He's so blessed to have such healthy, responsible and smart parents who doesn't force him to do what they want like most Asian parents. Seth really needs help outside his intellectual pursuits and academic life and his parents seem to know what they're doing. Such a breath of fresh air. Other children as gifted as Seth would have been wasted just having your typical Asian parents.
Comparing footage from when he was 8 with his bright smiles, you can really tell he has been hurt a lot by his peers and probably from the limits of the school system. I would agree that he has good parents, but I don't think they realize the damage trying to fit someone gifted in the container called school. He should be given the ability to have more freedom to expand and grow out in what he enjoys doing, but you can see that is not nearly the case. Hopefully by the time he reaches a learning institution that is suitable to him, he wouldn't be mentally destroyed by the inept of the education system.
@@H_Is_One I get where you're coming from but I think school is still a good experience for him. Time and time again we see what happens with children that don't experience school and what it does to their "social structure". School isn't just a container of a wack educational system". It's an experience that the majority of youths undergo that shapes their social thinking and gives them a sense of normality. I think that's why his parents still decided for him to go to school. It's definitely a double edge sword.
Bullying is so widespread in secondary level education that many victims of it typically think they don’t belong there. Bullying only robs them of their self worth. This is one of the top factors resulting in school shootings that happen worldwide. However, I really don’t have to tell you all, but restricting guns all because of this only makes it worse. It’s like trying to ban alcohol a second time.
You don't need a lot of friends.... You just need that 1 or 2 who is willing to stick with you thru thick and thin, people who genuinely accepts you for who you are.
Even so, most child have a lot of childhood, middle school, highschool friends and a lot of people have good school memories because of it. Nobody’s going to reminisce the time they learn maths in HS.
Honestly genius people dont need much advice from normal people, but normal people do otherwise Normal people cant control their lives and future but still they want to "teach” the genius "things” Its pure absurdity
yes, and you need to invest in that 1-2 friends as well. mental health is no joke. I hope Seth slow down on some days and invest in making long lasting friendship as well
@@tedlovejesus it's absurd for you to think like that. Genius are not genius in everything. They definitely don't need advice on what to do with their lives and expertise. But more often than not, geniuses do need human touch and advices on social interraction because the world is filled with normal people, and geniuses need to learn to vibe with majority, if he can't communicate with the general pleb, he's going to have a hard time and turn supervillain or worse, depressed loner. Read, the Curse of Genius.
@@tedlovejesus Some people need the sense of camaraderie and togetherness, not just close friends. It's a shame that teamwork is a soft skill that's seen as unnecessary at school. Just because a person is knowledgeable, doesn't mean he/she is wise or having insight.
@@linhwang6651 almost every kid had the same amount of time to improve themselves like adults.. when some kids are learning hands eye coordination and balance and learning survival skills playing in the forest or playgrounds while some kids are forced to leave playground early to practice piano... every child with around 100 IQ has a lot of time and if taught efficiently can learn skills to high level...i am really good at discovering and mastering some odd skills but socializing and lack of experience in literally talking and being in social environments (since i practice my skills alone) have developed my social anxiety to a near crippling state in taking calls, meeting out with friends or just asking a teacher about things i don't understand to the point that i was failing and barely passing classes despite me being very skilled/gifted in other aspects of life...
Seth is amazing but in this episode I was more impressed with Dehan. That kid's got maturity and EQ better than many adults (including myself). The way he handles Seth's temperament, humbly learns from Seth's strength and sees his brilliant side instead of just his "weirdness". He even had the guts to approach his humanities teacher to speak up about people bullying Seth. I know I wouldn't have been able to do that at 13 years old. I think Dehan's parents really brought him up well.
I have a "seth" in my school actually, He usually finishes his work in class then side tracks playing games in my school, that was 1 year ago and now hes my friend
I know someone who has a genius IQ. He went the creative path in life working on music/art/movies/special effects. Lives a pretty average life which is fine. I just thought he was gonna do some big things when we were in school.
The right thing to do for a gifted child is to put him in an environment in which his peers are equally gifted. Gifted children feel bored and are often isolated by others in a normal school. I'm not familiar with Australia, but I am with the US and also Singapore. There are many programs in the US and Singapore to develop gifted children. These students are very motivated when they grow up with peers of equal talents and given the opportunities to explore the world that excites them.
exactly, not motivating at all when all everyone else does is admire you. It's cool at first, but it gets boring quickly. You need someone to challenge you, have competition, strive for things in collaboration with others that are at par as you
@@PanikNT if you get the right tools , and the right parents when you were 8 I’d argue you, or anyone could be atleast half as good as him. He doesn’t look the type to be a super genius enrolling Harvard at the age of 8.
I think the comments here are really sad, this young teenager is obviously a gifted child (also watched his 2018 video back then). Singapore is too strict in terms of education for him, he’s miles ahead of his peers! It's not fair for people here to say that he'll never survive in the real world because he can't communicate with others, I believe he is also trying, but it'll be hard to find someone on the same wavelength as him in terms of intellect I suppose. Let us all wish him and his parents all the best, all of them are trying their best to bring the best out of him.
No… just treat him like a normal human being, You sound like just wanting extract every bit and ounce of utility out of gifted kids, that’s a dangerous idea tbh It’s not democratic and dictatorship at its finest
gifted prodigies often grow up as underachievers. Because they are so used to being miles ahead they don't have the resilient to risk and survive as an adult where being right and precise isn't the answer to most problems.
he'll be fine. at least they know he's gifted, instead of torturing his enthusiasm for computer science with constant competitions that often disqualify people who aren't as good as those with master degrees like they do in Taiwan.
I have autism, and honestly it sounds like he might have it as well. Growing up, I was also described as "living in my own world" and being content with not interacting with peers. People like us often are very gifted, but struggle to communicate and join the rest of our peers in tasks that many others find easier, like staying engaged with tasks that don't specifically align with our interests.
@Fearless Joy my IQ is in the 95th percentile, my dude (yes this was tested professionally and not online. I don't like to boast but you seem like you want to argue about my intelligence). I agree that "gifted" is a broad term, and honestly IQ still gets overruled by many things. I am gifted, but my learning disabilities/autism causes me to learn information slower than others despite having higher than average accuracy when I regurgitate the information, which causes me to do poorly on exams. So, yes, I know there's a lot more to it than being classified as "gifted," and I do not see myself as better than others for sure. And I definitely see the world differently than neurotypicals, like you said. But, I don't know why you felt the need to bring me down just because I was stating the fact that autistic people have different strengths and weaknesses than others. I did not mean to make it seem like we are better than anyone. Just different. Also, you do seem to have some held stereotypes held about autistic people. I'd encourage you to learn more and let go of those. I'm passionate about getting rid of autistic stigma!
@Fearless Joy also, I think there needs to be a mindset change here. Personally my issues aren't with paying attention to details, but with other difficulties in communicating like a neurotypical. I can see and empathize with their point of view just fine (autistic people do not lack empathy! That is a stereotype), but the way I communicate seems odd to them. Unfortunately, while people can teach me to become a better communicator, it will never come naturally. This is why neurotypicals also have a job of understanding those who are different and exercising patience when listening to them. Humans as a whole should be responsible for learning to talk to those who aren't like them, neurotypical or not. I've spent a lot of time studying how to talk to neurotypicals. I think you should spend some time learning to empathize with those who are different from you, too.
@@MJsaBitterLemon My 4 year old nephew who is also autistic still doesn't talk.been in an ongoing therapy for like a year now..diagnosed as "moderately severe".will he be.........?
I think he's got very good parents. One thing I find important to realize is we can't say he's superior to others. He just learned discipline in a loving way from an earlier age, that's something many many parents can't achieve.
i just had this conversation with my dad today. and thats immediately what i thought when i saw this. he is very smart in the things he likes to do just like everyone else who spends all day doing something not taking anything away from this amazing guy. but if i were introduced, for example to chess at 8 and became obsessed with it id also be a prodigy i think we will see more stories like this in the future with the abundance of information there will be more kids picking up things and thriving. thank you for this post
i think it's just cause he was exposed at a young age to it. and he's probably actually interested in the stuff he learns. i am kinda similar and i knew many programming languages since i was young but i suck at discipline. and i understand stuff quickly but don't do homework. not as young as him tho, i probably learned my first language when i was 8 (scratch, if you count that, which i do). then i started learning other stuff like js, lua thru roblox, c++, rust, etc.
The word prodigy is innately comparative but I can't get why we need to use prodigies as geniuses will just be another smart adult amongst hundreds of others
I don't like that the parents think its ok for him to be alone so much. They should help him foster social skills as that is a part of life. Otherwise he'll get bullied a lot and also what if his parents pass away, then he won't have them to guide him and who knows what would happen then. Everyone needs some basic social skills and to be able to build rapport and form relationships.
