The next Einstein

KZN boy the next Einstein
December 7 2011 at 07:44am
By Sinegugu Ndlovu

Kialan Pillay may be 10 years old, but don’t make the mistake of thinking his brain works the same as those of his peers.

Having finished Grade 7 this year, after jumping grades in 2009, Kialan, who is able to read an 800-page book in about six hours, could justifiably be called a genius, although his mom, University of KwaZulu-Natal anthropology department head Maheshvari Naidu, is reluctant to have him labelled as such.

She said Kialan spoke before he turned one, was reading Grade 1 books by the age of two and novels before he was four. He learned to play chess at three, when he also began piano lessons. At six he read all the Harry Potter books in three weeks, and was devouring Dan Brown books at seven.

“At age one he could remember word for word the simple stories and poems I had read the previous night,” said Naidu.

“It became increasingly apparent from his use of language, questions about life and death at age three, and his love for classical music and opera, also at age three, that he was gifted.

“We were careful that he saw himself as a kid who was just simply amazed at everything.”

Kialan attended Kainon Senior Primary School, where he was the editor of the school newspaper. He began competitive chess at seven and is the under-12 KZN champion. Last Thursday, he was named school dux and first in his grade. He also plays the violin and is a brown belt in karate.

Kialan’s intellect, according to Naidu, is largely attributed to his “innate and deep curiosity”. The countries he has travelled to – including England, Greece, Egypt, Romania, Switzerland, China and France – in turn feed this curiosity.

Kialan said he enjoyed playing with children his own age and could easily relate to them.

“Half the stuff I think about is that of a 10-year-old,” he said. “Sometimes I can be very childish. I’m clever and can understand more, but I don’t like to be labelled a genius; that would isolate me. I love having friends and being able to play, while still being myself.”

Naidu said Kialan’s IQ had never been tested because she feared that he might be labelled.

“I taught him to celebrate being both different and like every other kid,” she said.

“I had immense help from my parents in raising Kialan. They helped create the space and opportunity for his talents to blossom.”

After visiting Cern in Switzerland, Kialan plans to pursue a career in astrophysics because he finds “the discovery of new theories about space interesting”.

“So much has already been done in biology and zoology,” said Kialan. “We find new species and plants every day. It’s not every day we find a new star cluster. The impact will be huge if a new dimension is found (in astrophysics).”

From next year, he will attend Verity Preparatory School and College, a school for the gifted in Assagay.

Joburg educational psychologist Kerry Skinner said children with Kialan’s intellectual capacity were rare. From what she was told about Kialan by The Mercury, she said it sounded like he had an aptitude for reading.

However, a disadvantage of being pushed up grades was that a child could miss out on developmental milestones.

“He can’t be the same as a Grade 7 pupil emotionally and physically,” said Skinner. “There are areas that I may be concerned about, like identity development, which he is missing out on.”

Source: http://www.iol.co.za