A 12 year old diagnosed with asperger’s syndrome has experts in physics talking as he develops his expansion on the Theory of Relativity. After impressing teachers and making his way all the way up to college where he soon demolished every book and subject he could, the brilliant Jacob Barnett moved onto one of the biggest subjects in the field of physics – and soon started surpassing Einstein. The discoveries made by Barnett in the near future could one day change the world as we know it, and rewrite the books on physics while securing his own story in the books of another subject – history.
That history would be made by such a young but brilliant mind is nothing new, but the actual level of intelligence is an astounding 170 IQ points. With an intelligence that high, IQ testing becomes more or less irrelevant, and even more difficult to calculate. Rather than depending on school to teach him subjects such as calculus, Barnett taught himself the often feared talent in a period of two weeks, soon mastering it.
Reactions to this story of a true child prodigy have often come from the natural tendency for people to show concern for the young (and particularly the talented) in a world that so often uses talents such as Barnett’s for war rather than his own benefit or the benefit of humanity. Of course the dual nature of Asperger’s syndrome is that while an individual may be incredibly intelligent, they may also find it difficult to function outside of certain environments. And these environments are just what Barnett is thriving in now.
Of course Barnett’s story isn’t entirely unique, as incredible as it is. And contrary to the beliefs of some, these stories do not end in tragedy as often as some media sources may lead us to think. In fact, it’s often theorized that Einstein may have even had a similar condition that resulted in his own success in scientific endeavors. Contrary to popular belief, Einstein never had his IQ tested, as IQ tests were not commonly used until fairly recently.
Interestingly, though Einstein is considered the father of modern physics, many of his theories were controversial at the time. And there is still a body of them that are controversial even today. As the theories behind many of his opinions are still considered controversial or even unusual by the mainstream of science there will be some level of interest in what new physicists, particularly brilliant ones who draw their own conclusions will think. And if one scientist can bring about the theories that make atomic power possible, perhaps another will find a new and as yet unknown force that will be even more useful for the good of humanity and secure themselves a place in history forever.