Child B is a girl, born November 25, 1912. She was discovered in a private school in the course of a systematic survey made by Dr. E. H. Malherbe, who was at the time a graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. To Dr. Malherbe the present writer is indebted for introduction to this child, and also for data on first tests as well as for other information.
Child B is descended from colonial settlers in this country. Her ancestors came chiefly from the British Isles, as set forth in her family history. Her parents are not related by blood so far as can be known.
The paternal grandfather was of English descent; the paternal grandmother of Irish descent. No dependent or incompetent relatives of the father are known. All are self-sustaining.
The maternal grandfather was of Irish-Spanish blood. The maternal grandmother was of Irish descent. No incompetent or dependent relatives are known.
Father. Child B's father was born in Vermont and was 42 years old when B was born. He is a high school graduate and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He passed the entrance examinations for the latter institution at the age of 16 years and was at that time the youngest student ever admitted to the Academy. He has held posts of extraordinary trust in the pursuit of his profession, and is at the time of this writing an officer of high rank in the United States Army.
Mother. Child B's mother is a graduate of a Catholic parochial high school and of the College of Mount St. Vincent. She was married at an early age and her career has been that of housewife and mother, no profession having been followed previous to marriage. Although she is the mother of seven children and mistress of a large household, B's mother found time to attend courses in law and economics at Columbia University while the family lived in New York. She was 39 years old when B was born.
Noteworthy relatives. Relatives of note in the paternal branch include B's great-grandfather, who was a physician, founder of the Vermont Academy of Medicine in the early years of the nineteenth century, and a professor of surgery there. There are also among relatives an admiral of the United States Navy, [1] a physician of wide reputation, a commander of the United States Navy, [2] and a practical tin- and coppersmith who was an inventor. This family branch as a whole finds its average level of achievement in the professions.
The maternal branch includes a woman of extraordinary business ability, a priest who was a scholar and organizer of marked ability, and a mining engineer of unusual achievement. The performance level of the family lies, on the average, in business and the professions.
Immediate family. B is the sixth born of seven siblings. Of these children, two—the brother born two years before B and the brother born five years after B—have had mental tests. The older brother was measured in the course of the mental survey made by Dr. Malherbe. His IQ (S-B) at the age of 10 years 6 months was 167. This is not a full measure of his brother, as he passed many tests at the highest levels of performance provided by the scale. A still older brother passed the entrance examinations for the Columbia College, from which may be inferred intelligence above the average. The younger brother's IQ (S-B) at the age of 6 years 10 months was 138.
The preschool history of B has been elicited from the parents. She cut her first tooth at 7 months. She began to talk at 9 months of age and to walk at 15 months. As soon as she was able to walk out with her nurse or her mother, at about the age of 24 months, B began to notice the letters on billboards and to spell out words. By the time she was in the third year of life she could read fluently in simple books. (The brother whose IQ is referred to above as 167 did not read until he was about 4 years 6 months of age.)
B has always attended private schools. She began her school life in kindergarten, at the age of 3 years, and attended the same school until the age of nearly 9 years. At the age of 8 years 4 months she had reached only the fourth grade, whereas in the battery of educational tests given as a part of the school survey she passed at that age the seventh-grade standards for public schools.
In appraising the great discrepancy between school progress and ability in this case, it is necessary to bear in mind that children in some private schools are highly selected as regards intellect. The median IQ in this particular school was shown by the survey to be much above 100; so that B was not so hopelessly misplaced in the fourth grade there as would have been the case had she attended public school. The fact of competition with selected children reduces the discrepancy, although it is still very great.
At the age of 8 years 9 months, B entered a private school in Washington, D. C. Here she was placed in the sixth grade, "skipping" the fifth grade. Her school reports have always been very excellent, "almost always E in every subject."
In the autumn of 1922 B entered the seventh grade, aged 9 years 9 months. She was the youngest pupil in a class of about 20 children, and held first rank. "She leads in every regular subject except catechism, geography, and history." B "likes all subjects except catechism, giving first place, at the age of 9 years, to arithmetic. Her school marks for 1922-1923 are as follows, the marks indicating as is usual: 100, perfect; 90, very good; 80, good; 70, fair; 60, deficient."
SUBJECT 1922 1922 1923 1923Oct. 31 Dec. 15 Jan. 31 Mar. 27Catechism 95 90 80 94Grammar 92 94 85 90Composition 87 88 85Spelling 93 95 100 98Letter writing 85 85 80American history 85 80 88 90Geography 94 87 90 94Arithmetic 90 90 100 90Oral French 95 95 96 95Penmanship D C 75Reading 90 91 85Choral singing 80 80 95Drawing 90 90 90Plain sewing 80 85 85Rules of observance 90 100 97 94Bible history 94 90 86 93
At the age of 11 years B entered high school and is doing good work there, but without much stimulus of competition, as there are but a few pupils in her grade.
Unlike several of the children who have an IQ of more than 180, B has never been a school problem. She has always been a "good mixer" with children of her school grade, and has taken part in their activities. Being a very large, strong child, she has not been so much "out of it" in motor skill as to be conspicuous among older schoolmates. As evidences of unusual manual dexterity the following may be mentioned: at the age of 5 years B knitted on steel needles a pair of socks which were worn by her little brother; at 6 years she made edible rice puddings; at 7 years of age she made cookies.
No one among parents and teachers has mentioned any character trait considered faulty. The virtues most frequently mentioned and emphasized are modesty, reliability, self-direction, poise, good humor, amiability, and "being a good sport."
