Mozart, started composing at age 5.

A prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity.^[1] One criterion for classifying prodigies is: the prodigy is a child, or at least younger than 18 years, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavour.^[1][2]

The giftedness of prodigies is determined by the degree of their talent relative to their ages. Examples of particularly extreme prodigies could include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vangelis and Jackie Evancho in music,^[3][4] Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, and Judit Polgar in chess, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Srinivasa Ramanujan, William James Sidis, Michael Kearney, Gregory R. Smith, and John von Neumann in mathematics, Pablo Picasso in art, and Saul Kripke in philosophy.^[5] There is controversy as to at what age and standard to use in the definition of a prodigy.^{[citation needed]}

The term Wunderkind (from German: "wonder child") is sometimes used as a synonym for prodigy, particularly in media accounts, although this term is discouraged in scientific literature. Wunderkind also is used to recognize those who achieve success and acclaim early in their adult careers.^{[citation needed]}

Memory capacity of prodigies[link]

PET scans performed on several mathematics prodigies have suggested that they think in terms of long-term working memory (LTWM).^[6] This memory, specific to a field of expertise, is capable of holding relevant information for extended periods, usually hours. For example, experienced waiters have been found to hold the orders of up to twenty customers in their heads while they serve them, but perform only as well as an average person in number-sequence recognition. The PET scans also answer questions about which specific areas of the brain associate themselves with manipulating numbers.^[6]

One subject never excelled as a child in mathematics, but he taught himself algorithms and tricks for calculatory speed, becoming capable of extremely complex mental math. His brain, compared to six other controls, was studied using the PET scan, revealing separate areas of his brain that he manipulated to solve the complex problems. Some of the areas that he and presumably prodigies use are brain sectors dealing in visual and spatial memory, as well as visual mental imagery. Other areas of the brain showed use by the subject, including a sector of the brain generally related to childlike "finger counting," probably used in his mind to relate numbers to the visual cortex.^[6]

Working Memory/Cerebellum Theory of Child Prodigies[link]

Noting that the cerebellum acts to streamline the speed and efficiency of all thought processes, Vandervert^[7] explained the abilities of prodigies in terms of the collaboration of working memory and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum. Citing extensive imaging evidence, Vandervert first proposed this approach in two publications which appeared in 2003. In addition to imaging evidence, Vandervert's approach is supported by the substantial award winning studies of the cerebellum by Masao Ito.^[8]

Vandervert^[9] provided extensive argument that, in the prodigy, the transition from visual-spatial working memory to other forms of thought (language, art, mathematics) is accelerated by the unique emotional disposition of the prodigy and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum. According to Vandervert, in the emotion-driven prodigy (commonly observed as a "rage to master") the cerebellum accelerates the streamlining of the efficiencies of working memory in its manipulation and decomposition/re-composition of visual-spatial content into language acquisition and into linguistic, mathematical, and artistic precocity.^[10]

Essentially, Vandervert has argued that when a child is confronted with a challenging new situation, visual-spatial working memory and speech-related and other notational system-related working memory are decomposed and re-composed (fractionated) by the cerebellum and then blended in the cerebral cortex in an attempt to deal with the new situation. ^[11] In child prodigies, Vandervert believes this blending process is accelerated due to their unique emotional sensitivities which result in high levels of repetitious focus on, in most cases, particular rule-governed knowledge domains. ^[12]

Nature versus nurture in the development of the prodigy[link]

Daniel Barenboim, age 11, with Conductor Moshe Lustig and the Gadna Symphonic orchestra 1953

Some researchers believe that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, and the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures. Others believe that the environment plays the dominant role, many times in obvious ways. For example, László Polgár set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world-class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasizing the potency a child's environment can have in determining the pursuits toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.^[13]

But on the other hand George Frideric Handel was an example of the natural talent .... "he had discovered such a strong propensity to Music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep". At an early age Handel became a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ and later went on to compose music which is listened to to this day.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	Education portal
	Psychology portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: prodigies

• Chess prodigy
• Gifted education
• Giftedness
• Heritability of IQ
• Late bloomer
• List of child prodigies
• Malleable intelligence

Further reading[link]

• Ito, M. (2005). Bases and implications of learning in the cerebellum—Adaptive control and internal model mechanism. In C.I. DeZeeuw & F. Cicirata (Eds.), Creating coordination in the cerebellum: Progress in brain research (Vol. 148, pp. 95–109). Oxford, England: Elsevier.
• Ito, M. (2007). On "How working memory and the cerebellum collaborate to produce creativity and innovation" by L.R. Vandervert, P.H. Schimpf, and H. Liu. Creativity Research Journal, 19, 35-38.
• Robinson, Andrew (2010). Sudden Genius?: The Gradual Path to Creative Breakthroughs. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-956995-3. Lay summary (24 November 2010). 
• Vandervert, L. (2007). Cognitive functions of the cerebellum explain how Ericsson's deliberate practice produces giftedness. High Ability Studies, 18, 89-92.
• Vandervert, L. (2009b). Working memory, the cognitive functions of the cerebellum and the child prodigy. In L. Shavinina (Ed.), The International Handbook on Giftedness (pp. 295–316). Netherlands: Springer.
• Vandervert, L. (2009a). The appearance of the child prodigy 10,000 years ago: An evolutionary and developmental explanation. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 30, 15-32.
• Vandervert, L. (in press-a). The evolution of language from the cerebro-cerebellar blending of visual-spatial working memory with vocalizations. The Journal of Mind and Behavior.
• Vandervert, L. (in press-b). How the blending of cerebellar internal models can explain the evolution of thought and language. Cerebellum.

