I would have failed engineering but for Laplace’s equation.  I was hopeless at advanced calculus because it was completely abstract - I couldn’t relate it to the nuts-and-bolts of practical projects.

But I loved computer programming.  I sat down one night with my 32k Apple II to write a BASIC program that interatively calculated fluid flow across an arbitrarily shaped pipe cross-section using Laplace, and displayed it graphically.

I worked steadily for two days without sleeping, and finally got it working; my demonstration cross-section was a square with a key-slot that likely cannot be solved with formal techniques.  My profs had never seen anything like it.  Even through they should have failed me for poor math, I got my degree.

Looking back, I wasn’t the one with the poor understanding of math.

I tried really hard to locate the full video - to no avail.

But while I was at it - a few more of interest.

Live chat - for September 10 - http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/04/live-chat-paul-wells-in-conversation-with-boy-genius-jacob-barnett/

You got to love parents - going against the professionals.
“Eventually, Kristine’s response to this shocking change in their son’s behaviour was to trust him more than she trusted the specialists. “The therapist would come in during the day and [Jacob] would be studying a ball and the way the light moved off the ball. I didn’t know that’s what he was doing at the time. The therapist would immediately take the ball away and put it in their bag.” To the therapist, Jacob was exhibiting “perseverative behaviour,” the repetitive gestures that characterize autism. To Kristine, this must be something Jacob wanted to do. “The therapist would move away and I would immediately sneak the ball back and give it to him. So I was quite a rebel in his early life because I was always determined to let him explore the world and do the things he loved.”

When he was 3½, she followed this logic to its unnerving conclusion and pulled him out of 60 weekly hours of special-education therapy. Michael, the pragmatic father, was deeply worried. But Kristine generally got her way.

“I was sneaking out in the middle of the night with him saying, ‘Let’s build a sand castle together. Let’s—’ There wasn’t a lot he could do. Well, he could look at the stars. We could lay there and look at the stars.” The therapists would spend hours trying to get him to stack plastic donuts on a stick….. It’s really counterintuitive. But the way to fix your struggles in math if you’re just a typical kid is maybe to spend a few hours going out and riding horses in a week. Get to what you love. It’s about your own positivity.”
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/01/jacob-barnett-boy-genius/

A radio show - the first 14 minutes - “When Jacob was diagnosed with autism aged two, his mother Kristine Barnett was told he may never even be able to tie his own shoe laces. But she recognised his special gifts and decided to go against the experts to nurture his growing interest in maths and physics. He is now 14 and is studying for a Masters degree in quantum physics. Kristine has written a book called The Spark, about raising a child genius. “
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0181q3w

On Jacob’s facebook page - Even he could not managed to get the full interview. Jacob is a great kid, but its the mother that the educators should be looking at and discussing her theory on ‘muchness’. I really connected to the mother, because I too believe that each and every child has a spark. The only trouble is the public education institute and its culture don’t think any kids who differ in learning, are bright enough. The education officials thought I was foolish and wasting my time on a lot of activities other then reading. Like staring at mud puddles and then at night the stars…........otherwise I would not have gotten a phone call in the middle of the day - my daughter all excited she has found her niche in science - Ocean Science - or she thinks she has. All the foolish activities at home are paying off, and a school that had written her off….........declaring she does not have the academic ability for university.

I was quite the rebel parent when my youngest was going to nursery school. They would insist she should spend some time in the play kitchen. The poor dear would sit or stand in the corner of the kitchen, remaining silent even if the other kids had spoken to her. Eventually, I would come when the Early Childhood teachers were not looking, and bring my child back to the engineering corner. Her face would lit up, and she would show the boys and an odd girl how it is done.

“. The TV interviews and the TEDxTeen Talk with a million and a half YouTube hits and the bestselling book followed. The Spark has become an inspirational manual for countless parents, not all of them parents of autistic kids. Kristine Barnett’s message— that parents should encourage their children’s passions instead of trying to remediate their flaws— has become a rallying cry.

At the daycare she ran, if a child liked crayons, they were going to get every colour of crayon there was. At the weekend centre for autistic children that grew out of it, if a child liked boats, they were going to be making some boats. She calls it her philosophy of “muchness.” “
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/01/jacob-barnett-boy-genius/

More then likely, her philosophy of muchness will eventually have the science to back her up. We can enable all children to reach their full potential - many will not become geniuses, but the world would be a much better place. And just think, the lost potential being crank out of the public schools will finally be halted….