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Aug 03, 2014 News
Children – Are there prodigies, savants and ‘indigos’ in Guyana?
By Dennis A. Nichols
Children the world over are naïve, trusting and vulnerable, even the so-called street-smart or precocious ones, although it may be argued that many of them appear to be anything but innocent. It’s no different here in Guyana. Their unsophistication is often exploited to the point of victimization. But Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The soul is healed by being with children,” and educator Maria Montessori added, “The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” I concur with both.
There has been for centuries, the awareness and the recognition that a number of children seem to possess almost supernatural gifts of intellect, artistry and temperament, which some say have had the potential to profoundly change the world for the better- not via traditional religion, philosophy, or politics, but through the awareness of a new world vision, and enhanced artistic and scientific expression. They are called prodigies, savants and of late, ‘indigo children’ the last being a pseudo-scientific term for exceptionally-gifted and supposedly divinely-inspired children.
Many of them, particularly savants, are viewed as weird or mentally-challenged, but the claim has been made that a very thin line may exist between genius and crazy. I remember from my childhood one Sydney Gonsalves popularly known as the ‘memory man’ who could unerringly tell you what happened on any given date over the past several decades, name the day of the week, and say what the weather was like on that day. But he had a strange look, walked with an exaggerated stride, and was taunted as much as he was admired for his prodigious memory.
While I am not aware of any local child prodigies, a feeling persists in my heart that many whom I have observed, spoken with, or taught over the years, have in their artlessness that divine spark which sets them apart from adults, but which they lose all too quickly by their teenage years.
Obviously in the world, there are historic exceptions; Mozart wrote his first composition at age six, Kim Ung-Yong, a physics professor with an IQ of 210 was a university guest physics student at age three, and Akrit Jaswal performed his first surgery at seven.
A few months ago I met this nine year-old from East la Penitence in Georgetown – a very ‘normal’ girl who reads bible passages with surprising fluency and assimilates Math concepts rapidly. She also has the ability to quickly recognize, and correctly spell and pronounce new three and four-syllable words, in addition to the 45-letter ‘word’ pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis which she mastered in about ten minutes, albeit with a little help from me. Are there prodigies and indigo children in Guyana?
Well, I am absolutely certain that there are many more Guyanese children who are gifted like little Zipporah (the nine year-old), but if you can’t find any, there are several whose amazing talents you can access right in your homes through the marvel of the internet. There are hundreds of them, but I’ll tell you about a few, and then you can go check them out for yourselves. There’s violinist, Akim Camara, poet Botlhale Boikanyo, artist, Akiane Kramarik, pianist, Aimi Kobayashi and mathematician, Jacob Barnett.
To say that South African poet Botlhale is a child prodigy might be stretching the idea a bit. But for sheer talent, confidence, poise and originality, she has to be considered at least highly-gifted, particularly while winning the 2012 South Africa’s Got Talent competition, at age 11. Her compositions are referred to as Praise Poems, one of which, ‘A poem for Madiba’ (Nelson Mandela’s affectionate clan name) is stunningly poignant, succinctly capturing the inhumanity of his incarceration, as well as the humanity he displayed toward his tormentors after his ascendency to the South African presidency.
At age three, ‘almost potty-trained’ German violinist Akim Camara, captured the heart of renowned Dutch impresario, Andre Rieu, as he played the classic violin Concerto G Major Opus 11, to the accompaniment of the Johan Strauss Orchestra in Berlin. Playing from memory and with an unbelievable sense of timing and rhythm, (for a 3-year old) he drew two standing ovations from 18,000 music lovers in the audience. The expressions of childlike joy and wonder on his face as he listened to the resounding applause, were priceless.
There are some who believe that American artist, Akiane Kramarik, who started drawing at age four, is a fake, because of the scope and beauty of her creations, and the fact that she says God spoke with and encouraged her. Nevertheless her original paintings sell for up to $3,000,000 according to her Wikipedia biography, and she has completed over 200 art works, 800 literary creations, and two best-selling books. Although her parents were atheists, she claimed that her art is inspired by visions of heaven.
Then there’s Japanese pianist Aimi Kobayashi who did classical pieces at age three, played with an orchestra at seven, and was invited to play at Carnegie Hall by age 10. From 2001 to 2004, she won the world’s largest piano competition four years in a row. Her proficiency and technique at age three, captured on a You Tube video, prompted comments of both awe and condemnation. One supposed her to be ‘a child of God come down from heaven to initiate a new spiritual era’ while another criticized that ‘It was cruel to force a kid to do s**t like this’. Take your pick.
Finally there’s Jacob Barnett, one of my favourite child geniuses. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) at two, Barnett taught himself Calculus, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry in a week, and has an IQ of 170 (higher than Einstein) He left high school at eight to attend Purdue University and study Advanced Astrophysics. Now 12, he is grappling with some of the most advanced concepts in Mathematics, while embarking on a project to expand Einstein’s theory of relativity, and develop his own theory as to the origin of the universe.
In my last piece I alluded to children precipitating a paradigm shift in racial intolerance and bigotry. Now I’ve deliberately not stated the race of the children here although I have referred to their nationalities. Why? For the purpose of this article it’s irrelevant. And also I would like readers to check them out on the internet (with the exception of the Guyanese child) by looking at their You Tube videos. For whatever it’s worth, my favourites are Akim Camara and Jacob Barnett. Look, listen, and let your heart be uplifted; your faith in the human spirit reaffirmed.
Ps. We hardly hear about child prodigies in Guyana or in the Caribbean. Maybe our education authorities, psychologists and parents in this part of the world need to look more closely at our children, including those labelled as slow learners or mentally-challenged. You just might have a Mozart or a Jake Barnett in the making.
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