Child Genius
C4, 9pm 16/04/2008

This is a catch-up with some of the super-bright children we met a couple of years ago.

But with all the talk of IQ it would be useful if the director (who sounds about 11-years-old herself) had explained that IQ measures a child’s supposed intelligence against kids of their own age.

So that when Georgia Brown, aged two, makes headlines because she has an IQ of 152, this is only compared to other two-year-olds. Not compared to say, Stephen Hawking.

Georgia fell asleep during her first test, so we get to sit in as she’s tested again.

Watching her point to a picture of a cow after being asked “What animal produces milk” should put a little perspective on things.

Another example of how specialness is all relative is 11-year-old Peter.

His parents took him out of school because, as he boasts: “You don’t need school if you’re good at chess.”

At the world championship in Croatia Peter discovers that – guess what – the world is full of geeky 11-year-olds who are even better at chess than he is.

A valuable lesson – if only Peter and his dad would heed it.

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/

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