WUNDERKIND, a word which means young genius, is derived from the German words “wunder” (wonder) and “kind” (child).
When we come across a young child who is as competent as an adult in one or more skills, we marvel as well as wonder how such a child came to be.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was already composing music from the age of 5, when most people are only starting to differentiate notes on the keyboard.
Are people such as Mozart natural geniuses, or the products of effective nurturing? The question people often pose is whether a gifted child can automatically be capable of greatness just by virtue of having that gift from birth.
Or does success hinge on the nurturing as provided by parents and the people close to them? When we encounter bright children in our society, what is the right amount of direction, grooming and supervision that should be provided to them so that they can blossom and reach their full potential? Would parents and teachers know how much is enough guidance, and when too much pressure is being applied? We ponder these questions even as we chart the progress and celebrate the achievements of three child prodigies.
The first became a qualified doctor by age 21, the second is a 15-year-old engineering undergraduate, and the third was one of the youngest tertiary students in history.
SUZEN SIEW
Suzen Siew, 21, is a medical graduate from Monash University Malaysia.
Suzen not only knew she wanted to be a doctor from a very young age, she even achieved her dream at a much younger age than usual.
This Distinction student with two medical degrees from Monash University Malaysia now hopes to specialise in paediatrics.
The youngest among three children, Suzen comes across like a typical girl-next-door.
However, one would never have thought that this young woman with a demure disposition not only loves to read, but also plays the piano, viola and trumpet, and has taken part in badminton, basketball and futsal tournaments.
She also has an advanced certificate for scuba diving.
When she was 9, the Siew family moved to Hong Kong where dad, an engineer, had been transferred by his company.
It was the international school which Suzen was attending in Hong Kong which alerted her parents that their daughter was “unusually advanced”.
They arranged for an aptitude test to confirm this and the results showed that she was at least three years ahead of her peers.
Suzen , meanwhile , also impressed her form teacher with a reflective essay she wrote on the book Tuesdays With Morrie.
She had read the book at age 9 and then penned her analytical response on the book in her journal.
This subsequently led to her jumping two grades from Year Three (American System) to Year Five, and (English System) one grade jump from Grade Seven to Eight.
Having two older siblings also played a large part.
It seemed she was always keen to play catch up, listening intently to their discussions and consuming the same materials as they did.
To Suzen’s parents, being gifted and advanced do not necessarily equate to being a genius.
They challenged and supported her in the same way as they did with their other children, inculcating above all good character and values such as excellence, discipline, humility, concern for others, and a relationship with God.
Her mother was extremely involved in facilitating the children’s daily progress.
If they did any work that was mediocre, they would be asked to do over.
Distractions such as TV, movies, shopping and computer games were minimised and in their place were recreational activities that stimulated their inherent creativity and generative mindset, like playing outdoors, reading, writing, drawing, debating, sports and musical training.
Before returning to Malaysia, Suzen passed her GCE O levels.
She then sat for her A levels at the then Taylor’s University College, and that opened the door to medical school.
In Monash, Suzen at 17 was two to three years younger than her classmates at medical school.
However, the age difference was not felt as “the jump occurred early in life and by that time, I had already got round to it”.
During her five-year course, Suzen worked in hospitals around Australia and Malaysia, as the Monash degree involved practical experience.
“Despite a tougher working environment in Malaysia, my intention is to come back here to serve, as this is my home and my parents are here as well,” she said.
If she has a passion, it would be humanitarian work.
Added Suzen: “I would also want to do more volunteering, to help people in need around the world.”
JESHAIAH KHOR ZHEN SYUEN
While most 15-year-olds are attending Form Three in schools, Jeshaiah Khor Zhen Syuen is pursuing his degree in mechatronics engineering at Monash University Malaysia.
Just looking at the bespectacled teen, one would have simply assumed that there was nothing extraordinary about him.
However, when Jeshaiah starts speaking, one is taken aback by the revelation of wisdom and selfassurance.
On the surface, he is not unlike the typical boy who enjoys music and sports.
However, he is anything but typical beyond that.
He is a voracious reader who enjoys a wide variety of books, and reads up history for fun.
He knows how special he is, yet he is not cocky and adopts a deferential disposition.
And perhaps because he has read widely, his maturity and sensibility come across as well beyond his years.
The Penang-born said he had always been fascinated by numbers and had a love for mathematics from a very young age.
In primary school, while his classmates were trying to learn their times tables, he was already into calculating areas and perimeters.
As a result, he chose to study at home by himself.
His parents were not only supportive but also left him to his own devices.
“My teachers recommended books which I read on my own,” said the self-motivated boy, who also learnt to play the guitar from YouTube videos.
Four years ago, the Khor family including Jeshaiah and his two younger siblings moved from Penang to Kuala Lumpur.
