Of the 15 nationally ranked runners in his age class at age 13 or 14, only one of that group had been a top runner in his running prime, at age 24. “These were genius kids but they were not genius adults.”Ī similar pattern emerged when Gladwell examined his own cohort of elite teen runners in Ontario. But Gladwell was struck by what he called the “disappointed tone of the book”: None of the Hunter alums were superstars or Nobel- or Pulitzer-prize winners there were no people who were nationally known in their fields. Yet the fate of its child-geniuses was, well, “simply okay.” Thirty years down the road, the Hunter alums in the study were all doing pretty well, were reasonably well adjusted and happy, and most had good jobs and many had graduate degrees. Hunter College was founded in the 1920s to be a training ground for the country’s future intellectual elite. Gladwell cited a mid-1980s study (Genius Revisited) of adults who had attended New York City’s prestigious Hunter College Elementary School, which only admits children with an IQ of 155 or above. One is simply to track the achievements of precocious kids. There are two ways of answering these questions. “But is that really true? And what is the evidence for it? And what exactly is the meaning and value of mastering a particular skill very early on in your life?” “I think we take it as an article of faith in our society that great ability in any given field is invariably manifested early on, that to be precocious at something is important because it’s a predictor of future success,” Gladwell said. The fall from childhood greatness to a middling state of “simply okay” is, Gladwell suggested, a recurring theme when the cherished notion of precocity is subjected to real scrutiny. Taking it up again in college - with the same dedication as before - he faced a disappointing truth: “I realized I wasn’t one of the best in the country … I was simply okay.” After losing a major race at age 15, then enduring other setbacks and loss of interest, Gladwell said, he gave up running for a few years. But - and this “but” sounded the theme of his talk to the rapt audience filling the Marquis Marriott’s Broadway Ballroom - being a prodigy didn’t forecast future success in running. “I was a running prodigy,” he said bluntly. Precocity was the subject of Gladwell’s “Bring the Family Address” at this year’s APS Convention, and the account of his own early athletic success served as a springboard. He was encouraged to dream of Olympic gold, and indeed was flown to special training camps with the other elite runners of his generation - on the assumption that creating future world-class athletes meant recognizing and nurturing youthful talent. But not the way you imagined.Īs a teenager growing up in rural Ontario, the bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point was a champion runner, the number-one Canadian runner of his age. Here's his breakthrough performance, as a 12-year-old playing Chopin's Piano Concerto No 1.Judging from his boyish appearance and his voracious curiosity, it’s easy to imagine Malcolm Gladwell as some sort of child prodigy. Here's Evgeny Kissin, who venturesomely proved that a child prodigy can go on to have a distinguished career as a soloist, and that you can have the same haircut for over three decades. He's now clocked up 8 million YouTube views as well.įrom sensational prodigy to classical superstarĪnd now a classic one from the rich history of classical Wunderkinds. It's a video that's as flabbergasting as it is cute. Take a look at Tsung Tsung when he (after a little encouragement) takes to the keys. You remember what life was like as a preschooler? Playing in the backyard, Marmite sandwiches, building Lego, learning the complete Partitas of Bach and piano sonatas of Clementi. Taking a look at his abilities in this video, they'd have had little to complain about. Samuel Tan may not have reached double figures yet, but he recently made headlines when he won an international violin competition, beating players in their 20s and 30s. Here he is taking to one of Chopin's finger-breaking Etudes. Just 15 years old, covered in 1990s tinsel, smashing out some solo Bach: what a star.Īre you working hard at your piano playing? Would you like to be utterly demoralised? Introducing 8-year-old Joshua Han. We thought you'd enjoy this glimpse of the young violinist's exceptional early talent. Watch and be amazed.Ī child prodigy who has made the jump to full classical stardom. Amazingly, he's said to have never had a piano lesson, and taught himself how to play by watching YouTube piano tutorials. Incredible Chopin from a self-taught 8-year-oldĪ stunning virtuosic display from this youngster on a street piano.
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