Like Seth my son was also an outstanding coder at a very young age, he then went to one of the top selective schools in Melbourne and now at a Go8 University studying Aerospace Engineering, he is also an engineer for the University’s Rocketry team. The sky really isn’t the limit for kids in Australia. They can truly reach for the stars.
Just keep track what he has learnt and have solve every month in a diary or notebook. Or what else he want to solve every month. Else the speed of learning would jeopardize his own speed. Just don't assume he has the same speed or capacity like a robot as we are actually dealing with human dna changes, growth, hormone and cell replacement. My 2 sen.
My nephew wrote computer programmes and composed music after school. After graduation from the university, he worked for Microsoft. In his 40, he retired and has no interest to work any more. Guess he has a burnout, like many programmers.
It's good to see Seth's parents are giving him the opportunity to take charge of his own life. I'm not gifted or anything and in fact I did badly for my O's. My parents pressurised me a lot during secondary school and I hated studying. When my parents gave up and let me do whatever I want, I start to excel in studies and life. They have no idea what I do for living but they can tell I am satisfied with my current position and that's all that really matters. I believe with such supporting parents, Seth will also excel in life and end up doing something he has passion in. Good luck with enrolling to his dream school!
Bro I feel bad for the kids who don't realize how much they could learn from him. Those kids who do realize it, will truly value him for the person he is.
I think that his dad getting him interested in science and programming at an young age really helped him. I grew up without the internet and schools here just focused on rote memorization, parents didn't do much to help so studying was boring for me but once I had access to internet there were videos that made every subject interesting (unfortunately I was already out of school at that time). I'm not nearly as gifted or intelligent as Seth though.
Hey Seth, I was in the same shoe as you (I started coding when I was 10). I don't know if you'll read this, but I faced some of the same challenges, and it's something that affects me to this day, but it's all worth it! Funnily enough I also started making games in Unity, and then I started making web apps. What I would say to my younger self is I wish I had just picked a passion that interests me and then applied the tool of programming. I got stuck using programming for the sake of programming and honing that skill rather than realizing it's a tool. I knew like 7 languages, but I never made a successful app as a kid even though I kept dreaming about it because I focused on the programming part, not the impact part, not the helping others part, and definitely not the what I find fun part. It's confusing because I found programming fun in itself, but applying it towards a particular goal will give you a lot of rewards long term :)
Imagine being labeled as gifted by not only your parents but the media.. poor kid. That just puts unnecessary pressure and expectations on the kid to do well. A lot of gifted kids have mental health troubles later on in life because of it. Seth please seek help one day if you feel the need to
Parents are usually the root of the problem. Many push their kids to the limit from very young. These parents seek after glory and pride of having an academically advanced kid. I have watched many documentaries of young genius on UA-cam, unfortunately many of these so called gifted kids did not have a good ending, some ended as sex worker, McD staff, etc. I just hope Seth’s parents and others will stop praising Seth for being smart and intelligent, they should compliment Seth’s hardwork and perseverance instead.
I'm someone like this too, who doesn't need other people's company, but I've learned that working in a group or team always needs a specific ally. If I ever end up actually working with others, I should always at least try and do my part well as team member. This inspiring story GL for Seith and family!
A lot of child prodigies have trouble socializing and just in general seeming normal because they are so smart. Intelligence is very difficult to mask. It is much easier to just avoid people than dumb down at that level. I'm speaking from experience. I really relate to him. What made me thrive socially was not the fact that I felt like I needed to fit in but truly understanding other emotions. I studied people the same way I studied any other topic then I tested what I learned in real life. Like a social experiment. Now instead of feeling like I don't understand people I realize even most quote normal people don't even understand people and just learning to except them the way they are. The only thing is I expect the same from them. If they can't give me that mutual respect I cut them out of my life. Times were I ignored this rule ended very badly. However, I learned from them now I'm surrounded by very supportive people. Who at the very least respect me even if they don't necessarily like me.
Sounds like you still have a lot to learn. To understand others, you'll need to understand yourself first. Sometimes it's through life experiences or it can be through material arts, meditation, relationships (any relationships) or at work. Observe and listen to yourself when you're around others.
Aww I hope the best for Seth. Kids at that age can be douchey, I really hope he doesn’t let them get to him :( if anything their actions reflects more about their personality! It’s good that he’s not easily peer pressured and he has a friend and supportive teachers at school. Just keep being you (and not mean) & you will attract the right people ^^
I see similar traits from Seth and my boyfriend. He was diagnosed with Asperger's. He was book smart but communication skills were less than ideal. I hope the world would be kinder.
It’s not geniuses fault if their communication skills aren’t good. We learn it by communicating. It’s not his fault that he is smarter than others so he can’t communicate with them as well. If anything he has to suffer because others are stupider than him lol
As someone who was gifted and always expected to figure it out and just do well automatically I can say these kids need more support than we think. I just crashed when I couldn’t keep up socially and my grades dropped along side. “Gifted” is not an automatic fast track.
I also skipped a year and was immediately pulled out by my mum a year later for similar reasons. I wonder what a difference it would have made if I was placed in a suitable environment, instead of being placed in an equally boring classroom with kids nearly two years older than me. I’m seeing some of that in Seth’s story, too.
Hahaha. Skipping years is just the education system able to provide it. It is boring though, but with today's technology, just updates your skill or perhaps know as your interest. Finding your own frens that keeps you energetic. Cheers.
@@stevenchan7537 Yes, that's true that there are more options for self-directed learning now. But it was a little different when I was seven years old, hahaha
@@minjosof ok. I hope everyone could live a better life with their own definition of comfort zone. A child life would be so boring to live with those adult who is lost or lack of memory of how it is to be a child when they are child before.
@@yuulb.alwright4333 I was in primary school back then, so the social development differences were pretty stark. Glad to hear you're doing well after skipping grades though!
I actually went to the same school as Seth here (ended up moving last year to the school hes coincidently trying out for this year), he was in the seal class two years below me. Even though I never really noticed it was THE SETH that I saw on UA-cam years prior, I’m sure he seems like a nice guy. People at that school aren’t generally very nice when they see someone who’s suddenly smarter than everyone else and that’s just the harsh reality of life at Australian high schools. I hope he gets into jmss though (I’m sure he will) because the community there is much more welcoming and friendly. Good luck! :D
Well Seth I think you’re extremely cool and that you shouldn’t feel the need to conform to others just because they’re projecting their insecurities on you! Trust that you’ll find more and more people you can connect with :-) a community is always important in any situation whether you’re smart or not
bro he's got one friend, and he is close to him, that's nice ! I hope this man will do what he loves and not what the world wants from him. It's not because you're gifted that you can't live a happy life if you want to ;c
He does show signs of being on the autism spectrum, which many gifted individuals are - the lack of concern for social norms, the lack of desire to socialise, the intense obsession on particular interests, the lack of eye contact, lack of much facial expression, doesn't express his ideas so well verbally (as his teacher pointed out), needs help with organising his things (as pointed out by his parents at the end).......
7 year olds are learning way advanced science through free UA-cam channels, coding games through Scratch, collaborating with random kids from around the world on Minecraft, Roblox etc. The legacy education system simply can’t catch up. It’s also a shame that science is only introduced in grade 3, and the content, a laughing matter to the 9 year olds who casually discuss black holes, Chandrasekar Limit, particle physics, hadron collider…plus they have already spent so much time on interactive periodic tables on their tablets. My favorite part is where my 9 year old and his classmates collaborated on a comic strip that tells the story of their expectations from science class in P3 and the reality…of course they used memes to express this. The libraries have been a better source of learning than the school classrooms. Also the science center needs to rethink its policy of limiting kids based on their age for the sessions it offers.
Oh, come on. your AVERAGE 9 years old are generally not interested in the Hadron Collider. They are still children. Even adults are having a hard time wrapping their heads around those topics/concepts. If what you said is true then Disney won't have as much of an appeal to children and be this massive juggernaut of their world and entertainment.
You only need to learn something relevant or useful. When I was in primary school, I wanted to read all the books in my local library. Luckily, I did not have time to do that stupid thing, just confined to some books of great interest to me.
I 100% agree with you. These replies are sad. The reason why "average" kids and adults can't wrap their heads around these concepts is because they were raised through this archaic and broken 1800s style "one size fits all" education system. Getting personalized education from the best educational sources online on interesting topics in order to complete relevant and fun projects seems like the obvious solution to this. I learned way more that way than I did through any school, and judging from the comments sections of educational UA-cam channels, so do millions of other people.
@@samuelyigzaw ，The knowledge is vast, with no limit. Schools have time only to teach the relevant, basic knowledge. People want to learn more and deeper, they can study by themselves in leisure. In reseach, if we need new knowledge to proceed, we will learn it. We do not have time to learn more than what is needed.
