The Bizarre Story of the Boy Who Lost His Genius

if you told zero Colburn your age he could instantly tell you how many seconds you'd lived if you asked him to name the cube root of this he'd be able to tell you the answer in just five seconds he did enormously long calculations in his head within seconds and then his gift began to fade this is the sad story of how a boy lost his genius there was nothing in his upbringing that could have predicted this level of Genius zero was born in a small town of cabot in Vermont on September 1st 1804 he grew up on a farm where his father ABIA worked as a Craftsman to support his large family of nine children two of whom died after he settled in Cabot hazira described in his Memoir which he wrote in the third person his parents were plain people and in regard to the early years of this their son they considered him to be the most backward of any of their children Zero's parents didn't think he was very smart at all that is until one day just before his sixth birthday his dad heard him muttering to himself five times seven or 35 6 times 8 are 48 13 times 97 are 1261. his father was dumbfounded how could he possibly know all that at just six years of age with only six weeks of schooling words soon spread of his unusual talent and his dad took him around the country to show off his skills the president of Dartmouth College John Wheelock offered to take Sira under his wing a group of influential men from Boston offered to raise five thousand dollars to educate Zira under their Direction in New Hampshire however ABIA rejected their offers because he wasn't willing to give up control over Zira ABIA was determined to find Fame in Fortune abroad at the expense of abandoning his wife and six other children in the spring of 1812 he and eight-year-old Zira traveled from Boston to England where newspapers were filled with stories about his son's peculiar Talent they made their way to London where they were greeted by royalty all of whom were astounded by the boy's remarkable abilities sadly little attention was paid to Zira's formal education the extent of his learning was the books generously given to him by these Noble patrons the public who flocked to see his extraordinary skills paid a mere one shilling or 22 cents for admission this was not enough to cover their living expenses for extra cash his Dad decided to sell Zira's portrait this is the only drawing we have of him and if you look closely there's something peculiar about it Sierra was born with an extra digit on each hand and foot he got the extra fingers surgically removed they were able to successfully sell this drawing which led Zira's father to believe they could also sell a memoir about his son which would include a long list of questions answered by but no no one was really interested in the Memoir of a nine-year-old even someone as unusual as him they went to Dublin Belfast and Edinburgh to see if there might be more interest there wasn't they also tested their luck in Paris this was in 1814 shortly after Napoleon's initial fall from Power which restored trade relations between England and France after showing off his son's skills for three months in Paris they took a break and Zira finally started attending school around this time at the age of 10 his computational speed had slowed noticeably he took longer to answer questions than he had in the past he could have been that his talent faded because he wasn't regularly demonstrating his skill in public but at least he was in school he studied at the prestigious Royal College of Henry IV in Paris his education financed by the French government however his father struggled to cover the cost of the school uniform 750 leave or 150 dollars when he returned to London to try to raise more funds he discovered that his agent had ripped him off and a committee of people who had agreed to raise funds had lost interest upset of the fact that zero was being educated in France rather than in England ABIA took Zira out of the school in France and brought him back to London in early 1816. Hungary and poor ABIA approached the Earl of Bristol desperate for help the Earl wasn't all that interested in Zero's mathematical abilities but he did want the boy to get a good education so we decided to cover all his expenses at the renowned Westminster School in London where Zira was enrolled at the age of 12. but the school curriculum was centered around ancient languages like Latin rather than math a stronger focus on mathematics might have helped him address his difficulties with complex thinking and problem solving although he had a knack for Speedy calculations he struggled to get to answers that weren't immediately obvious in light of this he doubted that he'd have a future in mathematics contrary to the expectations of those around him the Westminster school also took a toll on his mental health it had a tradition requiring younger students to act as personal servants to the older students one day an 18 year old beat him up badly after he felt he wasn't serving him adequately and Bo wouldn't tolerate such behavior and ensured zero was no longer expected to play such a subservient role in the future zero was supposed to attend Westminster for eight years however he got pulled out after three due to a dispute the Earl of Bristol insisted that his chaplain a cambridge-educated former grammar school Master Tudor zero full-time in the countryside 50 miles north of London razira had been spending the Summers ABIA refused and as a result the Earl withdrew his financial support which led to zero leaving Westminster School