It is remarkable that no adverse comments have been offered by any of B's teachers. All teachers have rated B high in character and intellect. The chief error in judgment lies in not ranking her as high as she really stands. This error arises partly from the fact that teachers in the private schools B attended deal with selected children whom they may come to think of as representing the average of child ability. The judgments of B's teachers may be quoted as follows:
Remembered in our kindergarten chiefly for her vivid imagination.From the head mistress of the school.
One of the most popular children in the school.From a teacher.
It is some time since I had B as a pupil, but I am glad to tell you my impressions of the child as I remember her.
She was a very quiet, unassuming member of the class. She had remarkable powers of concentration, always finished her work well in advance of the others and then found work for herself until the class was ready to go on with a new subject.
With the children in both work and play she made no effort to lead them, and although they recognized the fact that her work was superior to theirs, they showed no resentment toward B because she never made them feel her superiority.
B showed a mental poise that I have rarely, if ever, found in a child. It was not so much a matter of a sudden keen grasp of a subject, which might or might not be permanent. She seemed to have the power, which is usually met only in mature minds, of weighing, reasoning, and then placing for permanent use the matter with which she was dealing. [3]
Always B appealed to me as a normal child, with unusual mental poise. She was not at all uncanny or tiresomely intelligent.From a former classroom teacher.
Measurements of general intelligence of B have been made as follows:
DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD ARMY ALPHAAGE -BINET POINTSOF B MA IQ B NormMar. 3, 1921 8-3 15-8 189Apr. 8, 1922 9-4 17-6 188 84 (Form 5) 0Dec. 29, 1924 12-1 142 (Form 5)
B was measured at the age of 9 years 4 months and again at the age of 12 years 1 month, in light indoor clothing, with the following results:
Height and weight.
DATE WT. (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.)B Norm [4] B Norm [5]April 8, 1922 106.0 61.5 56.0 52.0December 29, 1924 123.0 82.8 61.6 57.7
HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF. CRANIAL CIR. (IN.)B Norm [5] B Norm B56.0 52.0 1.88 1.18 22.461.6 57.7 1.99 1.44 22.5
B greatly surpasses Badlwin's norms (making the usual allowance for heels and clothing).
Grip measurements. Measured with Smedley's dynamometer, B's hand grip scores as follows:
DATE GRIP (KG.)Right Hand Left HandApril 8, 1922 13.0 11.0December 29, 1924 20.0 18.0
Superior size is therefore accompanied by superior strength.
Diversions. At the age of 9 years B listed her favorite diversions thus: "All sorts of outdoor games; then reading; then drawing; then playing with dolls, sometimes."
Imaginary land. "When I was 8 years old my imaginary countries were generally of grownupness, where I figured as chief actress and queen."
Career ideas. At the age of 9 years B was asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" B responded promptly, "A doctor." Then she added, "I will learn to sing, too. Perhaps I'll sing to the patients. There are so many things to do. I'll try to combine several things." Now, at the age of 12 [[1925]], she is ambitious to become "a celebrated authoress, actress, artist, and musician."
Reading interests. When asked how many books she had read (April 8, 1922), B replied, "Oh, hundreds and hundreds. We have plenty of books." It is characteristic of her that she reads over and over again a book that especially pleases her. Thus she had read nearly all of Louisa Alcott's books twice each, and had readLady Luck—at that date her favorite book—several times. She had read a great many books written for boys, and remarked, in trying to describe her preferences, "I like boys' books best. They have more in them than girls' books."
Tendency to organize other children. B is the only one of the children here reported who shows any success or interest in leading or organizing fellow children. She organizes "clubs" and games. When shown the Civil War code, in the course of mental tests, she remarked, "I must remember that, for it will be fine for my Clip-Clap-Club."
[1] Rear Admiral John W. Phillip. (Callahan, E. W.List of Officers of the United States Navy and of the Marine Corps.Hamersley & Co., New York; 1901.)
[2] Commander E. T. Woodward.
[3] At this time B's intelligence was about that of the average adult, according to mental tests, though the teacher made this comment without having that knowledge.
[4] Baldwin's norms for children 9 years 6 months old. [Transcriber's note: The second row is clearly from a different, and likely the corresponding, age norm].
[5] Without shoes.
Child C is a boy, born June 15, 1913. He was brought to the writer's attention by the principal of Public School 157, Manhattan, who wrote as follows, requesting an examination in the laboratory at Teachers College, Columbia University:
I have in the 5A grade of this school a boy . . . who seems to be somewhat of an infant prodigy. His verbal memory, especially, is phenomenal, but he is underdeveloped on the physical side, takes no interest in Manual Work, and does not like to play with other children.
Child C is descended, in both lines, from German Jews. His parents are not related by blood.
The paternal grandfather was a successful businessman. The paternal grandmother was a competent housewife. A paternal uncle is a judge in New York City. No incompetent relative in this branch is known; on the other hand, there is no one of great eminence.
On the maternal side, one of C's mother's brothers is a physician, a cousin is a writer, and another cousin is a judge. No incompetent relatives are known in this branch.
Father. C's father is an accountant. He did not graduate from elementary school but went to work at an early age. He was 40 years old when C was born.
Mother. C's mother is a high school graduate. She was 35 years old when C was born. She is a housewife, and had no paid occupation before marriage. C is an only child, never having had any siblings.
The following information was gathered from C's mother. The child cut his first tooth at the age of 9 months. He began to walk at the age of 1 year 3 months, and to talk fluently at the age of 1 year 4 months. He learned to read almost as soon as he talked, and at the age of 3 years could read simple matter.
When he was 4 years old, C went one day into a store with his father. While the latter was making his purchases the child took a book from the shelf and began to scan it. The shopkeeper noticed the child looking attentively at the book and said, for a joke, "Boy, if you will read me that book, I'll give it to you." Instantly C began to read fluently and carried the book away from the astonished merchant.
