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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 460
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Joined: Sep 2008
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Actually, sorry to be a party pooper, but as someone who does understand that material I watched the video of this kid explaining it and the overwhelming impression I got was "this kid has no real idea what he's talking about".
Mind you, my kid would give the same impression, I think, if he tried to explain some of the ALEKS chemistry questions he's currently being assessed on - he can do them well enough to get the right answers, hanging on by his fingernails, but not really well enough to explain them to someone else. This is a legitimate stage; but not, IMHO, one that one should advertise!
Email: my username, followed by 2, at google's mail
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Joined: Oct 2008
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I have to disagree with you ColinsMum. If you read the other link you will see he has been in direct contact with a highly regarded professor in the field and the professor was pretty impressed with him.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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I agree with ColinsMum. Also, as a professor in the field, I would comment that the statement made by the professor from IAS is a typical polite answer that we give when students come to us with their "theories". I.e. we would always try to be supportive and encouraging, especially when the student involved has ASD. Saying that you are impressed with how much physics a 12 year old knows does not imply that you actually think his "theory" is impressive. And a 12 year old being offered a PhD position (as IUPUI faculty seem to want to do) is unusual but not unknown.
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Joined: Oct 2008
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There are so many nay say-ers that we deal with in this world on a daily basis, do we have to contribute to it? Of course, I'm not in the field and can't judge his depth but clearly this boy is HG+ and bravo to his parents for not keeping him in the box.
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Joined: Jun 2010
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I would comment that the statement made by the professor from IAS is a typical polite answer that we give when students come to us with their "theories". I.e. we would always try to be supportive and encouraging, especially when the student involved has ASD. Saying that you are impressed with how much physics a 12 year old knows does not imply that you actually think his "theory" is impressive. That's the thing. And the article also makes some over-reaching statements, making it sound like Jake has actually extended the theory of relativity, when the comments from the IAS researcher make it clear that he hasn't. It's a news article written for popular appeal, and a little bending of the truth may be expected with a story like this. But I'm with Katelyn'sM om about being glad he will be allowed to see what he can really do.
Striving to increase my rate of flow, and fight forum gloopiness. 
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Joined: Feb 2011
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Hmmm... yesssss...
I think I finally figured out what bothered me about most of the coverage of this (obviously wonderful) young man.
It has been patronising. Either on the 'Doogie Howser' side of things ('debunking big bang') or on the 'isn't he cute' side ('his little brain').
Ugh. Why spin this? He's a great kid who has terrifically supportive parents and has found a perfect academic niche for himself. Isn't that enough??
Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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Joined: Apr 2009
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I have actually had 2 local people that I know in real life ask me if I have read this article in the past 24 hours. Interesting.
Warning: sleep deprived
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