This is literally what everyone goes through during a big change from primary school to secondary school. I used to be like him but people didn't like me. So, sometimes, u have to control yourself. I remember in secondary 1 and 2, every year in my report book it will be written something like "{Name} has a aptitude for learning. However, he has learn self-control and not speak out of turn". I have changed that now and it is better for me. EDIT: thanks so much for the likes :D
Hahah. It is normal. Just like an adult don't pick your nose in front of everyone. It is actually how to get older process. If u able to differentiate getting older and getting mature with your interest, it would be nice. Tq.
No. Don't just say 'literally' out of nowhere. I'm 12, and during the change from primary to secondary I didn't get any backlash, and I'm from Singapore AND I'm in a fully-international school. Anyway, I am just saying that the cause of every change being grim is from the people around you. If many the people around you accept you or are okay with you while some people never act inapropriately in ways that make you feel sad and emotional, the change turns to be minimum. Therefore if some people around you don't accept you and aren't okay with you and say stuff to you inappropriately and don't care if they don't like it or not, the change turns out to be grim. Why, you may ask? Because of bullying. Usually, some schools take action very well circumstances such as these, but this school? Seriously, they're letting someone who is about the same age of some of my classmates just speak out about the bullying in their school is like? Appalling, if you ask me. This might even damage the schools reputation if I'm being honest.
I bless him. I was also ‘gifted’ to start programming at 9. I cannot be more successful because what’s blocking me is from internal. Back to the day people understood my gifted outcome but my special demand. Nor myself. I now need to spend a lot effort to find my own native happiness back.
I started programming at 12. It's not all that difficult if you find you have a passion for it. Certainly wouldn't say that makes one gifted. Lots of folks find what they're good at early on. Some are good at singing, some more athletic, some are good at math, piano, acting, art, etc.. you get the idea. Everybody has different strengths.
"if they're not being challenged properly, they will tend to let you know that or just sort of quietly disengage. So for Seth, he'll go on his laptop and he'll do something completely different from what we are doing" I totally feel seth here. In secondary school, I was playing with my phone in school and at home I was playing cs1.6 when my siblings are having tuition.
It's not just all about talent, he still needs to learn how to make connections and more importantly friends who can help deal with his struggle together. I personally found my friends at a competition I competed in however focusing strictly on education can severely harm the child's future with social interaction
I remember being the only kid in the class who played Chess(Joined Tourneys), was a Science (Chemistry and Physics) and History Freak and Knew more than 3 languages all this at like Primary. Considering I was learning in an Asian country, I used to get bullied for being Eurasian, of the German side, so I was called well, a Nazi and etc. I had difficulty making friends but always managed to make my bullies into my own friends because I stood up to them and basically make them realised they were wrong, a strange psychological reversal I was able to do, similar to Manipulation, but in a good way. Over time, I just felt really really bored. Eventhough I had so much to talk about, I just couldn't find or seek a person who had similar likings to me. So I tried my best to learn Small Talk and just went with that for all my time growing up. I was also pretty good at sports. I did Tennis, Squash, Golf and was a High Jumper and Long Jumper for the schools team, but for some odd reason, I was barely called to participate eventhough I passed the preliminary stages. It was like the Sports Coach didn't know I existed or was like worried if I kept going over the other students, it felt like I was making them feel weak down. So for that, I had to join private tournaments and manage to go through top ten. Which my school during that time, still didn't take to notice. I was asked out by outside coaches to participate in their groups and etc. But I was like too shy and didnt had the money to pay up for signup fees. They didn't afford any scholarship or some sort of support system. So I felt like there was no reason for me to join, it felt more like a scam advertisement. I was part of the Scouts too, I didn't really gain many badges, but I did get ones on subjects I really loved, like Crafting, Cooking and helping people during critical situations. Our captain was nice and told me that if I liked helping people, I might as well be recommended to join the Red Cross. Which was way harder to join in my school, because they had a strange requirement system of knowing some basic skills which you would normally be taught in the group itself. But they wanted you to prehandedly learn it for some reason. Which I already knew, so I managed in and continued reaching and managed to graduate as both a Semi Scout and a Red Cross, which confused my Homeroom Teacher and classmates, because once you were stuck within a party, you only graduated within that party. Now its hard for me to make long convos unless with super knitted friends. Until then, I will just be known as that guy who is quiet and stays at the corner of the room the entire time. Until I get a question or a somewhat decision to answer something that I know and love. Heck, now I still wonder, do people find it weird I like to talk to myself, making questions and answers of dumb subjects and well, basically make imaginary friends of sorts to help motivate "each other" and calculate. I am just glad my parents care for my wellbeing and etc. They never really bothered about me being the best. They were the best they could do. But with no oppurtunity given, I have no choice but to seek my own. Which is harder and takes some time to push on forward. But it would be worth it.
Ha, my name is Seth, taught myself how to program when I was 8. Am in college now. Teaching myself at such a young age was the most significant thing I have ever done in my life. It put me very far ahead in so many different ways. If you want to ever learn how to code. Do it.
My name is Ethan. Born and bred in SG, I taught myself physics and chemistry and even have hundreds of innovative concepts that will change the world from the age 7. Unfortunately, I didn’t had friends at all and was bullied every day in school by students and some teachers. Moreover, my parents didn’t like me doing stuffs that a kid my age won’t do. They even banned me from carrying out experiments and reading physics and chemistry textbooks from a young age. My parents decision caused me to suffer from depression and I’ve never felt happy in life even though I did extremely well in school and won several educational awards.
School (especially public school) doesn't teach you about something, it teach you to LEARN. Idc how gifted people is, it's better being average in every aspect than genius in something but lack in other. This kid all he know is code from childhood which is kinda the parent fault tbh so he just can't adapt very well and more often this will not end well. I'm firm believer that people can do well academically even by being autodidact/self-learn but it's not just about that, he need to learn to live in society especially as he become an adult, that will be way more useful.
@@gimmick206 this is so well said, particularly the part abt coding being what he is good at, but is merely what his parents (or Dad) made him do in childhood
@@gimmick206Everyone in this comment sections seems to emphasize him conforming to and working in this ‘society’ that is holding him back. Despite his own interests the school and his peers seem to criticize and restrain him. He should be free to learn what he likes at home while focusing on activities he likes outside of school as well. Or maybe this is a sign we should rethink our ‘schooling’ systems designed to restrict free thought and create thoughtless subservient people who are loved in the workforce
I completely agree. I’m a straight A student, definitely not at the kid in the videos level but definitely way above average. I also struggle with ADHD and potential dyslexia. I hate school, unless it’s a class or topic I like (history, writing fictional stories, band) and struggle more in topics I have no interest in (math) because it’s too difficult for me to pay attention. Unless it’s something I find extremely interesting I can’t bring myself to pay attention, no matter how hard I try I’m physically unable to. This has led to burnout, anxiety, self destructive behaviors, suicidal thoughts, etc. what at first started as a cool little thing in elementary school has become an addiction of sorts. If I don’t get an A I’m a failure and completely worthless, and I’ve had that mindset since 3rd grade. All the other kids in my classes are the exact same, I couldn’t tell you how many times kids have cried or even been send to the nurse for panic attacks. When I was younger my parents offered putting me into a more prestigious school, and I declined because of my friends. If I’m being honest, I regret that choice. I wish I said yes and maybe then my mental health wouldn’t have plummeted as much as it did. Public schools only care about making money. They couldn’t care less about their kids and I strongly believe a change needs to be made. Learning is fun, but not when it’s being shoved down your throat in the most uninteresting and uninspiring ways.
@@gimmick206that's why you never achieve anything great to be in history list with that mindset, people are dynamics, don't try to make people around you live in the same shoe as you, not everyone want to be average, some wants to be the greatest
I faced a problem like this in elementary school. Oviously not even close to as smart as Seth, I wanted to design guns and military planes, so I started learning to code, cad design, and 3d print. By 3rd grade I was making rc planes, and did very well in science fair. My school grades were completely different. I hated school so much as It was worthless to me, so I never submitted homework. However, after middle school, I made a close knit group of nerds like me, and I'm fortunate that I found them. Otherwise, online I always see stories of nerds being isolated, and having no friends.
Since his parents understands him, he is in good hand. No worry. For me it is quite a waste though, he would probably get in touch with those high tech nerd or gaming nerd learn in from now, because at the moment, it would turn out to be an old game in near future. Haha
Life is never fair. Even the best will suffer from obstacles that life throws at them. Hopefully he overcomes all difficulties with the support of family 💓
Jealousy is one hell of a thing. Seth you are an awesome prodigy and keep doing what you love to do most and if you ever make a game ill be the one playing it! Also props to that friend of yours what an amazing dude!
Growing up, I was considered a gifted child. But, after achieving success as a young kid, rest of the life became disappointment. Now I wish I was just a normal kid.
