MovieChat Forums > Child Genius (2015) Discussion > Season 2 Scorecard

Season 2 Scorecard

posted 8 years ago by atlasmb
6 replies | jump to latest

You can't tell the players without a scorecard. Here is a list of the children, including age, IQ and some facts about them. I will try to update this.

DRAKE--age 10, 155 IQ. Silicon Valley tennis player.

GENNA--age 11, 162 IQ. Described by mother as "destructive".

JADEN--age 11. Paleo lifestyle. "Unschooled".

CHANCELLOR--age 10. Hacker. Mother quite Wall Street, now in FL.

ARNAV--age 9, 144 IQ. Shy. Mother is "bad cop".

ADRIAN--age 10. Pianist. Attends grade 12. Very articulate. Mother is single parent.

VIVEK--age 9, IQ 150+.

CLAIRE--age 10. Piano, Golf. Says she "doesn't crack under pressure".

SELAH--age 9, 144 IQ.

SAM--152 IQ. Likes astronomy.

IRIS--age 11, 14 IQ. Likes Shakespeare, Plays cello. "New age" mother.

GIANNA--age 10, 145 IQ. Parents divorced. Mother is motivator.

[–] IrisJ123 8 years ago

Some of these IQs are extremely suspect, IMO, particularly Blake's and Jenna's.

[–] atlasmb 8 years ago

I understand your suspicion--not because of their performances, but because intelligence evaluation is not a perfect science. But I still think that their IQs are high, even if not quite that high.

I do not attribute their performances to lack of intelligence. After all, knowledge of capital cities or how to spell words is not directly related to intelligence. They are related to experience (practicing and environmental exposures).

[–] IrisJ123 8 years ago

I agree with you on that. I do believe all the children are given packets of study materials before each round, and I think these materials contain most if not all of the answers, but some people are better at retaining large amounts of info than others. And regurgitating info with little context is definitely not a sign of intelligence. Kim Peek, the "real life Rainman," could do that, and he had an IQ of around 55.

Still, Blake spells phonetically, like a very young child, and can't add two-digit numbers in his head. I think he may have some learning disabilities, which, of course, gifted children can and do have. But an IQ of 155 is quite high, and it seems really unlikely he is even close to that bright. He's probably just a normal kid who can play a little bit of tennis, and is pushed by hyper-achieving parents to be someone he is not. These same parents can easily "buy" an outside test that will reflect a very high IQ, and these tests are truly meaningless. I know other kids who have had them and tested "off the charts," and trust me -- these kids are not Einsteins.

I think the majority of these kids on the show are somewhat bright and do well in school and test high, but I don't see a bunch of true genius disruptors who think outside the box and seem set to make a significant mark on the world. To be fair, most of us won't do that. And that's OK.

I think true super-genius kids are probably not going to want to be on a reality show on Lifetime TV. So these tykes don't really represent the smartest of the smart (I don't think).

That said, I do find it all very entertaining.

[–] atlasmb 8 years ago

You could be right about Blake having a disability. But another answer might be that he reads little and that he spends lots of time playing tennis and pursuing other interests. When he was eliminated on the second day, I appreciated his parents' attitude, which struck all the right notes: reinforcing their love, downplaying the importance of the competition and stressing his other abilities.

[–] IrisJ123 8 years ago

It felt like that bit was for the cameras, because his mother was seriously pushing him and turning him into a basket case up until then.

[–] atlasmb 8 years ago

I think she wanted him to succeed at whatever he tries, but she pointed out that failures are important learning opportunities--an approach he echoed. I think she and her husband earnestly believe that this "failure" is a small setback in the big scheme of things. Apparently, he is very successful in tennis.