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Notebook: Child Prodigies", "CBS News Online", YouTube, February 26, 2010.

Joshua Johnson (c.1763-c.1824) was an American biracial painter from the Baltimore area. Johnson, often viewed as the first person of color to make a living as a painter in the United States, is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents.

Mysterious life[link]

John Jacob Anderson and Sons, John and Edward by Joshua Johnson

It was not until 1939 that the identity of the painter of elite 19th century Baltimoreans was shed to light by art historian and genealogist J. Hall Pleasants, who believed that thirteen portraits were painted by one Joshua Johnson. Pleasants attempted to put the puzzle of Johnson's life together, however, questions on Johnson's race, life dates and even his last name (Johnson or Johnston) remained. These questions remained up until the mid-1990s, when the Maryland Historical Society released newly found manuscripts regarding Johnson's life.^[1]

Documents dated from July 25, 1782, states that Johnson was the "son of a white man and a black slave woman owned by a William Wheeler, Sr." His father, George Johnson (also spelled Johnston in some documents) purchased Joshua, age 19, from William Wheeler, a small Baltimore based farmer, confirmed by a bill of sale dating from October 6, 1764. Wheeler sold Johnson the young man for £25, half the average price of a male slave field hand at the time. The documents state little of Joshua's mother, not even her name, and she may have been owned by Wheeler, whose own records stated that he owned two female slaves, one of whom had two children.^[1]

A manumission was also released, in which George Johnson acknowledged Joshua as his son, also stating that he would agree to free Joshua under the conditions that he either completed an apprenticeship with Baltimore blacksmith William Forepaugh or turned 21, whichever came first. Oddly enough, the manumission was signed and confirmed by justice of the peace Colonel John Moale who would, during the years of 1798-1800, commission Joshua to paint a portrait of his wife and granddaughter. (Mrs. John Moale and Her Granddaughter Ellin North Moale)^[1][2]

Freedom[link]

Johnson received his freedom in 1782 and began advertising; stating himself as a portrait painter and limner as of 1796. He moved frequently, residing often where other artists, specifically chair-makers lived, which suggests that he may have provided extra income for himself by painting chairs. His frequent moving also may suggest that he tended to work for clients whom he lived by. No records mention educational or creative training and it still has not been proven that he had any type of relationship with artists such as the Peale family or Ralph Earl or Ralph Earl Jr.^[1]

In 1785 he married his first wife, Sarah, who had four children with him – two sons and two daughters, the latter both died young. By 1803 he was married to a Clara. According to the Baltimore city directory of 1817-1818 he was listed in the section “Free Householders of Colour,” and in 1825 he had moved to Frederick County, Maryland, and two years later moved to Anne Arundel County, again, following the paths of those whose portraits he painted. Little is known of his life after this final move, and his death.^[1]

Artistic career and style[link]

Style[link]

Grace Allison McCurdy and Her Daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace, ca. 1804 in the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art

Recent research has brought to light that Johnson was not associated with the Peale family, however, his work is still associated with names such as Charles Peale Polk, who's naive painting and less sophisticated work (compared to his other family members) is similar to Johnson's. His work, however, is more similar to less known limners who worked during the same time in the mid-Atlantic region: John Drinker, Frederick Kemmelmeyer, Jacob Frymire and Caleb Boyle. In fact, Johnson may have been more than familiar with the work of these artists than thought; in 1818 he was commissioned by patron Rebecca Myring Everette to copy Boyle's 1807 portrait of her husband, Thomas Everett.^[1]

Johnson’s work has also been compared to Ralph Earl, who, like Johnson, also utilized brass upholstery tacks, swagged curtains and open window vistas in his paintings. However, a stronger comparison lies between Johnson and Earl’s son, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl. Both were noted for painting multi-figure family group portraits, which were rare during this period of American art. Both considered prominent self-taught “folk” artists, it can only be theorized if the two ever came into contact within similar circles.^[1]

The Westwood Children[link]

In his painting, The Westwood Children (now in the National Gallery of Art), Johnson depicts the male children of Margaret and John Westwood, who was a successful Baltimore stagecoach manufacturer. The painting is stylized and depicts the three children holding flowers in their hands, accompanied by the family dog which holds a bird in its mouth. The children have chilled expressionless stares, although the youngest child seems to be on the verge of smiling. Johnson was not entirely successful in creating a compositional balance between the children, positioned at the left, and their black dog and an alcove on the right.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Westwood Children. The National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2004-05-15

There is a portrait painting by this painter in the Philadelphia Museum of Art["Portrait of Edward Aisquith}.