I agree with Seth. Working with people IS overwhelming and it’s really hard to make friends. I find my class boring because some people in my class are slow learners and my teacher would have to repeat himself over and over again just for them. The worst part is that I already learnt all the things that he is about to teach. Kinda annoying. I relate to Seth.
Best of luck to Seth, his parents are also super supportive which is great. And for everyone reading this comment best of luck to you as well hope you get what you want.
The feeling of being isolated is sadly predominate, most people are not kind, accepting, and willing to learn. If you are reading this there are others out there!
It's crazy how people make fun of others for being dumb but also make fun of others for being smart, don't know what range if IQ do bullies even appreciate
I feel this episode needs a counter point of view. Not to negate everything put forward here, but to balance it, or add perspective. What I'm expressing here is in no way intended as diminishing Seth's intellect or accomplishments. But if we don't position and label what is happening around young kids in the right context; I feel they may be exposed to unintended negative side effects. Side effects that could entirely have been avoided. First things first. I consider Seth talented and way ahead of his age. But I'd also draw the line there. I wouldn't attach labels such as "gifted" or "genius" to him just yet. The stigma that come with those labels are not at all entirely positive. I can't speak to his chemistry prowess, since my knowledge in chemistry never developed beyond high school. But Software Engineering is my turf, and here is where I feel we are misidentifying what is going on. Seth's interest in building things either electronically or digitally is not uncommon at all. Everywhere around the world kids (mostly boys) get started early. In fact, the fields of electronics and programming have actively made efforts for the barrier of entry to become lower and lower. It is easy to get started in both fields with the right guidance. Kids who utilize those easy-entry-tools can entirely focus on the domain of logic, and quickly make great steps in developing that skill and producing impressive results. This is a great thing in itself, but we must not get carried away in thinking that our kids are therefor at the same level of professionals that work in this field. It is simply not the case. Engineering is more than just applying logic. Most problems we face are social or political of nature, or are somehow an unfortunate consequence of past events. Excelling in the domain of logic isn't as impressive as it seems if you can ignore all the usual problems that surround real world logic problems. The reason I bring this up, is because the same thing was happening 25 years ago when I was a teenager. Our group of friends were also into robotics and programming. And when we went to highschool, and later uni, we found out that kids all across the world were having the same experiences as we had had. However our road was significantly harder. We did not have Arduino, Javascript, or Python. We had to learn about the compiler and the linker first. We didn't have Unity, we wrote our own trig and linear algebra libraries to render things on screen. We reversed engineered assembly and blew up our dad's computers trying to figure out what all the components were. And the same thing was happening 35 years before that, when my dad was saving up money to buy an oscillator and frankensteined his own guitar amp together. And the problems Seth is facing are the same as we all faced. We were lacking in social skills. Only had very few friends. Were very late in things like dating. Etc. But because nobody ever labeled us as "gifted" or "genius", we went through school like everyone else did. We picked up social cues from others. We learned the hard way what was acceptable behaviour and what wasn't. In the end we managed to combine our individual qualities with the larger community, and most of us have started families and have fulfilling careers in the fields that have always interested us. It seems that this article is marveling at the phenomenon that kids can have interests of their own and are capable of acquiring skills outside of the school system. If Singapore perhaps changed its economy to be less about finance, and more about everything else that makes life interesting, then perhaps the schools would change, and more people like Seth would pop up. Seth being labeled as "different" is a failing of the system. Kids like Seth already exist everywhere, and should exist more in Singapore. You are potentially looking at the head of a future tech company. Wouldn't you hate it if he joined the finance industry instead? Just my two cents.
I'm also a software engineer so I can smell the bs and I totally agree, I find the whole "gifted" thing to be a scam by parents to con themselves into thinking their children are somehow better than others. Truly gifted children need no explanation e.g. Terrance Tao, but from what I've seen in the videos I can't see anything that makes me think "wow this kid is gifted". The other thing I'd add is that lots of these kids lack street smarts (or common sense) to their great detriment. They may be smarter than the average person, but unless they are truly gifted, if they are severely lacking social skills and street smarts I'd argue that they are likely to be less successful than their "dumber" peers as these skills are crucial to functioning well in our society. From my experience in the industry some of the best engineers I know never started coding at the age of 5 or went to the best schools/uni's but were able to become successful through making the right career / life moves, learning the right things from the right people etc. Conversely I know some very smart people wasting away their talent in dead end companys/jobs because they never developed the social connections or street knowledge required to properly navigate their career. E.g. in once case, I knew a very smart uni grad who literally took the first job that landed on his lap for next to no salary and very little opportunities for professional development because he doesn't know any better. Regarding career success, it's never the smartest people that get promoted/get paid the most, but the ones who are able to negotiate their salary, switch jobs at the right time, play poltiics and demonstrate their impact in a company. For asian parents who want their children to truly succeed at life, earn the most money etc. best teach your kids the importance of social skills and street smarts.
Seth is really gifted. I guess there is not much I can say about it other than that he is really amazing. Incredible parents too. From the way they speak, you can tell they are really educated themselves and they are not pushing hard on him to do things the way they want. His brain is wired completely different from us who are average. I really hope Seth lives a happy life.
I think with these self driven learners, they should be given opportunity to present and discuss what they have learnt. Similar to academia, where if u made a new discovery u will go to conferences and present ur ideas and people will ask questions.
In 2020, I learnt that the inky way to understand science (a subject i hated the most) was to force yourself to love it. I now love it so much, and it has grown my editing career
Parents are generally obsessed with the idea of having a gifted child, but in reality it isn't as rosy as it sounds. Many parents who have been thru it may hope to have a normal child instead.
Parents usually do not know how to deal with their gifted children. When the children grow up, they dislike their parents for taking away their childhood.
nah lowkey the best approach to teaching gifted kids is to get them to do things on there own time. school will never benefot those who think differently and they need to develop themselves in their own time.
i felt like with kids like this, it's really important to also be physically healthy and strong, it's good for mental health, confidence, and power to fight back if necessary
Hard agree. Just taking it and being peaceful gets you no where. Become strong so that you can afford being peaceful. Talking as someone who severely lack any backbone this far.
I understand what he's going through honestly, I went through kind of the same thing? But yea the scenary of what he's going through is almost similar to mine. Kudos to him being a human gift of experience and friends!
This is a problem in my opinion, after a certain age people don't want to be taught they want to learn about things they find interesting themselves. I feel like the whole school system after elementary has to be restructured to cater to this.
I'm not a genius or anything like that, but I do tend to like doing stuff alone before. But I stumbled upon a quote before that says, "If you want to go fast, go alone, If you want to go further, go together".
Seth honestly doesn’t seem that happy and it was surprising when the parents said he doesn’t give into peer pressure and has his own little world. Didn’t Seth gave jnto peer pressure and stopped answering questions and not respond at all in class and how he was made fun of?
Any human or living being will get hurt in that kind of situation. It’s not about giving in to peer pressure. Also, maybe it’s because he found out other people thought he was showing off when he was just sharing knowledge or participating in class; so he decided to stop answering questions.
4:52 this. No matter how fast he can learn and graduate, he will still need to work under other people and with other people in the future and he needs to acquire the right skills for those. Life gets real when he starts working and yes, difficult as it may, he needed to learn to deal with people and that can be nurtured in school.
Meanwhile me coding day and night with an average mind 🤡 You see these geniuses, it motivates you even more to do better. If I don’t try my best now, I wouldn’t stand a chance at life and having a good future.
It's sad how accurate this is and how much I relate to it. The main problem I have is that I have to learn what the school wants me to learn, not what I want to learn, and in the school I'm in, we're not allowed to communicate freely as that's seen as disrespect to the teachers.
His father is actually software engineer, so he buy good pc and do also advocate seth to become programmer. Seth need to go to learn how to mingle with people (sports day, playing games with friends, etc).
Hey Seth, I just want u to know u have been an inspiration to me. U prove that age don't matter when it comes to learning any level of topic. Love from Asia.
Wonder if the child was exposed or pushed too early in his childhood beyond the peers that makes it harder to interact with others. Usually the high IQs type prefer to be with their kind, and that's why they don't make friends easily. Thus, wonder if it was a right choice to go Australia where the education is more laid back as compared to Singapore.
I always say that it’s sometimes better to be a bit slow because we all end up at the same jobs, smart people love everything so there’s no one career for ppl like him
Nobody talks about how gigachad Dehan is though for speaking up for his classmate
Beyond just speaking up, he actually bothers to enter Seth's world in hopes of fully embracing him. Real gigachads-
Facts W Dehan
He also look like hamza a little bit
@@Shut_Up he doesn’t look like hamza tho 👀
@@edandoesart Dehan is his Indian looking friend no?
If yes he look a little like hamza like when he wad young if i saw
He's so blessed to have such healthy, responsible and smart parents who doesn't force him to do what they want like most Asian parents. Seth really needs help outside his intellectual pursuits and academic life and his parents seem to know what they're doing. Such a breath of fresh air. Other children as gifted as Seth would have been wasted just having your typical Asian parents.
