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Comment by dx034 | Hacker News Reader

Is it really worth it though? There are so many opportunities to learn online, should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age and get the knowledge via online courses/remote learning? Can't imagine that you can have a proper childhood if everyone you interact with is >6 years older..

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> should a child like that not rather spend time with children at the same age

I doubt a child as gifted as this would have a "normal" time spent with other children of the same age.

I'm not sure about that. I'm not saying this boy's parents pushed him into this path, but by virtue of their own education (mother has a PhD, not sure about the father) they would have provided him with many opportunities for intellectual growth that other kids lacked. So I would assume Jeremy is very smart but not as exceptional as his achievements would imply.

Being smart can be isolating, either from not being able to relate to people or act normal, or people assuming you are arrogant, or developing actual arrogance, but in the scheme if things this is just one of many issues that affect people, and not necessarily that serious. The super-smart shy people I know are not too different from the average intelligence shy people I know.

More the reason to put him with children his own age for Jeremy would have to learn new skills on how to navigate with kids below his maturity and intelligence. YMMV

It's interesting that with every other kind of education, we take a hands-on approach to teaching children, yet with social skills its akin to 'sink or swim'. We simply put children in close association with each other, then monitor them to prevent the worst excesses.

Social skills can be taught. From reading individuals, to reading a crowd, to speaking with the proper poise for a certain scenario... these skills are directly teachable. We don't have to rely on hoping that they'll be re-invented by every child who happens to find themselves in an appropriate circumstance.

I'd suggest a renaissance style education, of the sort given to those in the gentleman's class. Teach science, teach maths, teach memorisation and the such, but also directly teach children how to function in society and how to grease its wheels to suit their desires.

When you say you want Cornell when you are 12 its a lot more impressive that saying I took online classes when I was 12. Go look at the SV companies. They are filled with people from the IVY leagues or at least good schools.

airbnb CTO harvard

dropbox ceo harvard

facebook ceo harvard

If you read through the whole article he is so so smart I don't think college will really challenge him. He is probably smarter than all the professors there. He seems like he is good at reading so he can probably teach himself most of the stuff. He already has a lot of AP credits. He can probably finish college in 2 or 3 years. Being 15 and having a degree from an ivy league school is pretty good.

> He is probably smarter than all the professors there.

That is not a good perspective to go into a learning experience with. I hope he does not arrive with that expectation.

While I agree that Ivy league is a nice signalling indicator, it is also a very strong networking environment. I've been offered jobs from former school-mates, received funding from another, and started my first company with yet another. I think that it will be difficult to socialize when you are just 12. A great deal of networking is at parties and events that 12 year olds might feel out of place in.

But I wish him luck.

It probably wouldn't be great spending all his time at a normal school — that would lead to boredom.

Hopefully he'll have time outside university for socialising.

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