Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-23


the stanford University department Of psy-
chology. under the leadership OF Prof Lewis
M, Herman. the worlds greatest authority on
gifted children has just finished research
covering the intimate life histories Of upward
Of 1000 child prodigies in the State Of Cali
fornia. some Of whom he and his fellow psy-
biologists have been studying intensiveiy now
for more than Is years
Prior to this great research, which Is entitled
sThe Promise of Youth Folow-Up Studies OF
Thousand Gifted Children" Prof. Tezxnan
and his associates had published two other
large volumes of technical studies OF these
same children The first was taken up with
the methods OF selection and discovery Of these
gifted youngsters and with their physical and
tenperamental characteristics while they were
stiH children ranging from to Is years OF
age. the second study was by DR.. Catharine
Cox in cooperation with Prof. Terman and
was concerned with revealing the same Facts
with reference to the childhood Of 300 OF the
greatest geniuses of the last 900 years. The
object Of this was TO find how these California
child prodigies compare mentally, pnysicahy
and morally with children who have become
celebrated geniuses
For years these psychologists have watched
these young California geniuses at work and
nc play awake and asleep, at study and as
leisure. in school and at home; they have
analysed their mental abilities, their emotional
interests their personality traits their moral
character, their achievements. their hobbies,
IN school and out; they have studied their diet
their digestion, their headaches and tooth
aches and stomachaches, the size and proper
ton Of their chests. heads. bodies and limbs;
they have studied their brothers and sisters,
their parents and other ancestors, and their
economic and home surroundings. In short,
here Is q group of 900 children, all OF them
with q mental rating above 14O-a rating
within the possible ranges Of great geniuSes-
1@aw ~ ALI
out and back again, and about whom we know
more than we have known about any group
of children of this size, whether brilliant or
stupid in the whole history OF mankind's.
progress.
II is impossible in brief discussion to give
more than q glimpse Of the wonderful things
that have been revealed about these children.
But the one outstanding thing Is that the re-
search has upset and diSproved absolutely all
the popular notions about child prodgies and
about geniuses in general that are cherished
almost as a religion in the public mind. For
II there Is any one subject about which the
average man has his head filed with false and
foolish superstitlons II is the subject OF genius.
One OF the great editors of America recently
asked me to write an article showing why 1t
Is that nearly all great gepiuses had been very
dull childreni
AS a matter of fact, no genius ever was q
dull child, and no dull child ever became
genius or ever will.
Perhaps however, the most widely believed
superstition about child p-odigies and brilliant
children generally Is that they are fran. sichly
nervous, eccentric maladjusteds one-sided. that
they are hard to get along with, lacking in
moral and emotional balance. and that they
soon break down mentally and nervously, peter
out and either die young else land in the
penitentiary or the school for the feeble
minded or the hospital for the insane. We shah
zee IN q moment what these researches have
shown about these beliefs.