with no schooling no funds and now less interest in zura in London a BL 1-0 to make a living as an actor zero was 15 years old and hated that period of his life writing if there be any part of his life on which she is disposed to look with peculiar regret as wasted would be the year that was spent in preparing for the theater he preferred tragic rules Over comedic ones possibly reflecting his life circumstances he struggled to get gigs and searched for more opportunities in Dublin where he'd frequently walk down to the beach and beholding vessels whose sails were filling to the breeze Bound for an American Port his heart would become sad and burn with desire to be on the way to his native land yet his father refused to return to America he felt however misguided that better days lay ahead ABIA was perfectly confident that the hour Drew near when he should return in a manner that would be honorable to himself Zira finally felt good about supporting himself financially when the British polymath Thomas Young paid him two pounds a week to make astronomical calculations determining the position of stars a welcome change from showcasing his math skills or acting just when things appeared as if they were finally taking a turn for the better his father's Health took a turn for the worse in late 1823 habia Colburn was not indeed a victim to hard labor of body but to something more destructive of Health labor and care of Mind they'd been away from home for over a decade with nothing to chauffeur on February 14 1824 ABIA died of tuberculosis he was 54 years old zero knew he could have left his father and benefited from the support of others but he couldn't bring himself to do it fearing the regret he thought he'd feel while on his deathbed ABIA told zeera it would be best for him to return home as soon as possible on May 25 1824 he set sail from Liverpool to America returning to his mother and four brothers and two sisters whom he had not seen for 13 years he harbored feelings of resentment toward those who envied his worldly travels writing when sometimes he hears people wishing that they had his privilege of seeing the world to think of the price at which he purchased this privilege would suggest the idea that they little knew what it was which they desired throughout this time his mother Elizabeth had toiled away on the Family Farm to support her children it was a hard life and she eventually had to sell the land and move to a more suitable place zero decided to settle in Vermont where he taught French while also studying at the University of Vermont it was around this time that a period of reflection led him to make a pivotal decision feeling a sense of purpose he embarked on a journey as a Methodist preacher traveling from town to town as he believed spreading the gospel was the highest calling and in his words the happiest most useful and honorable in the world he felt his mathematical gift was a gift from above writing God was its author its object and aim for haps are still unknown he wondered if he was meant to make meaningful contributions to science he wondered if his gift was intended to bring him into the public eye enabling him to spread the word of God either way by adulthood his genius was all but gone he no longer possessed the remarkable mathematical abilities that brought him so much adulation as a child he lived a normal life and married Mary a woman from Vermont with whom he had five daughters and a son after nine years of serving as a preacher he worked as a professor not of mathematics but of languages at Norwich University in Northfield Vermont he remained there until he died of tuberculosis on March 2nd 1839 at the age of just 34. the same disease that took his father's life Zira did manage to publish his Memoirs after all in which he reflected on his life's challenges again writing in the third person his father paid dearly for the singular Talent conferred on his son yet in many ways it was Zero himself who paid the price as he was never given the opportunity to nurture his exceptional Talent I'd love to hear what you thought of this story let's connect on X I'm at newsthink the link is in my description it's heartbreaking to think about what zero could have become if he had the right support and resources to nurture his talent in today's world we are fortunate to have access to a wealth of knowledge and tools to help us reach our full potential one resource which is free free to try out is brilliant a website and app where you can learn math computer science and data science interactively Brilliance mathematical thinking course will change the way you see numbers as you tackle real world problems involving fractions ratios and percentages whether you're looking to brush up on your skills learn something new or progress to more advanced lessons brilliant customizes content to fit your needs so you can solve at your own pace there are no tests I'd like to take a few minutes out of my day to sharpen my analytical thinking skills with their logic puzzles so invest in your future and try it brilliant for free for 30 days by heading to the custom link in my description brilliant.org newsthink in the first 200 people to sign up through my custom link will receive a 20 discount on Brilliance premium annual subscription unlocking all of the courses thanks for watching I'm Cindy Palm

Channel: Newsthink

Views: 152,128

Keywords: zerah colburn, zerah colburn biography, zerah colburn documentary, william james sidis, abia colburn

Id: WurEsTMouxY

Length: 11min 15sec (675 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 07 2023