Comparing footage from when he was 8 with his bright smiles, you can really tell he has been hurt a lot by his peers and probably from the limits of the school system. I would agree that he has good parents, but I don't think they realize the damage trying to fit someone gifted in the container called school.
He should be given the ability to have more freedom to expand and grow out in what he enjoys doing, but you can see that is not nearly the case.
Hopefully by the time he reaches a learning institution that is suitable to him, he wouldn't be mentally destroyed by the inept of the education system.
@@H_Is_One I get where you're coming from but I think school is still a good experience for him. Time and time again we see what happens with children that don't experience school and what it does to their "social structure". School isn't just a container of a wack educational system". It's an experience that the majority of youths undergo that shapes their social thinking and gives them a sense of normality. I think that's why his parents still decided for him to go to school. It's definitely a double edge sword.
THASTS JUST RACIST
Bullying is so widespread in secondary level education that many victims of it typically think they don’t belong there. Bullying only robs them of their self worth.
This is one of the top factors resulting in school shootings that happen worldwide.
However, I really don’t have to tell you all, but restricting guns all because of this only makes it worse. It’s like trying to ban alcohol a second time.
@@shxrdz9628 How do you know he isn't Asian ?
You don't need a lot of friends.... You just need that 1 or 2 who is willing to stick with you thru thick and thin, people who genuinely accepts you for who you are.
Even so, most child have a lot of childhood, middle school, highschool friends and a lot of people have good school memories because of it. Nobody’s going to reminisce the time they learn maths in HS.
Honestly genius people dont need much advice from normal people,
but normal people do otherwise
Normal people cant control their lives and future but still they want to "teach” the genius "things”
Its pure absurdity
yes, and you need to invest in that 1-2 friends as well. mental health is no joke. I hope Seth slow down on some days and invest in making long lasting friendship as well
@@tedlovejesus it's absurd for you to think like that. Genius are not genius in everything. They definitely don't need advice on what to do with their lives and expertise. But more often than not, geniuses do need human touch and advices on social interraction because the world is filled with normal people, and geniuses need to learn to vibe with majority, if he can't communicate with the general pleb, he's going to have a hard time and turn supervillain or worse, depressed loner. Read, the Curse of Genius.
@@tedlovejesus Some people need the sense of camaraderie and togetherness, not just close friends. It's a shame that teamwork is a soft skill that's seen as unnecessary at school.
Just because a person is knowledgeable, doesn't mean he/she is wise or having insight.
Gifted kids need extra support in other areas of life, and it's really important they receive it. As Dr. K says, gifted kids are special needs.
YAAA a fellow healthy gamer
Yes, they may be inadequate or stupid in other areas of life.
@@linhwang6651 good one...
a fellow healthy gamer
@@linhwang6651 almost every kid had the same amount of time to improve themselves like adults.. when some kids are learning hands eye coordination and balance and learning survival skills playing in the forest or playgrounds while some kids are forced to leave playground early to practice piano... every child with around 100 IQ has a lot of time and if taught efficiently can learn skills to high level...i am really good at discovering and mastering some odd skills but socializing and lack of experience in literally talking and being in social environments (since i practice my skills alone) have developed my social anxiety to a near crippling state in taking calls, meeting out with friends or just asking a teacher about things i don't understand to the point that i was failing and barely passing classes despite me being very skilled/gifted in other aspects of life...
Seth is amazing but in this episode I was more impressed with Dehan. That kid's got maturity and EQ better than many adults (including myself). The way he handles Seth's temperament, humbly learns from Seth's strength and sees his brilliant side instead of just his "weirdness". He even had the guts to approach his humanities teacher to speak up about people bullying Seth. I know I wouldn't have been able to do that at 13 years old. I think Dehan's parents really brought him up well.
Seems like a Sri Lankan origin
That's a W friend right there. Whatever happens in the future, hope they stick together or at least stay connected
well said
I have a "seth" in my school actually, He usually finishes his work in class then side tracks playing games in my school, that was 1 year ago and now hes my friend
Good for you, i'm so proud of you. Your mother must be very proud of you too. :)
Just made me smile ❤
im not gonna lie i think that's just a normal student
I know someone who has a genius IQ. He went the creative path in life working on music/art/movies/special effects. Lives a pretty average life which is fine. I just thought he was gonna do some big things when we were in school.
@@spline5243 I get the same impression from seth
Every one need a friend like that. Very well done Dehan.
Not just a friend. But an ambitious, and at the same time, supportive parents.
The right thing to do for a gifted child is to put him in an environment in which his peers are equally gifted. Gifted children feel bored and are often isolated by others in a normal school.
I'm not familiar with Australia, but I am with the US and also Singapore. There are many programs in the US and Singapore to develop gifted children. These students are very motivated when they grow up with peers of equal talents and given the opportunities to explore the world that excites them.
they have selective schools
yup, can consider Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. heard it is not bad.
@@hannesRSA thats what selective schools do
@@hannesRSA i literally go to a selective school they know how to handle kids like him
exactly, not motivating at all when all everyone else does is admire you. It's cool at first, but it gets boring quickly. You need someone to challenge you, have competition, strive for things in collaboration with others that are at par as you
Quite illuminating that someone so smart can face the same insecurities and struggles that us normal people do
I thkn he is just AHEAD.. he is not that SMART.... but let's see..
@@valcrist7428If you had watched his last video, you would know that he is truly gifted in IQ as well.
well he is human
@@valcrist7428 He learned Arduino, Java and Python.... at the age of Eight, I was picking boogers at that age bruh.
@@PanikNT if you get the right tools , and the right parents when you were 8 I’d argue you, or anyone could be atleast half as good as him. He doesn’t look the type to be a super genius enrolling Harvard at the age of 8.
Hes got a nice friend
I think the comments here are really sad, this young teenager is obviously a gifted child (also watched his 2018 video back then). Singapore is too strict in terms of education for him, he’s miles ahead of his peers! It's not fair for people here to say that he'll never survive in the real world because he can't communicate with others, I believe he is also trying, but it'll be hard to find someone on the same wavelength as him in terms of intellect I suppose. Let us all wish him and his parents all the best, all of them are trying their best to bring the best out of him.
No… just treat him like a normal human being,
You sound like just wanting extract every bit and ounce of utility out of gifted kids,
that’s a dangerous idea tbh
It’s not democratic and dictatorship at its finest
gifted prodigies often grow up as underachievers. Because they are so used to being miles ahead they don't have the resilient to risk and survive as an adult where being right and precise isn't the answer to most problems.
Consultation with a child psychologist will be useful. Personality plays an important part on the behaviour of a child.
he'll be fine. at least they know he's gifted, instead of torturing his enthusiasm for computer science with constant competitions that often disqualify people who aren't as good as those with master degrees like they do in Taiwan.
FYI, i'm a competitive programmer and a young machine learning researcher in Taiwan (i don't consider myself talented).
I have autism, and honestly it sounds like he might have it as well. Growing up, I was also described as "living in my own world" and being content with not interacting with peers. People like us often are very gifted, but struggle to communicate and join the rest of our peers in tasks that many others find easier, like staying engaged with tasks that don't specifically align with our interests.
he has for sure
@Fearless Joy my IQ is in the 95th percentile, my dude (yes this was tested professionally and not online. I don't like to boast but you seem like you want to argue about my intelligence). I agree that "gifted" is a broad term, and honestly IQ still gets overruled by many things. I am gifted, but my learning disabilities/autism causes me to learn information slower than others despite having higher than average accuracy when I regurgitate the information, which causes me to do poorly on exams.
So, yes, I know there's a lot more to it than being classified as "gifted," and I do not see myself as better than others for sure. And I definitely see the world differently than neurotypicals, like you said. But, I don't know why you felt the need to bring me down just because I was stating the fact that autistic people have different strengths and weaknesses than others. I did not mean to make it seem like we are better than anyone. Just different.
Also, you do seem to have some held stereotypes held about autistic people. I'd encourage you to learn more and let go of those. I'm passionate about getting rid of autistic stigma!
@Fearless Joy also, I think there needs to be a mindset change here. Personally my issues aren't with paying attention to details, but with other difficulties in communicating like a neurotypical. I can see and empathize with their point of view just fine (autistic people do not lack empathy! That is a stereotype), but the way I communicate seems odd to them. Unfortunately, while people can teach me to become a better communicator, it will never come naturally. This is why neurotypicals also have a job of understanding those who are different and exercising patience when listening to them. Humans as a whole should be responsible for learning to talk to those who aren't like them, neurotypical or not. I've spent a lot of time studying how to talk to neurotypicals. I think you should spend some time learning to empathize with those who are different from you, too.
Asperger is what I think of when I see him.
