A 12-year-old child prodigy has astounded university professors after grappling with some of the most advanced concepts in mathematics.
Jacob Barnett has an IQ of 170 – higher than Albert Einstein – and is now so far advanced in his Indiana university studies that professors are lining him up for a PHD research role.
The boy wonder, who taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry and trigonometry in a week, is now tutoring fellow college classmates after hours.
And now Jake has embarked on his most ambitious project yet – his own ‘expanded version of Einstein’s theory of relativity’.
His mother, not sure if her child was talking nonsense or genius, sent a video of his theory to the renowned Institute for Advanced Study near Princeton University.
According to the Indiana Star, Institute astrophysics professor Scott Tremaine -himself a world renowned expert – confirmed the authenticity of Jake’s theory.
In an email to the family, Tremaine wrote: ‘I’m impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far.
‘The theory that he’s working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics.
‘Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize.’
But for his mother Kristine Barnett, 36, and the rest of the family, maths remains a tricky subject.
Speaking to the paper, Mrs Barnett said: ‘I flunked math. I know this did not come from me.’
And it hasn’t gone un-noticed by Jake, who added: ‘Whenever I try talking about math with anyone in my family they just stare blankly.’
Jake was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, a mild form of autism, from an early age.
His parents were worried when he didn’t talk until the age of two, suspecting he was educationally abnormal.