The self-taught boy obtained his GCE A levels certificate at the age of 13, and his stellar results included an A+ for mathematics and As for biology, chemistry and physics.
He then entered Monash University the following year.
Why Monash? “Because my research revealed that its engineering degree is one of the best in the world,” he said, without hesitation.
“And the facilities here are awesome!” During his first year, his parents found that they were not able to continue financial support for his studies.
He then took the initiative to apply to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation for a full scholarship, and became one of 2,016 students who received financial support in pursuing an academic course in a Sunway Education Group institution.
Did he ever feel out of place among older peers on campus? “Not at all,” he replied.
“Although I was 14 and my course mates were mostly 19, we all spoke on the same level.
“Even when I was just a young child, I grew up around older kids and also got along well with those from older age groups.” As an afterthought, he added: “But it’s a disadvantage during futsal matches, when my older opponents are all bigger-sized!” Jeshaiah’s future plans include pursuing a postgraduate degree in either propulsion technology or experimental physics.
AINAN CELESTE CAWLEY
Ainan Celeste Cawley was uncanny from the moment of his birth on Nov 23, 1999 in Singapore.
When he was being delivered, he was crying like babies do.
Then his father Valentine Cawley called out a nickname that he had been whispering to the baby in the womb.
Ainan promptly stopped crying and turned his head to look at the face of his father, and appeared to be recollecting that familiar word.
“It was a special moment of connection,” said Valentine.
“At that point, he didn’t cry again as he knew he was safe,” added Valentine, a film actor, writer and scientific researcher.
“Ainan’s first word, when he was two weeks old, was water in Bahasa Malaysia.
Whenever he was thirsty, he would say it repeatedly until he got something to drink.
A couple of weeks after that, he blurted out ‘poo’ whenever he needed his nappy changed.
“His third word, at six weeks old, was ‘Why?’ which he said when he saw my new haircut.
“At four months, he was already crawling.
When he was six months old, he could walk.
And at eight months, he could run and climb into and out of his traditional wooden cot at will.
“He also began to read at this age.
“When he celebrated his first birthday, his mother (the artist Syahidah Osman) put a red cape on his shoulders and said: ‘Look Ainan, now you are Superman!’ “He looked up at his mother as if she had overlooked something obvious and then sighed deeply: ‘No, Mummy, I am not Superman because I cannot fly.’ “He jumped up into the air and when he came down again, he put out his palms facing up and declared: ‘See!’ “At 3 years old, Ainan would surf the Internet on his own to look for mathematical sites.
He liked the ones concerning hyperdimensional shapes.
These he would study and reimagine in his mind, where he cast the shadows onto two-dimensional planes and then drew them on paper.
“When he turned 6, his aunt found him reading a chemistry textbook and said: ‘Ainan, you seem to understand that.’ “He said: ‘I do.’ She then scoffed and went to get him a chemistry O level test paper.
He answered the questions correctly.
“That was when I realised I had to react like I hadn’t before.
“When brought to a bookstore, Ainan picked out a chemistry textbook for O level.
Six months later, he passed O level Chemistry.
He was just one month past his seventh birthday.
“By then, it was clear that Ainan was a child prodigy.
We never realised how special he was until we heard the parents of other child prodigies sharing their experiences.
“At 8 years old, Ainan began studying chemistry at Singapore Polytechnic.
There, he even created a perfume for his mother.
“He adjusted fine.
Despite his age, Ainan never felt out of place in the polytechnic.
In fact, he felt more comfortable among his ‘intellectual peers’ than those in his own age group.
“Ainan would be spotted at a table surrounded by 20-year-old students and they would be laughing at his jokes.
He felt welcomed whereas in a school among his age peers, no one would have understood his jokes.
“It was no different when he enrolled as a student at both Taylor’s University in Subang Jaya and HELP University in Kuala Lumpur, which is now where our family live.
“If Ainan had not studied at tertiary level, he would have been completely unchallenged.
“When other kids were learning to add and subtract, Ainan had already completed O level chemistry and had moved onto physics and higher-level chemistry at home.” “As a teenager, Ainan continues to amaze with new talents and skills.
“He had begun by showing his gift for science, but even in those early years, Ainan had already mastered computer programming as well.
“He has since then also shown a talent for mathematics, creative writing, playing the piano and music composition.
“He has even entered the movie industry as a writer, director, editor and composer of film scores.
He is also a good actor, with a fondness for voices and accents.
“He currently composes new music and is also in the middle of writing two books, one of which is turning out to be a rich and complex work.
“I don’t know how well-received it will be in the mass market, but it should be able to appeal to a selective audience.” With two brothers Fintan Nadym, 11, and Tiarnan Hasyl, 8, Ainan and his siblings are called the Three Musketeers by their father as “they all get on very well together”.