On another occasion, when he was about 5 years old, a woman noticed C searching about the house and said to him, "Are you hungry?" His reply was, "Yes, I'm hungry for a book."
Apparently C has never had an imaginary land. His favorite recreation has always been reading.
C's school life began at the age of 6 years. He did not attend kindergarten. His teachers recognized him as "out of the ordinary"—but not in any appreciative way. They thought him "queer" and "odd." In spite of perfect work, he was advanced only a little more than the usual rate, being placed in Grade 5B at the age of 9 years 5 months. His obvious misplacement and unhappiness here caused the principal of the school to seek advice regarding C's education.
After mental tests had revealed the mental level of a superior adult, C was invited to enter the Special Opportunity Class then just organized at Public School 165, Manhattan. Here he was associated with twenty-five classmates of his own age whose IQ's ranged from 150 to 175, the median of the group being about 164 IQ.
In this class C gradually became adjusted to the work in such a way that at the end of the school year (1923), when asked whether he would prefer to stay in the Special Opportunity Class or go on to high school, he unhesitatingly chose to stay with the special class. "It will be more interesting," he said. He therefore finished elementary school at the age of 12 years, although at 10 he was judged by his teachers to be fully prepared in knowledge to enter senior high school. There is no doubt that he could have been made ready to enter college at the age of 12 years.
When asked at the age of 9 what he would be when he grew up, the following conversation took place:
Q. What do you think is the most interesting vocation? Whatwould you like to be when you grow up?A. Well, the answer to those two questions is not the same one.Q. Then tell us first what you think is the most interestingvocation.A. Science, especially astronomy.Q. And what vocation would you like to follow when you growup?A. To be a medical doctor.Q. But why not be what is most interesting?A. Because a person cannot make much money being an astronomer.I never heard of anyone at the Lick Observatory earningfifty thousand dollars a year.Q. But do medical doctors earn fifty thousand dollars a year?A. It is possible for one to do it. Some of them do.Q. Do you think being a medical doctor is the most lucrativeoccupation?A. No. It would be more lucrative to get into Standard Oil.Q. Then why not go into Standard Oil?A. Because it isn't so interesting as being a medical doctor.Q. Which is the more useful occupation—medical doctor orastronomer?A. Medical doctor. Because a man does not care much for ablazing star a million miles away if his wife is sick. Anyonecares more for apersontwo feet away than for athingatrillion miles away.
The ambition to become a medical doctor has persisted for three years and gives an impression of permanency. [1]
Scores of anecdotes could be cited to illustrate the interests and the fine intelligence of this boy. In walking through the halls of the college with him, on one occasion when he had come for a mental test, the present writer saw what seemed to be an exhibition of Chinese costumes in a glass case, and called C's attention to it, saying, "Look at this exhibition of Chinese work." C looked closely at the exhibit for several moments without comment, and then said, "Well, I believe it is Japanese work, isn't it?" He then proceeded to point out certain minute differences which are found between the work of Japanese and Chinese and which were later verified by an authority on the subject.
When he went with his class to visit a new high school building in the city, he was missed as the others began to move from one corridor to another. After search, he was found in the chemical laboratory copying in a notebook the names of all the chemicals in the bottles as they appeared on the labels.
In the Opportunity Class C was appreciated by these children of more than 150 IQ as he had never been by the unselected children in the regular classes. They recognized his encyclopedic knowledge and respected it. They eventually elected him to two posts of responsibility among them. These were totally new experiences for C.
Another new experience for the boy was that of being equaled by another child in an intellectual performance. Although C led the special class in marks, as would be expected, he was nevertheless occasionally equaled or surpassed in one or two subjects in the month's record. He learned for the first time how to adjust himself to successful competitors in his own particular field.
A few faulty character traits in C have been noted by teachers. One teacher said, "He is somewhat of a prig." This impression appears to have been based partly on his lack of desire to play with children of his own age and partly on his use of "long words." Soon after C entered the Special Opportunity Class for gifted children, another boy equaled him in an assignment and put out his hand to C, saying cordially, "Let's shake." C had never had the experience of being equaled by a fellow pupil and he turned away, refusing to shake hands. However, he has now learned to react most cordially to those who equal him, though he bitterly dislikes to be equaled or passed in mental work.
Never in any sense a leader or guide among the unselected children of the school from which he came, C was soon elected to the position of monitor by the children of median IQ 164. They were heard to say: "C is just; C can make us behave." One child (IQ 164) exclaimed in admiration, "C knowseverything."
On the other hand, C arouses some feelings of jealousy and antagonism as well as admiration because he does not hesitate to contradict erroneous statements or to rectify imperfections in what others say or do. He is not very tactful in human relationships.
The virtues most frequently ascribed to C by those who know him well are reliability, honesty, bravery, and loyalty. He is a stickler for the exact; no statement is right unless it is exactly right. It is easy to see how this trait might antagonize average children of C's age, and even teachers and others in authority.
Measurements of general intelligence of C have been made as follows:
DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD-BINET ARMY ALPHA POINTSAGE OF C MA IQ On October 30, 1922,Sept. 26, 1922 9-3 17-7 190 he scored 146 pointsApril 18, 1923 9-10 18-6 188 (Form 9)
Measurements of C's physique have been made as follows:
DATE WT. HT. CRANIAL(LBS.) (STAND., IN.) CIR. (IN.)Sept. 26, 1923 60.5 53.9 . . .Jan. 8, 1924 . . . . . . 20.7
C is one of the few of the bright children studied who does not exceed Baldwin's norms in physique. However, at the age of 11 years 7 months he was 57 inches tall and weighed 69.9 pounds. His appetite for food has never been very satisfactory, but in spite of this his general health has been good.
