2007-01-20 23:43:21 · 6 answers · asked by faro the architect 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
lets say he is 14.
2007-01-20 23:48:29 · update #1
They can create solutions on their own from what they know. They can also quickly understand new math concepts.
Dogs and horses can't do math, but can come up with the answer by reading the owner's face. This happens between expected parents and children too.
"Prodigies" may have other mental deficiencies or have social stagnation. These people are not prodigies, but tend to focus on a task and have the time to do it. I heard of a deaf girl that painted well until they fixed her hearing and her quality took a dump. Most children in spelling bee contests just memorize how to spell words and could never use the "big words" in a sentence. I heard of a math professor that I think got a nobel prize in math, yet when he went to feed his friend's dogs, he put cereal in their dog dishes.
There is also other things that can prevent prodigies. The main one is social. Supposedly this happens greatly with girls and math. For instance a girl in math might do real well in math up until the 6th grade until she dumps it in middle school because her friends don't do it and because math doesn't win friends. Poor teachers can bore students or make topics that were interesting boring.
2007-01-21 00:17:56 · answer #1 · answered by gregory_dittman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We can tell that a child is a prodigy if he/she not only can solve, but understand mathematical problems and concepts well beyond his years, or truly advanced problems, like those never solved.
The reason why a person who can simply solve mathematics problems cannot be considered a prodigy is that one can always commit the needed formulas to memory. Anyone with a normal memory can do that, it's just repeating what you have been told. The catch is being able to understand these problems, what the underlying deepness is.
Besides, for anyone to be considered a prodigy in mathematics, he/she needs to be much more advanced than anyone else at that age. A 14-year old knowing math more than the average person is no big deal, that's 50% of the population. Even college level is no big deal. My cousins know math better than most people in the U.S., but they are only average in China.
2007-01-21 09:13:32 · answer #2 · answered by dennismeng90 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can get him/her tested. Mensa do a children's IQ test and if she's good at maths, she's probably good at other things. However do you really want to be labelling him/her? It's quite common for parents t think their child is particlarly gifted when they could just be very bright. It can casue problems later on if the parents push their child to be 'genuis' at something, when they actually might not be. It can develop feelings of inadequacy in the child, and also resentment towards parents. So if you are thinking he/she's gifted, be very very cafeful about how you deal with it. Let the kid be a kid!
2007-01-21 07:49:00 · answer #3 · answered by Cheryl D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Too late at 14. He wears Easter Bunny ears and has a big grin.
2007-01-21 07:59:08 · answer #4 · answered by Hy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if, around the age of 12, they display expert proficiency or a profound grasp of the fundamentals in a field usually only undertaken by adults.
2007-01-21 10:09:25 · answer #5 · answered by rubydragon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your question is too vague.... how old is the child? already in school?
2007-01-21 07:47:17 · answer #6 · answered by Edu 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