@@MJsaBitterLemon My 4 year old nephew who is also autistic still doesn't talk.been in an ongoing therapy for like a year now..diagnosed as "moderately severe".will he be.........?
I think he's got very good parents.
One thing I find important to realize is we can't say he's superior to others. He just learned discipline in a loving way from an earlier age, that's something many many parents can't achieve.
i just had this conversation with my dad today. and thats immediately what i thought when i saw this. he is very smart in the things he likes to do just like everyone else who spends all day doing something not taking anything away from this amazing guy. but if i were introduced, for example to chess at 8 and became obsessed with it id also be a prodigy i think we will see more stories like this in the future with the abundance of information there will be more kids picking up things and thriving. thank you for this post
i think it's just cause he was exposed at a young age to it. and he's probably actually interested in the stuff he learns. i am kinda similar and i knew many programming languages since i was young but i suck at discipline. and i understand stuff quickly but don't do homework.
not as young as him tho, i probably learned my first language when i was 8 (scratch, if you count that, which i do). then i started learning other stuff like js, lua thru roblox, c++, rust, etc.
The word prodigy is innately comparative but I can't get why we need to use prodigies as geniuses will just be another smart adult amongst hundreds of others
I don't like that the parents think its ok for him to be alone so much. They should help him foster social skills as that is a part of life. Otherwise he'll get bullied a lot and also what if his parents pass away, then he won't have them to guide him and who knows what would happen then. Everyone needs some basic social skills and to be able to build rapport and form relationships.
Like Seth my son was also an outstanding coder at a very young age, he then went to one of the top selective schools in Melbourne and now at a Go8 University studying Aerospace Engineering, he is also an engineer for the University’s Rocketry team. The sky really isn’t the limit for kids in Australia. They can truly reach for the stars.
Just keep track what he has learnt and have solve every month in a diary or notebook. Or what else he want to solve every month. Else the speed of learning would jeopardize his own speed. Just don't assume he has the same speed or capacity like a robot as we are actually dealing with human dna changes, growth, hormone and cell replacement. My 2 sen.
That's great man, while I'm here struggling to study topics of my own level.
@@auspicious8415 curious of your topic.
@@stevenchan7537 basic level things, i'm kinda below avg
My nephew wrote computer programmes and composed music after school. After graduation from the university, he worked for Microsoft. In his 40, he retired and has no interest to work any more. Guess he has a burnout, like many programmers.
It's good to see Seth's parents are giving him the opportunity to take charge of his own life. I'm not gifted or anything and in fact I did badly for my O's. My parents pressurised me a lot during secondary school and I hated studying. When my parents gave up and let me do whatever I want, I start to excel in studies and life. They have no idea what I do for living but they can tell I am satisfied with my current position and that's all that really matters. I believe with such supporting parents, Seth will also excel in life and end up doing something he has passion in. Good luck with enrolling to his dream school!
Bro I feel bad for the kids who don't realize how much they could learn from him.
Those kids who do realize it, will truly value him for the person he is.
Feel sorry for Seth. Hope that he will find some really reliable loyal friends and be a beautiful contribution to this world. 🙏🏻
I think that his dad getting him interested in science and programming at an young age really helped him. I grew up without the internet and schools here just focused on rote memorization, parents didn't do much to help so studying was boring for me but once I had access to internet there were videos that made every subject interesting (unfortunately I was already out of school at that time). I'm not nearly as gifted or intelligent as Seth though.
It would be sad if Seth is not given an opportunity to develop his talents something that many normal schools cannot provide for.
Hey Seth, I was in the same shoe as you (I started coding when I was 10). I don't know if you'll read this, but I faced some of the same challenges, and it's something that affects me to this day, but it's all worth it! Funnily enough I also started making games in Unity, and then I started making web apps. What I would say to my younger self is I wish I had just picked a passion that interests me and then applied the tool of programming. I got stuck using programming for the sake of programming and honing that skill rather than realizing it's a tool. I knew like 7 languages, but I never made a successful app as a kid even though I kept dreaming about it because I focused on the programming part, not the impact part, not the helping others part, and definitely not the what I find fun part. It's confusing because I found programming fun in itself, but applying it towards a particular goal will give you a lot of rewards long term :)
Imagine being labeled as gifted by not only your parents but the media.. poor kid. That just puts unnecessary pressure and expectations on the kid to do well. A lot of gifted kids have mental health troubles later on in life because of it. Seth please seek help one day if you feel the need to
Parents are usually the root of the problem. Many push their kids to the limit from very young. These parents seek after glory and pride of having an academically advanced kid. I have watched many documentaries of young genius on UA-cam, unfortunately many of these so called gifted kids did not have a good ending, some ended as sex worker, McD staff, etc. I just hope Seth’s parents and others will stop praising Seth for being smart and intelligent, they should compliment Seth’s hardwork and perseverance instead.
If really a genius then will be ok. If not more stressful just because he can code more than other child.
I'm someone like this too, who doesn't need other people's company, but I've learned that working in a group or team always needs a specific ally. If I ever end up actually working with others, I should always at least try and do my part well as team member.
This inspiring story GL for Seith and family!
A lot of child prodigies have trouble socializing and just in general seeming normal because they are so smart. Intelligence is very difficult to mask. It is much easier to just avoid people than dumb down at that level. I'm speaking from experience. I really relate to him. What made me thrive socially was not the fact that I felt like I needed to fit in but truly understanding other emotions. I studied people the same way I studied any other topic then I tested what I learned in real life. Like a social experiment. Now instead of feeling like I don't understand people I realize even most quote normal people don't even understand people and just learning to except them the way they are. The only thing is I expect the same from them. If they can't give me that mutual respect I cut them out of my life. Times were I ignored this rule ended very badly. However, I learned from them now I'm surrounded by very supportive people. Who at the very least respect me even if they don't necessarily like me.
I should try this. Thank you.
Kind of comforting that I'm not the only one who treats socializing as a topic.
Paragraphs my friend.
I did this too.
Sounds like you still have a lot to learn. To understand others, you'll need to understand yourself first. Sometimes it's through life experiences or it can be through material arts, meditation, relationships (any relationships) or at work. Observe and listen to yourself when you're around others.
Aww I hope the best for Seth. Kids at that age can be douchey, I really hope he doesn’t let them get to him :( if anything their actions reflects more about their personality! It’s good that he’s not easily peer pressured and he has a friend and supportive teachers at school. Just keep being you (and not mean) & you will attract the right people ^^
I see similar traits from Seth and my boyfriend. He was diagnosed with Asperger's. He was book smart but communication skills were less than ideal. I hope the world would be kinder.
It’s not geniuses fault if their communication skills aren’t good. We learn it by communicating. It’s not his fault that he is smarter than others so he can’t communicate with them as well. If anything he has to suffer because others are stupider than him lol
As someone who was gifted and always expected to figure it out and just do well automatically I can say these kids need more support than we think. I just crashed when I couldn’t keep up socially and my grades dropped along side. “Gifted” is not an automatic fast track.
this kid got me so inspired i finally got the motivation to go on unity and put my knowledge to use
he has a nice friend and a great, understanding parents. that's all we need ♡
I also skipped a year and was immediately pulled out by my mum a year later for similar reasons. I wonder what a difference it would have made if I was placed in a suitable environment, instead of being placed in an equally boring classroom with kids nearly two years older than me. I’m seeing some of that in Seth’s story, too.
Hahaha. Skipping years is just the education system able to provide it. It is boring though, but with today's technology, just updates your skill or perhaps know as your interest. Finding your own frens that keeps you energetic. Cheers.
@@stevenchan7537 Yes, that's true that there are more options for self-directed learning now. But it was a little different when I was seven years old, hahaha
@@minjosof ok. I hope everyone could live a better life with their own definition of comfort zone. A child life would be so boring to live with those adult who is lost or lack of memory of how it is to be a child when they are child before.
I'm 14 and in 11th grade, i'm doing just fine.
@@yuulb.alwright4333 I was in primary school back then, so the social development differences were pretty stark. Glad to hear you're doing well after skipping grades though!
I actually went to the same school as Seth here (ended up moving last year to the school hes coincidently trying out for this year), he was in the seal class two years below me. Even though I never really noticed it was THE SETH that I saw on UA-cam years prior, I’m sure he seems like a nice guy. People at that school aren’t generally very nice when they see someone who’s suddenly smarter than everyone else and that’s just the harsh reality of life at Australian high schools. I hope he gets into jmss though (I’m sure he will) because the community there is much more welcoming and friendly. Good luck! :D
Well Seth I think you’re extremely cool and that you shouldn’t feel the need to conform to others just because they’re projecting their insecurities on you! Trust that you’ll find more and more people you can connect with :-) a community is always important in any situation whether you’re smart or not
bro he's got one friend, and he is close to him, that's nice ! I hope this man will do what he loves and not what the world wants from him. It's not because you're gifted that you can't live a happy life if you want to ;c
He does show signs of being on the autism spectrum, which many gifted individuals are - the lack of concern for social norms, the lack of desire to socialise, the intense obsession on particular interests, the lack of eye contact, lack of much facial expression, doesn't express his ideas so well verbally (as his teacher pointed out), needs help with organising his things (as pointed out by his parents at the end).......