The author's original write-up of Child C terminated at this point, in 1923. But during the following 16 years she remained in constant contact with C, interviewing him and testing him periodically, and in many ways sponsoring his secondary, collegiate, and professional education. Many pages of these records are in her files, accompanied by collections of C's work, newspaper notices, correspondence, photographs, and data from further interviews with the parents. It seems best to summarize these records chronologically, and with some brevity, since it would not be at all feasible to reproduce the material in full.
October 15, 1923
C filled out an "Interest Blank" at P. S. 165, Manhattan, where he was then in the eighth grade, at the age of 10 years 4 months. He was at this time, or had been, class monitor and editor of the class paper. "Likes and dislikes" were expressed, strongest "preference" of subjects, and judgment of "what is easiest."
Liked very muchwere literature, reading, spelling, mathematics, French, games and sports, and geography.
Most dislikedwere painting, water colors, etc.; penmanship; composition.
"Easiest" and also "best liked" was English literature.
Preferred kind of readingwas encyclopedias, biography, current events, and history.
Things most like to dowere studying, general reading, sedentary games, playing alone.
Most disliked things to dowere using tools or working with apparatus and machinery, drawing, dancing, practicing music.
[[This dislike for manual activities remained with C. In later years, although his drawings in science courses were admirable, he made an unsatisfactory laboratory assistant when set to using the typewriter or mimeograph, or to drawing graphs and charts not for his own use.]]
FIG. 2. A SKETCH BY c.
[The sketch is a bit of a doodle, headed by the word "GOSSIP," followed by the first row, which begins with a pair of shoes set toe-to-toe (the phrase, "OF SHOES" is set to the right of them), and a large steam ship ("AND SHIPS", to the left). The next row consists of a stick of wax (labeled "WAX", with "AND SEALING WAX" above it). The last row beings with an open head of cabbage ("AND CABBAGES" to the right), and has a crown at the end ("AND KINGS", is set to the left of it).]
[This figure shows two biological diagrams of what appears to be a cross-section of the mucus membrane of the esophagus. The following regions of the first are labeled (in descending order): tunica mucosa; tela submucosa; tunica muscularis; and tunica adventitia. The following areas of these regions are labeled (also in descending order): papilla of tunica propria; epitheum, tunica propria; lamina muscularis mucosae; ducts of deep oesophageal gland; blood vesses of submucuous layer; portion of myenteric plexus, showing ganglion cells; smooth muscle; striated muscle; and branch of vagus nerve. It conforms with modern diagrams of the esophagus.]
[The second diagram appears to be a cross-section of the intestinal wall, and is horizontally oriented. The left region is labeled "gastric pit," and the right region, "Tubule of gland." Areas of the left region are labeled "Lumen," "Mucus (goblet) epithelial cells," and "Tunica propria." The right region has labels of "parietal cells," "chief cells" and also a separate cross-sectional picture labeled "tubule cut transversely." It conforms with modern diagrams of this area of the intestinal wall.]
February, 1924
At this time the Special Opportunity Class teacher (P. S. 165, Manhattan) rated C, on a school information blank, for a long array of "physical, mental, social, and moral traits," using a 7-step rating scale (1 being the highest scale).
Ratings of 1 were given for—
Truthfulness Common senseDesire to know General intelligenceOriginality
Ratings of 2 or 3 were given for—
Prudence and forethought ConscientiousnessSelf-confidence Permanency of moodsWill power and persever- Desire to excelance Cheerfulness and optimismFreedom from vanity and Leadershipegotism Sensitiveness to approval orSympathy and tenderness disapproval
Ratings of below 3 (average or below) were given for—
Health Fondness for large groupsPhysical energy Popularity with other childrenMusical appreciation Generosity and unselfishnessAppreciation of beauty Mechanical ingenuitySense of humor
September 15, 1924
At this time the author (L. S. H.), who had known C for two years, independently rated him on this same array of traits by the same rating scale technique.
Ratings of 1 were given for—
Prudence and forethought Sympathy and tendernessSelf-confidence ConscientiousnessWill power and persever- Truthfulnessance Desire to knowAppreciation of beauty OriginalitySense of humor Common senseDesire to excel General intelligence
Ratings of 2 or 3 were given for—
Cheerfulness and optimism Sensitiveness to approval orPermanency of moods disapprovalLeadership Freedom from vanity or ego-Popularity with other chil- tismdren Mechanical ingenuity
Ratings of below 3 (average or less) were given for—
Health Generosity and unselfishnessPhysical energy Fondness for large groupsMusical appreciation
The only striking differences between the two sets of ratings are in sense of humor and appreciation of beauty, in which C was rated low by the teacher and high by the author. It appears to the Editor, who also has a more or less intimate acquaintance with C, that a composite of these ratings, made when the child was 11 years old, gave an adequate portrayal of him as an adult of 27.
April 18, 1925
At the age of 11 years 10 months, C was again given the Stanford-Binet examination by L. S. H. His score was 18 years 6 months, and he was recorded as being "no longer measured" by this test.
January 16, 1926
At this time C was in a private high school, being then 12 years 7 months old.
On these data his score in Army Alpha (Form 5) was 195 points.
He was given an early form of the IER Test for Superior Adults, CAVD, and the score is given as 43.5 (perhaps this should be 435). The comment of the scorer in the Institute of Educational Research was: "This puts the boy well into the college graduate class. He excels about 75 per cent of the Yale Law freshmen."
January 26, 1927
C was now age 13 years 7 months, and he was in the second year of high school.
He was given the IER Scale CAVD for Superior Adults in two installments, beginning January 30 and finishing February 13. The score was 435 points, and the comment is, "As good as best Yale Law School freshmen and as high as top 4 per cent to 5 per cent of Teachers College candidates for M. A. degree."
