PRODIGY

an extraordinary person, particularly a child, who shows spontaneous early signs of genius or exceptional ability along certain lines. Among these are the arithmetical prodigies, the chess prodigies, and the lightning calculators who have a remarkable memory for figures. Best known are the musical prodigiesWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Felix Mendelssohn, all of whom began to compose before the age of 12; Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Frdric Chopin, and Yehudi Menuhin, who gave public concerts by 11 years of age; and Johannes Brahms, Antonn Dvork, and Richard Strauss, all of whom drew musical attention early. Far less common is precocious ability in writing, drawing, and painting. Prodigies should be distinguished from those whose superior achievements result from overtraining rather than talent. They must also be distinguished from so-called idiot savants, whose achievement is confined to a very limited area and who show little understanding of their ability because of average or subnormal intelligence. Prodigies are both born and madeborn with retentive memories and a quality of mind that enables them to relate and organize experiences; and made in the sense that they receive opportunities and rewards of special practice, instruction, or training. Some, however, achieve a superior level of performance without help, or even in spite of adversityBlaise Pascal, for example, though his father deprived him of mathematical books at the age of 11, secretly constructed a geometry of his own. Few mental prodigies reported in history have met early expectations. Musical prodigies, however, seldom fade into oblivion.