On Thu, 2006-04-06 at 13:06 +0530, Amol Hatwar wrote:
*Chop*
In this case, I think, the crime was committed not by the kid, but by the community that made him a celebrity. This community could include his parents, relatives, teachers and friends. Once a celebrity, it is only human to try and cling to it. I actually sympathise with the guy. Interestingly, there are other such young young guys who are being made out to be geniuses. Their lives are just wasted. This is a tragedy.
How can you blame the community/population? Blaming the media who publish without enough knowledge is justifiable. But more than that, blaming the individual who "prefers" to be cut from reality is always a better solution.
It often happens that, when a child does something unusual, he is hailed as a genius and exhibited around by parents, friends, relatives, teachers, etc. There may be a bit of truth in what they claim, but the important point is that it is a bit. With parents who are influential or are very wealthy, they make use of their connections and their resources to promote this 'genius'. Not that this happens always, or succeeds always either. Sometimes it does. For a child in school, he cannot come out of the hyperbole and look carefully at his achievements. He gets carried away. And there starts the tragedy. Because, the child apparently had some talent, but he is not given a chance to test it against others of equal or better talent, and begins to genuinely think that he is somebody special. He stops growing, and continues living in an imaginary world where he is an Einstein, Eisenstein, Russell, Gandhi, RMS, whatever.
I know of at least one similar case here -- a young chap who has published a book on philosophy. He is in his early twenties. Nothing wrong with that. But I happened to read a few pages of the book. Apparently, he has read some books and has some awareness of some philosophical ideas. But that is about all. His ideas are pretty naive and very immature. The book got published only because his parents, who are quite influential people, took the initiative. He is now a celebrity and drives around in a Fiesta (or some such thing). His life is now a struggle between acting as an intellectual, and blaming those who criticise him. He is a goner. A life that could potentially have been much more happy and successful.
Best