I remember when i watched the first part, i was impressed being a programmer myself.
And now i see what he is become!
Im happy for my boy Seth 😀
such a loveable man , how could anyone ever make fun of him.
7 year olds are learning way advanced science through free UA-cam channels, coding games through Scratch, collaborating with random kids from around the world on Minecraft, Roblox etc. The legacy education system simply can’t catch up. It’s also a shame that science is only introduced in grade 3, and the content, a laughing matter to the 9 year olds who casually discuss black holes, Chandrasekar Limit, particle physics, hadron collider…plus they have already spent so much time on interactive periodic tables on their tablets. My favorite part is where my 9 year old and his classmates collaborated on a comic strip that tells the story of their expectations from science class in P3 and the reality…of course they used memes to express this.
The libraries have been a better source of learning than the school classrooms. Also the science center needs to rethink its policy of limiting kids based on their age for the sessions it offers.
Oh, come on. your AVERAGE 9 years old are generally not interested in the Hadron Collider. They are still children. Even adults are having a hard time wrapping their heads around those topics/concepts. If what you said is true then Disney won't have as much of an appeal to children and be this massive juggernaut of their world and entertainment.
@@enkryptron ooooo you spit saying facts, u roasted this guy so hard hahahahaha
You only need to learn something relevant or useful. When I was in primary school, I wanted to read all the books in my local library. Luckily, I did not have time to do that stupid thing, just confined to some books of great interest to me.
I 100% agree with you. These replies are sad. The reason why "average" kids and adults can't wrap their heads around these concepts is because they were raised through this archaic and broken 1800s style "one size fits all" education system. Getting personalized education from the best educational sources online on interesting topics in order to complete relevant and fun projects seems like the obvious solution to this. I learned way more that way than I did through any school, and judging from the comments sections of educational UA-cam channels, so do millions of other people.
@@samuelyigzaw ，The knowledge is vast, with no limit. Schools have time only to teach the relevant, basic knowledge. People want to learn more and deeper, they can study by themselves in leisure. In reseach, if we need new knowledge to proceed, we will learn it. We do not have time to learn more than what is needed.
Hoping Seth would eventually overcome any struggles and succeed in life 🙏
This is literally what everyone goes through during a big change from primary school to secondary school. I used to be like him but people didn't like me. So, sometimes, u have to control yourself. I remember in secondary 1 and 2, every year in my report book it will be written something like "{Name} has a aptitude for learning. However, he has learn self-control and not speak out of turn". I have changed that now and it is better for me.
EDIT: thanks so much for the likes :D
Hahah. It is normal. Just like an adult don't pick your nose in front of everyone. It is actually how to get older process.
If u able to differentiate getting older and getting mature with your interest, it would be nice. Tq.
No. Don't just say 'literally' out of nowhere. I'm 12, and during the change from primary to secondary I didn't get any backlash, and I'm from Singapore AND I'm in a fully-international school. Anyway, I am just saying that the cause of every change being grim is from the people around you. If many the people around you accept you or are okay with you while some people never act inapropriately in ways that make you feel sad and emotional, the change turns to be minimum. Therefore if some people around you don't accept you and aren't okay with you and say stuff to you inappropriately and don't care if they don't like it or not, the change turns out to be grim. Why, you may ask? Because of bullying. Usually, some schools take action very well circumstances such as these, but this school? Seriously, they're letting someone who is about the same age of some of my classmates just speak out about the bullying in their school is like? Appalling, if you ask me. This might even damage the schools reputation if I'm being honest.
@@vortexturtoise relax bro. So you are telling me that speaking up for yourself is wrong.
@@vortexturtoisewhy should you care what others think of you? If you are being bullied then report it or stand up for yourself.
@@MillionaireMindsetClipsYT ya its easy to say but thing is even when we go work people will bully us
I bless him. I was also ‘gifted’ to start programming at 9. I cannot be more successful because what’s blocking me is from internal.
Back to the day people understood my gifted outcome but my special demand. Nor myself. I now need to spend a lot effort to find my own native happiness back.
Any child who has supportive and loving parents is gifted.
I started programming at 12. It's not all that difficult if you find you have a passion for it. Certainly wouldn't say that makes one gifted. Lots of folks find what they're good at early on. Some are good at singing, some more athletic, some are good at math, piano, acting, art, etc.. you get the idea. Everybody has different strengths.
The difficulty for a lot of people in anything is sticking to something they started at 12, or really any age.
@@DucklengUgly well thats just a discipline problem which is kinda irrelevant in this case
But are you gifted?
Our organisms start programming (=planning) movements, when we are age
"if they're not being challenged properly, they will tend to let you know that or just sort of quietly disengage. So for Seth, he'll go on his laptop and he'll do something completely different from what we are doing"
I totally feel seth here. In secondary school, I was playing with my phone in school and at home I was playing cs1.6 when my siblings are having tuition.
It's not just all about talent, he still needs to learn how to make connections and more importantly friends who can help deal with his struggle together. I personally found my friends at a competition I competed in however focusing strictly on education can severely harm the child's future with social interaction
I remember being the only kid in the class who played Chess(Joined Tourneys), was a Science (Chemistry and Physics) and History Freak and Knew more than 3 languages all this at like Primary. Considering I was learning in an Asian country, I used to get bullied for being Eurasian, of the German side, so I was called well, a Nazi and etc. I had difficulty making friends but always managed to make my bullies into my own friends because I stood up to them and basically make them realised they were wrong, a strange psychological reversal I was able to do, similar to Manipulation, but in a good way. Over time, I just felt really really bored. Eventhough I had so much to talk about, I just couldn't find or seek a person who had similar likings to me. So I tried my best to learn Small Talk and just went with that for all my time growing up.
I was also pretty good at sports. I did Tennis, Squash, Golf and was a High Jumper and Long Jumper for the schools team, but for some odd reason, I was barely called to participate eventhough I passed the preliminary stages. It was like the Sports Coach didn't know I existed or was like worried if I kept going over the other students, it felt like I was making them feel weak down. So for that, I had to join private tournaments and manage to go through top ten. Which my school during that time, still didn't take to notice. I was asked out by outside coaches to participate in their groups and etc. But I was like too shy and didnt had the money to pay up for signup fees.
They didn't afford any scholarship or some sort of support system. So I felt like there was no reason for me to join, it felt more like a scam advertisement.
I was part of the Scouts too, I didn't really gain many badges, but I did get ones on subjects I really loved, like Crafting, Cooking and helping people during critical situations. Our captain was nice and told me that if I liked helping people, I might as well be recommended to join the Red Cross. Which was way harder to join in my school, because they had a strange requirement system of knowing some basic skills which you would normally be taught in the group itself. But they wanted you to prehandedly learn it for some reason. Which I already knew, so I managed in and continued reaching and managed to graduate as both a Semi Scout and a Red Cross, which confused my Homeroom Teacher and classmates, because once you were stuck within a party, you only graduated within that party.
Now its hard for me to make long convos unless with super knitted friends. Until then, I will just be known as that guy who is quiet and stays at the corner of the room the entire time. Until I get a question or a somewhat decision to answer something that I know and love.
Heck, now I still wonder, do people find it weird I like to talk to myself, making questions and answers of dumb subjects and well, basically make imaginary friends of sorts to help motivate "each other" and calculate.
I am just glad my parents care for my wellbeing and etc. They never really bothered about me being the best. They were the best they could do.
But with no oppurtunity given, I have no choice but to seek my own. Which is harder and takes some time to push on forward. But it would be worth it.
bro you grew up playing rich people sports and your saying you didn't get any opportunities in life, your so cocky and deluded.
I hope him and Dehan stay friends, they could learn alot from eachother.
Ha, my name is Seth, taught myself how to program when I was 8. Am in college now. Teaching myself at such a young age was the most significant thing I have ever done in my life. It put me very far ahead in so many different ways. If you want to ever learn how to code. Do it.
wait what..
My name is Ethan. Born and bred in SG, I taught myself physics and chemistry and even have hundreds of innovative concepts that will change the world from the age 7. Unfortunately, I didn’t had friends at all and was bullied every day in school by students and some teachers. Moreover, my parents didn’t like me doing stuffs that a kid my age won’t do. They even banned me from carrying out experiments and reading physics and chemistry textbooks from a young age. My parents decision caused me to suffer from depression and I’ve never felt happy in life even though I did extremely well in school and won several educational awards.
neggawatt
I'm a firm believer that public schools or Any school that has state mandated exams ruins kids. Get this genius out of school and home school him.
