Friday, March 25, 2011

Jacob Barnett, 12, with "higher IQ than Einstein" develops own theory of relativity







A 12-year-old child prodigy has astounded university professors after grappling with some of the most advanced concepts in mathematics.

Jacob Barnett has an IQ of 170 - higher than Albert Einstein - and is now so far advanced in his Indiana university studies that professors are lining him up for a PHD research role.

The boy wonder, who taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry and trigonometry in a week, is now tutoring fellow college classmates after hours.

And now Jake has embarked on his most ambitious project yet - his own 'expanded version of Einstein's theory of relativity'.

His mother, not sure if her child was talking nonsense or genius, sent a video of his theory to the renowned Institute for Advanced Study near Princeton University.

According to the Indiana Star, Institute astrophysics professor Scott Tremaine -himself a world renowned expert - confirmed the authenticity of Jake's theory.

In an email to the family, Tremaine wrote: 'I'm impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far.

'The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics.

'Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize.'

But for his mother Kristine Barnett, 36, and the rest of the family, maths remains a tricky subject.

Speaking to the paper, Mrs Barnett said: 'I flunked math. I know this did not come from me.' ...

via Jacob Barnett,12, with higher IQ than Einstein develops his own theory of relativity | Mail Online.

Calculus isn't that hard once you "get it".
Calculus is the study of how things change. It provides a framework for modeling systems in which there is change, and a way to deduce the predictions of such models. - mit.edu

Jake can play Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight Sonata from memory too.

Having a 170 IQ can make life difficult in some ways. For example, brilliant people can be below average in some specific areas. People don't understand this. 
Praising a smart son or daughter for his or her intelligence may make the youngster anxious and ill-equipped to deal with failure, a team of psychologists has found. It is much better to praise a child for effort, said Claudia Mueller and Corol Dweck, researchers at Columbia University.

-via borntoexplore

The title of this article is misleading. I could easily say that I have an IQ higher than Albert Einstein too. No one could prove me wrong because Einstein never took an IQ test.  His IQ will never be unknown.

3 comments:

oliver stieber said...

triangulation in the broadest sense. start with nothing, then something that can come from nothing... e.g. not predictable.. have fun.

Ann said...

I'm going to write something that you'll probably never forget, if you know that Pi = 3.1416.... Einstein's birthday is on Pi day: March 14th: 3/14

(and yes he was born at 0:16 in the morning - only kidding!).

Here's some humorous wit from Albert:

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change"

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

"A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future."

from:
http://open.salon.com/blog/catherine_forsythe/2010/03/14/einstein_had_a_sense_of_humour

mtravers said...

Einstein was right about the shortcomings of Quantum Mechanics and so therefore String Theory is also the incorrect approach. As an alternative to Quantum Theory there is a new theory that describes and explains the mysteries of physical reality. While not disrespecting the value of Quantum Mechanics as a tool to explain the role of quanta in our universe. This theory states that there is also a classical explanation for the paradoxes such as EPR and the Wave-Particle Duality. The Theory is called the Theory of Super Relativity. Google it!
This theory is a philosophical attempt to reconnect the physical universe to realism and deterministic concepts. It explains the mysterious.