I guess I still think of a prodigy as someone with a truly exceptional skill in one area--sort of different from PG, although you certainly could be PG AND a prodigy, and surely many (though not all) prodigies are.
Nurturing a prodigy seems to be a lot like forcing a bonsai.
It's a pretty ugly process that (sometimes) results in something astonishing, but the saying about breaking eggs to make omelettes also seems pretty insightful here.
Do you think prodigies must be forced or tortured, or otherwise emotionally stunted? I don't know if I agree. Surely some are. All? I don't know. (I want to read that Far From the Tree book, which I think discusses how some prodigies were definitely bonsais and some might not have been being nurtured enough.)
My thinking about prodigy has become both broader and more muddled now that I have had a bit of experience with having a very young child with unusual talent. (Giftedness is not the same. Both of my kids are gifted, and received and continue to receive some attention for that, but I find myself increasingly confused about how to handle obvious high-end talent in a competitive arena in a young child. It looks easy until it's your kid.)
