Image via Wikipedia
OK, just when you think you’ve seen all the bragging bumper stickers in the world, you come across a video (see below) that you know is going to spawn a new bumper boast: “My 2-year-old can recite the periodic table.” That’s right, the video belows shows a 2-year-old reciting symbols from the periodic table of elements.
Pretty amazing since when we were 2, we would periodically chew on tables. Not that we’re sure how knowledge of the periodic table is going to help this toddler.
“Daddy, I can’t go in the potty, but I do know that NaCl is Sodium Chloride.”
We’re 51 and 44 respectively and we’ve never had to apply the periodic tables to our daily lives. It’s just one of those things they teach you in school that doesn’t apply to most people. State capitals are another. Why did we spend so much time stressing out over them as kids when we hardly ever have to use them as adults?
“Well Ms. Konjoian, thank you for interviewing for this position. We’re prepared to offer you this job if you could answer one last question: What is the capital of Nebraska?”
We think that there are so many more important lessons schools should be teaching young children — like money management 101 or say, the basics of room cleaning. Yup, we would definitely bumper boast to the world about that — “Proud parent of a kid who cleaned her room.”
So tell us, can you think of a situation in your adult life (other than doing your child’s homework) when you’ve been asked to share your knowledge of the periodic table or state capitals?”
An adorable little girl! Like a puppy, she has been trained to perform on cue. At her tender age, most kids have the capacity to absorb rote information just like a sponge, like the alphabet, numbers, nursery rhymes. Maybe she likes playing with the Periodic Table “Flash cards,” or maybe she enjoys the attention from her parents as they teach her. So, is she “brilliant?” Not necessarily. Maybe she is just very motivated to learn these items, and her parents have devoted an unusual amount of time to the Periodic Table lessons. I seriously doubt memorizing these flash cards will give her a lasting advantage in school. But having motivated parents who are dedicated to her education WILL have an impact on her learning! There’s no need to feel inferior over this. It’s just too silly!
It is entirely possible that this seemingly brilliant child will go on to have a diagnosis of Asperger’s or some other disorder. Being hyperlexic or performing above the average developmental level for her age is often an early sign of autism/Asperger’s. Just wondering if anyone thought of that.
leah! i was just thinking the same thing! if the little girl wanted to learn that on her own, i’d have her tested! our aspie knew all sorts of things when he was little. states and capitols (and state birds, flowers, etc) he knew when he was 3 (he didn’t get to the periodic table til he was 7) and it was ALL him. we thought we had a little genius…but it took us awhile to figure out we had a little ASPIE genius! my husband and i joke that these types of things should be added to the pediatrician’s list of developmental issues to watch out for. on the bright side, due to my aspie’s incessant quizzing, i do know that ‘w’ represents tungsten, which helped me on one of my crosswords!