Also in January, 1927, in the psychological laboratory of Barnard College, C was given by the present Editor an array of tests for which norms were available for Barnard freshmen, from the work of F. E. Carothers (Psychological Examination of College Students). The scores made are in the following tabulation expressed in terms of the PE of the distribution of 100 Barnard freshmen.
SCORES MADE BY C AT AGE of 13 YEARS 7 MONTHS IN TERMS OF PE OFDISTRIBUTION OF 100 BARNARD FRESHMEN
Unless otherwise indicated, the score is "plus."
TEST C's SCORE
Word Building (AEIRLP) 3.22 PECompletion (Trabue A) 3.09Directions (Woodworth-Wells) 2.78Word Recall (Mulhall) 2.72Analogies (Woodworth-Wells) 1.66Logical Recall (Proverbs) 0.49Naming Opposites (Woodworth-Wells) 0.16Substitution (Digit-Form) 0.07Color Naming (Woodworth-Wells) -0.06Cancellation (Digits) -0.15Word Recognition (Mulhall) -0.27Logical Recognition (Proverbs) -0.64Number Checking -0.81Verb-Object Associations -0.86
On those of the above subtests most nearly like the content of present general intelligence examinations, C is clearly above the standard for the freshmen group, being in fact at the very top of the list, about 3 PE above average.
Most of the things on which C scored (slightly) below average are simple and more or less mechanical. This result may perhaps be confirmed by his score in Stenquist Assembling Test, Series I, given on the same day. His T-score was 58, placing him only a little above average (67th centile) among 13-year-old children. It will be recalled that C was uniformly rated low in "mechanical ability" and also expressed a lack of interest in "working with machinery."
On this day C was also given the Rosanoff High Standard Frequency Test (Word Association) based on Class A words only. The available standards (Rosanoff) and also C's score are given in the following:
Fifth grade, total value 15First year high school 100First year college 375Master's degree 600Starred men of science 800C's score 823
August 23, 1931
At the age of 18 years 2 months, C was in his third year of college(Columbia). On this date he was again given IER IntelligenceScale CAVD, Levels M, N, O, P, Q, and his score was 446 points,which is as high as any score recorded on this scale.
December 26, 1932
At the age of 19 years 6 months, in the fourth year of college, C scored 210 points on Army Alpha, Form 8, a score equaled only by the top 1 per cent of college seniors.
Subsequent to the Special Opportunity Class, in 1923, in P. S. 165, Manhattan, C completed his high school work, first in a private school and later in a public high school (George Washington) in New York City. During these years he received various academic honors and prizes, or medals, for proficiency.
In the high school from which he was graduated in 1929, he was vice-president of the French Club. He won a city-wide contest in French composition, for which he received a medal. He was elected to Arista, the high school honor society, and ranked third in his class upon graduation, with an average grade of 94 (the two better were 96 and 94.5). In connection with his high school work he was awarded a state scholarship of $150.
Upon graduating from high school, C applied for and competed for a Pulitzer scholarship, and he was awarded a scholarship as the highest-ranking boy among the competitors. This enabled him to enter Columbia College, to which he was admitted in 1929.
He was graduated from Columbia, taking the premedical course, in 1933, being elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During the previous year he also won a current events contest conducted by a metropolitan newspaper, with a prize of $150.
C was admitted to the New York University Medical College, from which he was graduated with the degree of M.D. He is now (1940) serving his internship in hospitals in New York City.
[1] C is now, 17 years after the recording of this comment, engaged in the profession of medicine. EDITOR
Child D is a boy, born March 9, 1910. [1] He was first described by Terman, who tested him in 1917. D, like E, was brought to the attention of the writer by the principal of the Horace Mann Kindergarten (Teachers College, Columbia University) as being a child of remarkable endowment. He was at that time 7 years 4 months old and had a Mental Age of 13 years 7 months, with an IQ of 184 (S-B).
D is descended from Russian Jews in the paternal branch and fromEnglish Jews in the maternal branch.
Father. D's father immigrated to America at an early age. He is a high school graduate and was a student of engineering but abandoned these studies in the third year to do newspaper work, and later entered the advertising business in a large city. His leisure is spent in writing, and he has published a number of books, including three novels and a philosophical drama dealing with religion. His first book, a novel, was published when he was 21 years old. He was 28 when D was born.
Mother. D's mother went to school for only a few weeks and has been largely self-taught. Before marriage she was statistician and registrar in a large philanthropic organization. She has published stories, reviews, and poems, and a book on education. She has always taken part personally in the education of D. She was 26 years old when D was born. D is an only child.
Noteworthy relatives. Noteworthy relatives beyond the first degree of kinship include the following: a chief rabbi of Moscow, who was exiled for aiding the Nihilists; a distinguished lawyer; a man who by his own efforts became a millionaire; a concert pianist; a composer and virtuoso; a writer; and "a relative decorated for science in Poland."
The maternal great-grandfather was a famous rabbi who compiled and published a Jewish calendar covering a period of 414 years. This calendar contains, in regular order, the exact period of every new moon's appearance, the sabbaths, festivals with scriptural portions for each, and the equinoxes of the solar year according to the prescribed and authorized Jewish laws and corresponding to dates in the common era. The tabulations have been carefully compiled from various works of ancient rabbinical astronomers, with annotations in Hebrew and English.
This rabbi was also the great-grandfother of the four first cousins of D, whose intelligence quotients have been taken, and who rated 156, 150, 130, and 122, respectively. A second cousin in the maternal line yielded at the age of 6 years an IQ of 157.
