Charlotte Moore

The Spark, by Kristine Barnett – review

issue 08 June 2013

Jacob Barnett is a youthful prodigy. His IQ tested off the scale. At nine he began work on an original theory in astrophysics; aged 12 he became a paid academic researcher. He can play complicated musical pieces or learn foreign languages almost instantly and without tuition. As one researcher puts it, ‘Jake’s working memory is a piece of paper the size of a football field.’

Jacob’s mother, Kristine, comes from an Amish family — ‘not horse-and-buggy Amish, but city Amish’; her faith has directed her along the path she has taken with her extraordinary son. (It would be interesting to know the religious views of the young quantum physicist, but we’re not told.) Though she and her husband are college-educated, and unusual talents have cropped up in the family — Grandpa John was an eccentric inventor, Kristine’s sister was a precocious artist — there was little to prepare them for the reality of raising Jacob.

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