Home » technology »
12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit
12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit. In some ways, Jacob Barnett is just like any other 12-year-old kid. He plays Guitar Hero, shoots hoops with his friends, and has a platonic girlfriend.
But in other ways, he's a little different. Jake, who has an IQ of 170, began solving 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzles at the age of 3, not long after he'd been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. A few years later, he taught himself calculus, algebra, and geometry in two weeks. By 8, he had left high school, and is currently taking college-level advanced astrophysics classes—while tutoring his older classmates. And he's being recruited for a paid researcher job by Indiana University.
Now, he's at work on a theory that challenges the Big Bang—the prevailing explanation among scientists for how the universe came about. It's not clear how developed it is, but experts say he's asking the right questions.
"The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics," Scott Tremaine of Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Studies—where Einstein (pictured) himself worked—wrote in an email to Jake's family. "Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize."
Here you can watch Jake question some of the key elements of Albert Einstein's theories on quantum physics:
It's not clear where Jake got his gifts from. "Whenever I try talking about math with anyone in my family," he told the Indianapolis Star, "they just stare blankly."
But his parents encouraged his interests from the start. Once, they took him to the planetarium at Butler University. "We were in the crowd, just sitting, listening to this guy ask the crowd if anyone knew why the moons going around Mars were potato-shaped and not round," Jake's mother, Kristine Barnett, told the Star. "Jacob raised his hand and said, 'Excuse me, but what are the sizes of the moons around Mars?' "
After the lecturer answered, said Kristine, "Jacob looked at him and said the gravity of the planet ... is so large that (the moon's) gravity would not be able to pull it into a round shape."
"That entire building ... everyone was just looking at him, like, 'Who is this 3-year-old?'"

Related posts:
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more great content just like it.
-
Like all the time we are sharing another Facebook spam which will automatically like a video when you click on it. This spam is something ...
-
Watch Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Victor Ortiz live stream . Watch LiveStream Online free Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Victor Ortiz. The wait is finall...
-
March Madness is bigger this year. Better? Most of the Big East Conference thinks. Colorado, Virginia Tech, St. Mary's and probably some...
-
Watch Argentina vs Costa Rica live stream Highlights 29 March 2011. Watch the game today Argentina vs Costa Rica live, Argentina vs Costa Ri...
-
Facebook does not have a dislike button, but that hasn’t stopped spammers from trying to use it to scam users. Online security firm Sophos r...
-
Sixteen mild feelings, semi-sweet and bitter at this stage of the NCAA tournament: 1 "While many of the same teams will advance after t...
-
At the beginning of the round Big East, Marquette was one of the most interesting teams, showing the need for at least one victory to sew up...
-
Soviet Premier Vladimir Putin has unleashed a new dance called "Shake That Bear." Dance is the latest in a wave of Putin's com...
-
alum "Celebrity Rehab" was 44 years old.Former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was found dead yesterday afternoon (March 8). TM...
-
Watch Japan Massive Slaughter of Dolphins? Today I open my facebook to see the update of my friends in their account but suddenly I See the ...
Your Link to Google news, Top Yahoo news, Watch sports online and interview online stream
Labels
- Entertainment (8)
- Gadgets and technology (11)
- Live stream and tv series (27)
- World news (8)
0 comments for this post
Leave a reply