D cut his first tooth at 4 months of age. He could say words at 8 months and talked in sentences at 11 months. In November, 1910 (8 months), he said "little boy" when his shadow appeared on the wall. D could stand, holding to chairs, at 9 months of age, and he walked alone at 11 to 12 months. At the age of 18 months, while sitting on his mother's lap as she sat before a typewriter, he learned to read by looking at the letters. The records kept by the mother indicate that he "learned to read and count in 1911." One such record reads, "October 11, counts all day long."
At 8 months of age D strung in succession 5 yellow and 5 red balls and then began on blue, when the activity was interrupted. In March, 1912, he was using words to express relationships, such as "will" and "shall" (correctly), "but," "and," "my," "mine." At 2 years 6 months his vocabulary (incomplete) was 1690 words.
D's earliest memory goes back to 2 years of age, when he saw a rat and thought it was "a little brownie." An example of the quality of the questions asked by D in the first 36 months of life is one he asked in October, 1911 (19 months): "Has every door two knobs?" "Why?" His mother reports: "He was always asking unexpected questions."
This child was not placed in school at the usual age because he did not fit into the school organization. At the time he should have entered kindergarten D could read fluently and could perform complicated arithmetical processes. His intellectual interests were far beyond those of even the highly selected children of a private kindergarten. Therefore, his parents kept him out of school and obtained the companionship of other children for him by sending him to a playground.
D was first seen by the present writer [[L. S. H.]] while he was attending this playground, in the year 1916-1917. It is very interesting to note how D made social contacts with the other children while pursuing his own interests. For instance, he published a playground newspaper called "The Weekly Post." [2] He composted, edited, and typed this paper, issued at intervals, and it had a regular playground circulation.
No faulty traits of character have been ascribed to D by parents or teachers interviewed. He was rated for character by Terman's method under Terman's direction, with a result of 1.93 from parents' estimates and 1.90 from teachers' estimates (the median score, for comparison with average children, being 3.00). D is thus rated by parents and teachers alike as well above the average in character. The desirable traits most often mentioned are refusal to lie, loyalty to standards once adopted, readiness to admit just criticisms, unselfishness, and amiability.
General intelligence tests of D show the following results:
DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD- ARMY ALPHA THORNDIKE TESTAGE BINET POINTS FOR FRESHMENOF D (POINTS)MA IQ D Norm D Norm
Aug., 1917, 7-4 13-7 184Jan. 29, 1921 10-11 Passed all 185 —for Super. (Form 5)June, 1922 12-3 Adult. 106 70-80
It is thus seen how greatly D suprasses the average child in mental tests. In the five years which have elapsed since D's first test there has been no tendencey to become mediocre. At the age of 7 years he showed an IQ of 184; at the age of 11 years he exceeded by a wide margin on Army Alpha the median score for postgraduate students in first-rate universities; at 12 years he far exceeded the median score of college freshmen on Thorndike's test for that group. The validity of these scores is consistently borne out by the school history.
The following measurements, as of May, 1922, were made in the gymnasium of the high school attended by D: [3]
WEIGHT (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF.D NORM D NORM D NORM76.0 82.8 64.0 57.7 1.19 1.44
D's health has always been excellent and no physical defects are known to his parents. He is rated as very stable nervously. His slenderness has been rated as a defect by one examiner; although he greatly exceeds the norm in height, he falls below in weight. He is therefore very tall and slender in appearance, which is characteristic of his father and uncles.
Diversions. At the age of 7 years D's favorite amusements were skating, "Mechano," reading, playing ball, writing, tabulating, solitaire, chess, and numerical calculation in all its forms. As development has proceeded, he has continued most of these recreations, turning more and more, however, to games of intellectual skill. He likes other children and likes to be with them; he has established relations with them by editing newspapers for them, teaching them about nature, and the like. Play in the sense of mere purposeless sensorimotor activity has not been enjoyed by him.
Imaginary land. From the age of about 4 years to about the age of 7, D was greatly interested in an imaginary land which he called "Borningtown." He spent many hours peopling Borningtown, laying out roads, drawing maps of its terrain, composing and recording its language (Bornish), and writing its history and literature. He composed a lengthy dictionary—scores of pages—of the Bornish language. The origin of the words "Borningtown" and "Bornish" is not known. It seems possible that D's imaginary land may have arisen out of the mystery of being born.
Gift for music. D has had piano lessons for several years, and he has displayed remarkable ability to deal with the mathematical aspects of music. A sample is shown of his musical composition, illustrating his understanding of musical symbols and his ability to interpret through this medium. He composed music before he had any instruction in playing musical instruments. He read certain booklets which came with Ampico and decided to compose. He can compose music which he cannot himself play.
[The composition is titled "Op. 1, Dog's Dance," in A Major, with a "Tempo 75," "Moderato," in 8/8 time. The composition is marked by 16th-note flourishes, eighth-note triplets, each stave occasionally briefly changing from their original clef to opposite clef (e.g., from treble to bass clef or vice versa) and back again, a dedication ("Dedicaded [sic] to 'Brutus' my aunt's dog,"), and the following directions to the pianist, mirroring the dog's activity, appearing under the bass clef: "Asleep" (1st measure), "Bell rings" (2nd measure), "Gets up" and "barks" (3rd measure) "scampers" (4th measure), "scampers back" (6th measure), "rests" (measures 7 & 8), "Hears footsteps" (9th measure), "trots" (end of 10th measure), "Ball is thrown" and "Scampers after it" (11th measure), "Ball stops" (13th measure), "He foosle-woosles it" (14th measure), "Trots back" and "Drops it" (15th measure), "Regrets it" and "Trots" (16th measure), and "Drops it" (17th measure). There are very few errors in notation for a hand-written composition of this complexity; the errors that are made appear to be simple oversights, such as using quarter-notes in a triplet instead of eighth notes, using a half note when only a quarter beat remains in the measure, and the like.]
