

11-year-old college grad: I’m no genius - newy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31128101/?gt1=43001

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newy
Other than the obvious "child prodigy" angle, nothing particularly interesting
about this article. I'm actually more curious about the long term careers of
such prodigies, especially such extreme cases. I know of a couple in law -
Kiwi Camara graduated from Harvard Law at 20(?) and now runs his own firm.
Eugene Volokh graduated from UCLA undergrad at 15 and now is a law professor.

On the same note, I'm also interested in hearing thoughts about hacking
education by reducing the number of years we spend in school. I'm a proponent
of the belief that we inevitably fill up the amount of time we've allocated to
a project, even if it doesn't end up resulting in an improved product (Can't
remember, does this come from the 4-day work week?). I don't have the numbers,
but I recall seeing the stats somewhere that American students have
significantly more vacation time and therefore less school days than their
counterparts in Europe and Asia.

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Beanblabber
I'm 14 and in highschool and I believe we spend way too much time on things
that have no affect on increasing our knowledge. The textbooks are also
surrounded by bureaucracy and they sound like they were written by robots.
Every emotion, opinion, or different view of an event is thrown out. Math
textbooks just give you a proof and some examples. Most of the time they don't
give you why or how you would use it, nor the underlying proofs that were used
to come to theorem or proof.

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johnnybgoode
_The textbooks are also surrounded by bureaucracy and they sound like they
were written by robots. Every emotion, opinion, or different view of an event
is thrown out._

It's a good thing you've figured this out already, but boy is school going to
be painful from now on. Everybody else is probably going to tell you
otherwise, but perhaps you should consider a radical change in your education
plans, especially if things just get worse. Maybe leaving in a couple of years
and doing something more worthwhile, even if that just means going to college
early. I know it sounds risky, and others reading this might even think I'm
being irresponsible in telling you this. But I'd at least keep your options
open.

~~~
snprbob86
I know I certainly wish I found a community like Hacker News in high school.
Or even earlier in college. It is advice like this which others are afraid to
tell you. Even if it is crappy advice, at least it is a unique perspective
compared to the brainwashed masses.

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richcollins
"I feel it's a waste of time playing video games because it's not helping
humanity in any way"

Looks like he still has some things to learn

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DaniFong
Moshe spawned this essay the first time he appeared on HN; maybe it still has
some relevance. I wish him the best.
[http://daniellefong.com/2008/05/15/advice-to-the-bright-
and-...](http://daniellefong.com/2008/05/15/advice-to-the-bright-and-young/)

~~~
newy
Great post Danielle, really enjoyed the read. I've been 2 years ahead since
grade school, and a lot of your points hit home.

