizing the potency an environment has in determining the area toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.

See also

References

  1. ^ Feldman, David H: "Child Prodigies: A Distinctive Form of Giftedness", National Association for Gifted Children, Gifted Children Quarterly., 1993, 37(4): 188-193.
  2. ^ O'Boyle MW et al. Mathematically gifted male adolescents activate a unique brain network during mental rotation. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005 Oct;25(2):583-7
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