Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-01-20
IS Student WONDER
BOY WILL END COLLEGE TERM
AT AGE OF FOURTEEN
Norbert Wiener, Son of Cambridge
Professor, to Graduate from
Tufts in June-Aiso Good
in Athletics.

DooeoH'-At IuItS college boy will
graduate next June at the age of IA,
and we will have to take of our
mortar board caps to him. He is
Norbert Wiener, the son of Harvard
professor. This remarkable boy was
born in Columbia Mo-, November 26,
1894 He could repeat the alphabet
at the age of II months, could read
and write at three years. and at the
age of eight he was fitted for college
IN mathematics, philosophy, modern
languages and the sciences.
1t required less than three years
OF schooling after donning short trou,
sers for him to prepare for college.
Boys seldom do this in less than ten
or IL years; usually it requires an
even dozen, and often longer.
When Norbert Wiener entered Tufts
In the autumn of 1906 he had gone
farther in chemistry and philosophy
than the average senior. He was re
CURED to take several entrance ex-
amlnations, mathematics among them
In which he was found to be far in adj
..
So as freshman he did upper
class work in the theory Of equations
and in determinants, white in philoso.
phy 1t was found necessary to place
him in class by himself. He had
read Spencer, Haeckel, Darwin, Hux
ley and many others. Now he has
read Locke, Hobbies and other Eng
lish philosophers; he has translated
Homer and several plays of Aescbv lus
as well as similar amount If Latin
In mathematics he has delved into
the Galois theory of equations and has
completed differential and integral cal
culus. He will continue this branch
this year and will study the philosoph
les of Leibnitz. Spinoza and Kant
In Greek he will read Herodotus and
Sophocles; the rest of his time will be
taken up by biology and organic chem
istry. In June, 1909, he will have com
pleted the regular four-year course in
three years, receiving the degree Of
bachelor of arts before he has reached
the age of Is. But the work he has
covered will equal the amount usually
completed by candidate for the de
gree of doctor of philosophy
In the autumn following his gradua
ton at Tufts college he will enter the
Harvard Graduate school, where he
will elect work in higher mathematics
with supplementary course in biol
ogy or chemistry. After receiving the
doctors degree at 17--an age when
many students are not yet contem
plating the entrances examinations
he will spend two or three years in
Germany or France, devoting himsell
to philosophy or science.
That is, at an age when the average
boy has still two years of work ahead
of him for his bachelors degree young
Wiener will be doing advanced scien
| tific work among the gray-haired
savants of German university.
Prof Leo Wiener of the department
of Slavic languages at Harvard is OF
Russian parentage; the boys mother
| is a native of Missouri The other
children of the family do not differ
from other boys and girls of their age
Apart from the fact that his capac
| ity for learning is phenomenal, Nor
bert Wiener is like other boys. His
| physical development is excellent; he
is a good tennis player and an expert
| swimmer He is a tall boy and q
| strict vegetarian. His head is normal
| in size, bit his blazing, black eyes are
almost uncanny in their power. Per
| sonally he chooses mathematics as his
! favorite study Philosophy he calls
| his ''fairyland."