Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15 • Hacker News Board

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#211

Post by lotharbot » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 12:37 AM UTC

eddotman wrote: post #49

I've hung out with Ahaan at school several times -- some people in the comments here are speculating that going to university this young might make it hard to adjust (socially), but honestly I assumed he was like ~20 (i.e. just like any other college-age dude). I had no clue he had such a neat backstory of how he got to MIT!

When my (then future) wife was in college, there was some controversy about younger women on campus needing to tell guys who were flirting with them how young they were, because guys in their early 20s would occasionally end up asking a girl out and then finding out she was only 16. My wife agreed with this general sentiment, which led to one of her friends saying "you'd think differently if you were 16!" Her response: "maybe, but that's not for another year."

My younger sister was regularly mistaken for a teacher when she was in 7th grade.

I was pretty obviously an immature punk all through high school, but some people are both academically and socially advanced.

Right now, my five year old son with autism is simultaneously learning the toilet and calculus. Who knows where he'll be socially when he's academically ready for college?

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#212

Post by uhtred » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 12:42 AM UTC

matheweis wrote: post #149

uhtred wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I had the drive / focus / interest that you sound like you had when you were at school. I hung around with the wrong people, didn't put enough thought into what I might like to do for a career, valued the wrong things, and as a consequence spent my twenties in lots of meaningless, unsatisfying jobs. I'm in my early thirties now and am lucky in that I've managed to change my circumstances and begin a career as…

> I feel I will never be able to achieve the success I could have if I had only... Learn from your past, take things from where they are today, and change the things that you can, now, going into the future. There are other people like you today; some of them will do that, others will only continue to live in regret. 10 years from now you can be the person that they will look at and say "if I had only..."

You are absolutely right. It's easy for me to think when I'm 43 I'll be past it. But I'm pretty sure my 43 year old self will think otherwise, and will be very glad he made the effort 10 years ago!

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#213

Post by rtl49 » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 12:49 AM UTC

droithomme wrote: post #148

rtl49 wrote: post #22

“I will never forget the feeling of walking into the lobby of Building 7, looking up, and then touching the pillars to see if they were real. I couldn’t believe I was at MIT. My life and my ambitions moved to another level at that moment.” I think this impressive achievement is more a testament to the role that aspirations acquired during childhood play in determining a person's success than it is a reflection of thi…

> had they been provided a similarly advantageous upbringing He's a minority immigrant that fled poverty and homeschooled himself. Please clarify in what ways this was an advantageous upbringing over say an american native raised in the suburbs by a wealthy family who attends the best public schools, few if any of whom enter MIT at 15.

I hate to put this so bluntly, but did you read the article?

“When I was five years old my mom told me ‘there’s this thing called OCW,’” says Rungta, who was homeschooled. “I just couldn’t believe how much material was available. From that moment on I spent the next few years taking OCW courses.”

For Rungta’s mother, the biggest challenge to homeschooling her son was staying ahead of him, finding courses and materials to feed his insatiable mind.

When Rungta turned 12, his family moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, as his parents realized he needed to be in a more intellectually stimulating environment. He also wanted to live closer to MIT.

Later that day, Rungta saw an Indian restaurant in the Student Center that had been closed down. He suggested to his dad — a chef who owned a restaurant in Lowell — that he look into reopening the café. His father soon became the manager of Café Spice, and the family moved from Lowell to Cambridge. Rungta studied in the Student Center every day while his father ran the café.

Reflecting on his journey from Calcutta to Cambridge and the many intersecting moments with MIT, Rungta is grateful to his parents and to MIT for being responsive to his needs every step of the way. “MIT has been my middle school, my high school, my entire education. That’s pretty amazing. Some people think I’m gifted, but I don’t think so. OCW was a gift to me. I was lucky to be born at the time MIT was opening up education to the world and extra lucky that OCW brought MIT and me together.”

If the commitment these parents showed to their son's upbringing and education doesn't strike you as absolutely extraordinary, I'm happy for you. But my own opinion is that they went far above and beyond what any ordinary parents would do, including the vast majority of wealthy parents who live in the suburbs. And it's worth pointing out that we can acknowledge this fact while also recognizing this young man has accomplished something exceptional.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#214

Post by Obbity » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 12:59 AM UTC

homulilly wrote: post #193

IshKebab wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. It's a race to learn as much as you can before your brain loses plasticity. I certainly wish some of my teachers had spent more time teaching the people that cared and less time helping the D students that didn't. It definitely resulted in a few wasted years of education for me.

