Vox’s First Law: Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from insanity. Or, in this case, autism:
State therapy specialists claimed Jacob
Barnett would never tie his shoes, read or function normally in society.
But the boy’s mother realized when Jacob was not in therapy, he was
doing “spectacular things” completely on his own.She decided to trust her instinct and
disregard the advice of the professionals. Instead of following a
standardized special needs educational protocol, she surrounded Jacob
with all the things that inspired passion for him – and was astonished
at the transformation that took place.Following a diagnosis of autism at age
two, Jacob was subjected to a cookie cutter special education system
that focused on correcting what he couldn’t do compared to normal
children. For years, teachers attempted to convince Kristine Barnett
that her son would only be able to learn the most basic of life skills….By the time Jacob reached the age of 11, he entered college and is currently studying condensed matter physics at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. According to an email Professor Scott Tremaine wrote to Jacob’s family:“The theory that he’s working on
involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and
theoretical physics … Anyone who solves these will be in line for a
Nobel Prize.”Jacob also has an IQ of 170 — higher than that of Einstein.
This is an object lesson in what we discussed at the May Brainstorm. Never, ever, blindly trust the so-called experts. Respect, but verify.