Prodigy points: Outstanding kids

Prodigy points

Age of University of Connecticut sophomore Colin Carlson in 2010, when he sued the university for denying his request to take a class involving field work in South Africa, because he was too young: 13

Age of Sho Yano in 2009, when he got a PhD in molecular genetics and cell biology from the University of Chicago: 18

Age his sister Sayuri earned her bachelor’s degree, in 2010, from Chicago’s Roosevelt University: 13

Age of golfer Michelle Wie when she won the USGA women’s Amateur Public Links adult national championship: 13

Age Bostonian Victoria Yin first displayed her paintings in an international art exhibit, Artexpo 2008, in Las Vegas: 10

Age her sister Zoe first displayed in an international exhibit: 8

Age upstate New Yorker Marla Olmstead started earning tens of thousands of dollars for each of her abstract paintings, in spite of widespread suspicions that they were the work of her father: 4

Name game

Percent of boys in the 1880s given one of the 10 most common names: 40

Percent given one of the top 10 today: Less than 10

Percent of girls in 1945 given a top-10 name: 25

Percent today: 8

Percent of teachers who say they can spot troublemakers based on their names: 33

Percent lower than average that children with names with unconventional spellings — such as Jackquelyn — scored on exams: 3 to 5

Sources: The Huffington Post, NBCChicago.com, Wikipedia.com, Artexponewyork.com, LiveScience.com, ScienceFocus.com, Brilliant-baby-names.com.