Well there's always antidepressants and stimulants to help with that. In all seriousness, don't become a drug addict but if you're really worried about that there's a decent amount of research going on into improving brain plasticity so i wouldn't be surprised if there are drug treatments to "de-age" your brain in the near future. That said, most of the "critical periods" for learning are over by the time you hit pub…

What can we not learn after these "critical periods for leanring"?

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#215

Post by mjcohen » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 3:02 AM UTC

agentultra wrote: post #159

cottonseed wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm 33 now and I'd kill to be able to study mathematics full time and be a professor some day. I started my PhD in math at 36. Admittedly, I made some life choices (savings, no kids or mortgage) that kept options like this open.

Good for you! I hope you are/have enjoying/enjoyed it. I made some different choices (savings, but kids and mortgage). It'd be awesome to start a PhD but completely irresponsible of me as I'm the sole income provider for our family at present. For now I content myself with following my fancies and working on digestible problems in my spare time (devoured ONAG a couple of years ago, graphs, sets, concrete mathematics.…

If you want to practice math, look at math.stackexchange.com.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#216

Post by ucacian » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 3:12 AM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #178

donmaq wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome maxims from the aspirational side. From the more practical side- the time you spent 'wandering' can pay big dividends over those who are more tightly-focused, when you get to a more strategic role. Having tons of varied experience makes you a better communicator, teacher, & leader...

I had this conversation with a co-worker recently. I complained about how I avoided partying in university years and wasted a perfect opportunity to make friends with diverse people from all kinds of occupations. He said he regrets that he partied a lot instead of sitting like me and engaging in creative hobbies and/or learning career-relevant stuff. We came to the conclusion that no matter the path of life you end u…

Well said! The grass is(and looked) always greener on the other side of the fence.

I decided to become a musician when I was 15 and wasted 6 years pursuing the unrealistic dream. I somehow managed to gave up the dream and became interested in computing in college. I sometimes wish I had become interested in programming instead of drums in junior high, but those 6 years of hustles taught me a lot about team management, entrepreneurship, and how to learn new things. So I don't think I wasted 6 years. As Paul Graham says, you should explore when you are young.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#217

Post by iconjack » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 3:56 AM UTC

I'd be willing to bet that Rungta watched and consumed with great joy Walter Lewin's Physics 8.01 videos. I'd further bet that he mentioned them in this interview with MIT News, only to have his comments omitted from the piece, because Lewin is, in MIT's eyes, persona non grata. Of course this is just conjecture. I just said I'd be willing to take the bet.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#218

Post by chris_wot » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 4:48 AM UTC

OJFord wrote: post #203

lettergram wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hell Im 23, and even with easy access to information its difficult if you have to work full-time to pay the bills. Ive been working full-time since I was 15, and no matter how many courses I completed or books I read, without financially stable parents there is no way a normal person can do this. Thats why most of us attend public school. I have full confidence most people are capable, but they would need some except…

> Thats why most of us attend public school. This has to be the single most confusing AmE/BrE difference..

In case people don't know what is being referred to here, it's that in Britain a Public School is something you pay for, and in America (and Australia!) a Public School is funded by the government and not the individual.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#219

Post by stared » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 9:38 AM UTC

sawthat wrote: post #163

Don't know this kid, or this situation, but to commenters here who seem envious, or young people who are inspired: being a child prodigy expires at age 25. Being known for your youth means that once you aren't young anymore you've lost that. If your identity is wrapped up in being precocious be ready with a second plan.

I don't know how many miss "being known". I think many regret not having so much intellectual stimulation, or opportunities to learn. (Seriously, how many of us, the HN crowd, considered their Primary School intellectually challenging?)

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#220

Post by sireat » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 12:50 PM UTC

Even with all the positive support from parents this kid is an extreme outlier.

Terrence Tao supposedly knew numbers from Sesame Street at age 2, but I do not know of any avid kid readers at age 2.

I know plenty of kids ages 3-4 who know the alphabet but none are actual readers.

In fact I know plenty of kids who "read" a book at age 3, but they are not reading the way we adults are they are imitating the reading process.

Anecdotally I was a relatively early reader at age 5 (reading whole scary Grimm's tales) but my mom keeps insisting it was age 3 when I know it was not.

So if he really was reading at age 2 and half that is showing advanced potential.