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British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

theguardian.com

11–20 of 22 posts

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#11
Is this a case study in why early screen time could be a positive? I assumed that the corrupt garbage for children on youtube and television were enough to forbid screens for the early years in child development. Teddy, however, used a tablet and some unknown apps/videos to learn how to read.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#13

It isn't just that the 2 year old can read. He taught himself to read! In Mandarin!

My dad always claims he taught himself to read at age 3, living on some old farm in the middle of nowhere.

For whatever reason, I didn't start talking until I was 3, though.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#14
post #11

Is this a case study in why early screen time could be a positive? I assumed that the corrupt garbage for children on youtube and television were enough to forbid screens for the early years in child development. Teddy, however, used a tablet and some unknown apps/videos to learn how to read.

The real problems with video are that it 1) doesn't require any meaningful use of selective attention, being constantly hyper-engaging with every relevant stimuli presented on a platter, and 2) it doesn't teach them any bidirectional interaction with their environment, during a critical period of brain development meant for exactly that.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#15
post #11

Is this a case study in why early screen time could be a positive? I assumed that the corrupt garbage for children on youtube and television were enough to forbid screens for the early years in child development. Teddy, however, used a tablet and some unknown apps/videos to learn how to read.

The real problems with video are that it 1) doesn't require any meaningful use of selective attention, being constantly hyper-engaging with every relevant stimuli presented on a platter, and 2) it doesn't teach them any bidirectional interaction with their environment, during a critical period of brain development meant for exactly that.

That's a great answer that I'll use from now on.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#16
post #2

Gauss had a very early start in reading and maths. It isn't inherently harmful. That said. Myopia in children is concerning. He needs to be given sufficient time outdoors, focussing on things more distant to infinity. Aside from that, Mensa is just a club, but so is Skull and Bones, as Geraldo found out. Clubs can be good or bad, it depends. Other british child prodigies are on record that their parents fully impleme…

As Feynman would put it, it's a club where people sit around and try to decide who else is worthy of belonging to the club.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#17
This is awesome. How common is it for children to teach themselves to read? I taught myself at age 3 and was reading large novels by age 4, but I have yet to meet anyone else who shares my experience. Sometimes I wonder what opportunities could have been made available for me if anyone had made my future their priority while I was a child. I hope this kid kicks some serious ass.

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#18
post #2

Gauss had a very early start in reading and maths. It isn't inherently harmful. That said. Myopia in children is concerning. He needs to be given sufficient time outdoors, focussing on things more distant to infinity. Aside from that, Mensa is just a club, but so is Skull and Bones, as Geraldo found out. Clubs can be good or bad, it depends. Other british child prodigies are on record that their parents fully impleme…

Elegant poem, thank you!

Re: British boy who taught himself to read aged two joins Mensa

#20
post #2

Gauss had a very early start in reading and maths. It isn't inherently harmful. That said. Myopia in children is concerning. He needs to be given sufficient time outdoors, focussing on things more distant to infinity. Aside from that, Mensa is just a club, but so is Skull and Bones, as Geraldo found out. Clubs can be good or bad, it depends. Other british child prodigies are on record that their parents fully impleme…

> Mensa is just a club

Among geniuses, Mensa is for the morons, relatively speaking. It also has the highest annual fees.[1] It's all a machine, partner. Live free, don't join.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-IQ_society

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