Gifts for form and color in drawing. D's talent for color, for drawing and design, has been marked from the time he could wield a pencil. His drawings, paintings, and designs would fill a book by themselves. A sample of his original work at the age of 10 years is reproduced.
[This is a drawing of a small bird. The beak is somewhat elongated, the legs straight, and the eye quite large, appearing similar to simplified / stylized animals on a crest.]
This conventionalized bird is a fragment from his decoration for the chest in which he kept his "scientific work" at that time. This oblong chest he painted Chinese red, with three figures on the front. These were the conventionalized bird here shown, a conventionalized nest with eggs, and a conventionalized butterfly— all painted in striking combinations of yellow, blue, green, and red.
D loves color, and one of his favorite playthings has been a sample folder of silk buttonhole twists of three hundred shades. Between the ages of 8 and 9 years he would go over and over these, classifying the colors in various ways, scoring them for beauty, and renaming them to satisfy his appreciation of them. Some of these names will give an idea of his appreciation:
spotted pale dark darking green darkling green regular green shame blue paper white spoiled pink apron blue soft light pink beau yellow meadow beauty pink visitor's green cat black alien white royalest red feeling blue
One of his favorite games (aged 8 to 9 years) was to assign a numerical value to each of the 300 shades and then to list them for "highest honors." "Royalest red" nearly always won in these contests.
Origination of new concepts and new words. From earliest childhood D has felt a need for concepts and for words to express them that are not to be found in dictionaries. His occupation in this field he calls "wordical work." Some examples are recorded by his mother in the following note dated December, 1916.
Was having his dinner and being nearly finished said he didn't care to eat any more, as he had a pain in his actum pelopthis. He explained that his actum pelopthis, actum quotatus, serbalopsis, and boobalicta are parts of the body where you sometimes have queer feelings; they don't serve any purpose. He said he also had a place called the boobalunksis, or source of headaches; that the hair usually springs out from around the herkadone; that the perpalensis is the place where socks end, and the bogalegus is the place where legs and tummy come together. He also named one other part, the cobaliscus or smerbalooble, whose function is not explained. The definitions are exactly as he gave them in each instance.
On February 23, 1917, his mother wrote:
He has not referred to these places since. I do not know where he got the idea for such names, unless possibly fromThe Water Babies. He would probably refer them to some Bornish source.
The invention and classification of the Bornish language already referred to is another example of D's "wordical work." He has also invented hundreds of words which have not been included as Bornish. An example of his hand-writing, illustrative of words he has invented, classified, and recorded for pleasure, is here shown.
[The word defined is written as "Ob(b)iquicki(e)us" (the "e" is circled, perhaps suggesting a later revision to combine the "o" and "e") The definition which follows is: "Obiquickeous is a cube sensibilitant word. One of the most important words. It is an adj. and a noun."]
Invention of games. D has invented many games. To illustrate this aspect of his mental capacity, there are his designs for three-handed and four-handed checkers. [4] D held that these would be better games than two-handed checkers because they are more complicated. A description of the games invented by D, together with his mathematical calculations concerning the chances and probabilities in each, would fill many pages.
Calculation and mathematical ingenuity. It is difficult to say that D is more gifted in one mental function or group of functions than in others, for his ability is so extraordinary in all performances that without means of measurement one cannot tell in which he deviates farthest from the average.
However, it is to be observed that the quantitative aspects of experience have always played a very striking role in all his performances. Even in dealing with color he turned to mathematics and made his values quantitative. Throughout childhood he spent hours playing with numerical relationships. These calculations cover hundreds of pages. There is reproduced here a sample of such work, chosen at random from scores of like material. There is no doubt in the mind of the present writer [[L. S. H.]] that D could, by practice with short-cut methods, easily become a lightning calculator. By age of 12 years D had finished college entrance requirements in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, all with high marks.
FIG. 7. Playing with numbers, Child D, age 7, to find what number under 100 has the greatest number of factors, counts up factors in each and awards "highest honors" to 96.
[This figure lists the numbers 86-100, and shows the numbers factored. The winning numbers he included are 96 (6 [factors]), 48 (5), 24 (4), and 16 (4). It appears that he ranked the "winning" numbers not according to the actual numbers of the places (i.e., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places), but rather by the order of the primes representing them, i.e., 2 is first place, 3 is second place, 5 third, and 7 fourth. Additionally, the notes "H. C. F" and "L C. M." are to the left of the 96 and 16, respectively, likely indicating "highest common factor" and "lowest common multiple" of the factors of the "winning" numbers.]
Tendency to classify and diagram. To classify the data of experience has always been one of D's chief interests. One such tabulation was of parts of speech in various stories and poems. [5] Figure 8 is a sample taken from many pages of reclassification of birds. The caption, "Proper Scientific Name," represents the name considered by D to be better than those now recognized by ornithologists. His classifications of words, numbers, colors, musical notes, objects, and so forth would fill a large volume. He often constructs diagrams to clarify or condense meaning.
FIG. 8. A SAMPLE OF D'S CLASSIFICATIONS[PART 1 OF 2, Columns 1-3].
Classification of birds seen in summer 1918. Classified in Feb.,1919. "Proper Scientific Name" is the improved name given by D—.
Found Name Genus or, ScientificHere (Popular) [Species,] etc. N a m e
* Towhee Species ErythopthalmusX Wh.-eyed towhee Sub-Species E. AlleniX Green-tailed " Genus OreospizaX Blue Grosbeak Species Caerulea* Indigo Bunting " CyaneaX Painted " " CirisX Lark Bunting " CalamospizaMelanocorys* Barn Swallow " Erythrogastra* Tree " Genus Iridoprocne* Red-eyed Vireo Species OlivaceaWood Warblers Family Mniotiltidae* Black & WhiteWarbler Species Varia* Yellow Warbler Species Astiva* Sh.-BilledMarsh Wren Genus Cistothorus* Red-br. Nuthatch Species Canadensis
FIG. 8. A SAMPLE OF D'S CLASSIFICATIONS[PART 2 OF 2, Columns 1-4 ("Scientific name" repeated)].
