Why is it that America doesn't have a Next Einstein Initiative? - As a boy, I was considered a bit of a math prodigy, they gave me all these logical reasoning tests and put me in special schools. As I finished my formal education, I returned to the concept of "intelligence quotient" and tried to reason out why there were not more people like me, good at math?
I found that the mathematical talents of the brain must be carefully cultivated in youth or else like an unattended garden they will become overgrown with unweeded thoughts, atrophy, and fade. In addition, there is no known gene for Math Genius, there is a spectrum of various math skills, and some savants are born, but in general, the math ability is produced at random among the 8,388,608 possible offspring any two human beings can produce. In short, there is no way to predict who will be the next Einstein.
So, it makes sense to test and cultivate all children, in the hope of discovering unique abilities, and then encouraging them. But in the USA we have failing public schools, and we have horrible math literacy. In our misguided battles over Teacher Union Pensions and Prayer in Schools, we are failing to protect and nurture our garden. That's just brilliant.
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