Scientific Name Proper Scientific name Equal
Erythopthalmus Pipilo Eryth. **?E. Alleni P. Leucophtalmus ***Oreospiza Pipilo **?Caerulea Cyanea ***Cyanea Caerulea ***Ciris Pictus **?Calamospiza Melanocorys Melanospiza Leucoptera ***Erythrogastra Leucurus ***Iridoprocne Hirundo ***Olivacea Erythropthalmus YesMniotiltidae Dendroicidae **?Varia Striata **?Astiva Xantho or Auro YesCistothorus Telmatotytes ?Canadensis Borealis Yes[no previous columns] Erythrogastra **?
Interest in science. By the age of 10 years D's chief interest had come to center in science and it continued to center there. His classifications of moths, birds, and the like and his observations of their life cycles are "monumental." There are volumes of these recorded observations as in Figure 9.
[Here, the species of birds are listed in a column, with months of the year listed and spread out horizontally, with the first, 15th, and last days of the month underneath each month, and sometimes the 10th and 20th also. The species include: Holbcel's Grebe; Horned Grebe; Pied Billed Grebe; Loon; Loon Black-Thr.; Loon Red-Thr.; Puffin; Black Guillenot; Murre; Murre Brunnich's; Razor-billed Ank; Dovekie; Skua; Jaeger Pomarine; Jaeger, Parasitic; Jaeger, Long-tailed; Gull, Ivory; Gull, Kittawake; Gull, Glaucous; Gull, Iceland; Gull, Kumliens; Gull, Gr. Bl.-Backed; Gull, Herring; Gull, Ring-Bileed; Gull, Laughing; Gull, Bonaparte's; Gull, Little-Casual; Gull, Sabine; Tern, Gull-Billed; Tern, Caspian; Tern, Royal; Tern, Cabot's; Tern, Trudeau's; Tern, Forster's; Tern, Common; Tern, Arctic; Tern, Roseate; Tern, Least; Tern, Sooty; Tern, Black. Each bird has a line or lines to the right of its name, corresponding to the times of year.]
Figures 10 and 11 illustrate his interest in physical science. They have been taken from his notebooks and state problems which occurred spontaneously to him and for which he tried experimentally to find solutions. During a series of experiments "to determine the path of a tack," it is reported that "the house was full of tacks" which had been used in attempting solutions.
of the problem: "Determine the appearance of a finger, F, to two eyes, E#R# and E#L#, focussed on a pole R at point P#S# along lines E#R#R and E#L#R."
[Diagram of solution.]
Thru [sic] R pass plane PL // to the plane of the eyes. Draw aline from E#L# (which is nearer to F than E#R#) to F, cuttingPL in O. Draw E#R#O; thru F pass a plane // to PL and crossingE#R#O in A. Thru A pass F' // F.
F' and F are the positions of F to E#R# and E#L#.
So it can be shown that 2 other eyes would see F in positions F and F''.
.'. 4 eyes focused on R see F as F, F, F' and F''.
Discussion
of the determination of the course of a freed tack, T, connected with other tacks by rubber bands.
A. Fig. 1.
[Diagram including points T, T'; band B; and ray L.]
When connected to a tack T' by band B.Draw T[,] T'[,] or L.T freed will travel along L, answer.
B. Fig. 2.
[Diagram including points T, T', T''; bands B, B'; and ray L.]
When connected to 2 tacks T' and T'' by 2 bands B and B'.Answer: Along L, the bisector of T' and TTT''.
C. Fig. 3.
[Diagram including points T, T', T''; band B; and ray L.]
The same as B, but only 1 band B.Answer same as to B.
D. Fig. 4.
[Diagram including points T, T#1#, T', T''; and ray L.]
When connected to 3 tacks by any number of bands.Draw T'T#1#, and treat as in B and C.
In the September following his ninth birthday D entered upon formal instruction in the junior high school. In the autumn following his tenth birthday he entered senior high school, from which he was graduated at the age of 12 years, with a scholastic record which won for him two scholarships.
He was admitted to a large Eastern college at the age of 12 years 6 months (1922-1923), and made a superior record throughout the course. It was very interesting to see that D continued to discover means of obtaining social contacts in spite of the great difficulties due to his extreme youth and his intellectual deviation. Thus it is not easy to plan how a 12-year-old boy might successfully participate in college athletics when the median age of college freshmen is over 18 years, but this problem was not too difficult for D. He presented himself to compete for the post of coxswain on the freshmen crew where, other things, being equal, light weight is an advantage.
He was graduated from college, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, in 1926, at the age of 16 years 2 months. At that time he was ambitious for a career in science.
D undertook graduate work, with distinction, in the field of chemistry. He became an industrial chemist with an important position in the research phases of the motion-picture industry. Word has been received of his death in September, 1938.
[1] This child was described in some detail in Chapter IX ofGifted Children, 1926, and the earlier part of the present account is taken from that chapter. In the later part additional items are given, taken from the author's 1924 manuscript, and there are a few editorial additions.
[2] A facsimile of a page from this paper is reproduced on page 244 of the author's book,Gifted Children(The Macmillan Company, New York; 1926).
[3] A note shows that on March 16, 1926, at just 16 years of age, D's height was 71.5 inches and his weight 115 pounds, stripped. EDITOR
[4] SeeGifted Children, pages 246-247.
[5]Ibid., page 245.