School (especially public school) doesn't teach you about something, it teach you to LEARN. Idc how gifted people is, it's better being average in every aspect than genius in something but lack in other. This kid all he know is code from childhood which is kinda the parent fault tbh so he just can't adapt very well and more often this will not end well. I'm firm believer that people can do well academically even by being autodidact/self-learn but it's not just about that, he need to learn to live in society especially as he become an adult, that will be way more useful.
@@gimmick206 this is so well said, particularly the part abt coding being what he is good at, but is merely what his parents (or Dad) made him do in childhood
@@gimmick206Everyone in this comment sections seems to emphasize him conforming to and working in this ‘society’ that is holding him back. Despite his own interests the school and his peers seem to criticize and restrain him. He should be free to learn what he likes at home while focusing on activities he likes outside of school as well. Or maybe this is a sign we should rethink our ‘schooling’ systems designed to restrict free thought and create thoughtless subservient people who are loved in the workforce
I completely agree. I’m a straight A student, definitely not at the kid in the videos level but definitely way above average. I also struggle with ADHD and potential dyslexia. I hate school, unless it’s a class or topic I like (history, writing fictional stories, band) and struggle more in topics I have no interest in (math) because it’s too difficult for me to pay attention. Unless it’s something I find extremely interesting I can’t bring myself to pay attention, no matter how hard I try I’m physically unable to. This has led to burnout, anxiety, self destructive behaviors, suicidal thoughts, etc. what at first started as a cool little thing in elementary school has become an addiction of sorts. If I don’t get an A I’m a failure and completely worthless, and I’ve had that mindset since 3rd grade. All the other kids in my classes are the exact same, I couldn’t tell you how many times kids have cried or even been send to the nurse for panic attacks. When I was younger my parents offered putting me into a more prestigious school, and I declined because of my friends. If I’m being honest, I regret that choice. I wish I said yes and maybe then my mental health wouldn’t have plummeted as much as it did. Public schools only care about making money. They couldn’t care less about their kids and I strongly believe a change needs to be made. Learning is fun, but not when it’s being shoved down your throat in the most uninteresting and uninspiring ways.
@@gimmick206that's why you never achieve anything great to be in history list with that mindset, people are dynamics, don't try to make people around you live in the same shoe as you, not everyone want to be average, some wants to be the greatest
I faced a problem like this in elementary school. Oviously not even close to as smart as Seth, I wanted to design guns and military planes, so I started learning to code, cad design, and 3d print. By 3rd grade I was making rc planes, and did very well in science fair. My school grades were completely different. I hated school so much as It was worthless to me, so I never submitted homework. However, after middle school, I made a close knit group of nerds like me, and I'm fortunate that I found them. Otherwise, online I always see stories of nerds being isolated, and having no friends.
From his eyes have gone from enthusiastic innocence to 疲惫and smthg else... I have no words.
He’s just very introverted
疲憊 = tired
Since his parents understands him, he is in good hand. No worry. For me it is quite a waste though, he would probably get in touch with those high tech nerd or gaming nerd learn in from now, because at the moment, it would turn out to be an old game in near future. Haha
He's likely savant or autistic. So we just have to understand and be aware of bullies who make fun of him being different.
@@s0kulite tysm
Dehan doesn't talk his age. He's like a grandma who knows everything. Good for seth for meeting dehan.
No right or wrong, as long the kid is happy, doing what they want and having a good nature.
Life is never fair. Even the best will suffer from obstacles that life throws at them. Hopefully he overcomes all difficulties with the support of family 💓
Aww, I wish this family nothing but love, joy, and peace.
I have a Dehan in my life, and it's such a wonderful thing. Props to that kid
Jealousy is one hell of a thing. Seth you are an awesome prodigy and keep doing what you love to do most and if you ever make a game ill be the one playing it! Also props to that friend of yours what an amazing dude!
Growing up, I was considered a gifted child. But, after achieving success as a young kid, rest of the life became disappointment. Now I wish I was just a normal kid.
he got nice friend. quality over quantity
I agree with Seth. Working with people IS overwhelming and it’s really hard to make friends. I find my class boring because some people in my class are slow learners and my teacher would have to repeat himself over and over again just for them. The worst part is that I already learnt all the things that he is about to teach. Kinda annoying. I relate to Seth.
Best of luck to Seth, his parents are also super supportive which is great.
And for everyone reading this comment best of luck to you as well hope you get what you want.
The feeling of being isolated is sadly predominate, most people are not kind, accepting, and willing to learn. If you are reading this there are others out there!
It's crazy how people make fun of others for being dumb but also make fun of others for being smart, don't know what range if IQ do bullies even appreciate
Im proud of you seth, you do you. Dont let the world tell you otherwise!
I feel this episode needs a counter point of view. Not to negate everything put forward here, but to balance it, or add perspective. What I'm expressing here is in no way intended as diminishing Seth's intellect or accomplishments. But if we don't position and label what is happening around young kids in the right context; I feel they may be exposed to unintended negative side effects. Side effects that could entirely have been avoided.
First things first. I consider Seth talented and way ahead of his age. But I'd also draw the line there. I wouldn't attach labels such as "gifted" or "genius" to him just yet. The stigma that come with those labels are not at all entirely positive.
I can't speak to his chemistry prowess, since my knowledge in chemistry never developed beyond high school. But Software Engineering is my turf, and here is where I feel we are misidentifying what is going on.
Seth's interest in building things either electronically or digitally is not uncommon at all. Everywhere around the world kids (mostly boys) get started early. In fact, the fields of electronics and programming have actively made efforts for the barrier of entry to become lower and lower. It is easy to get started in both fields with the right guidance. Kids who utilize those easy-entry-tools can entirely focus on the domain of logic, and quickly make great steps in developing that skill and producing impressive results. This is a great thing in itself, but we must not get carried away in thinking that our kids are therefor at the same level of professionals that work in this field. It is simply not the case. Engineering is more than just applying logic. Most problems we face are social or political of nature, or are somehow an unfortunate consequence of past events. Excelling in the domain of logic isn't as impressive as it seems if you can ignore all the usual problems that surround real world logic problems.
The reason I bring this up, is because the same thing was happening 25 years ago when I was a teenager. Our group of friends were also into robotics and programming. And when we went to highschool, and later uni, we found out that kids all across the world were having the same experiences as we had had. However our road was significantly harder. We did not have Arduino, Javascript, or Python. We had to learn about the compiler and the linker first. We didn't have Unity, we wrote our own trig and linear algebra libraries to render things on screen. We reversed engineered assembly and blew up our dad's computers trying to figure out what all the components were. And the same thing was happening 35 years before that, when my dad was saving up money to buy an oscillator and frankensteined his own guitar amp together.
And the problems Seth is facing are the same as we all faced. We were lacking in social skills. Only had very few friends. Were very late in things like dating. Etc. But because nobody ever labeled us as "gifted" or "genius", we went through school like everyone else did. We picked up social cues from others. We learned the hard way what was acceptable behaviour and what wasn't. In the end we managed to combine our individual qualities with the larger community, and most of us have started families and have fulfilling careers in the fields that have always interested us.
It seems that this article is marveling at the phenomenon that kids can have interests of their own and are capable of acquiring skills outside of the school system. If Singapore perhaps changed its economy to be less about finance, and more about everything else that makes life interesting, then perhaps the schools would change, and more people like Seth would pop up. Seth being labeled as "different" is a failing of the system. Kids like Seth already exist everywhere, and should exist more in Singapore. You are potentially looking at the head of a future tech company. Wouldn't you hate it if he joined the finance industry instead?
Just my two cents.
I'm also a software engineer so I can smell the bs and I totally agree, I find the whole "gifted" thing to be a scam by parents to con themselves into thinking their children are somehow better than others. Truly gifted children need no explanation e.g. Terrance Tao, but from what I've seen in the videos I can't see anything that makes me think "wow this kid is gifted".
The other thing I'd add is that lots of these kids lack street smarts (or common sense) to their great detriment. They may be smarter than the average person, but unless they are truly gifted, if they are severely lacking social skills and street smarts I'd argue that they are likely to be less successful than their "dumber" peers as these skills are crucial to functioning well in our society.
From my experience in the industry some of the best engineers I know never started coding at the age of 5 or went to the best schools/uni's but were able to become successful through making the right career / life moves, learning the right things from the right people etc. Conversely I know some very smart people wasting away their talent in dead end companys/jobs because they never developed the social connections or street knowledge required to properly navigate their career. E.g. in once case, I knew a very smart uni grad who literally took the first job that landed on his lap for next to no salary and very little opportunities for professional development because he doesn't know any better.
Regarding career success, it's never the smartest people that get promoted/get paid the most, but the ones who are able to negotiate their salary, switch jobs at the right time, play poltiics and demonstrate their impact in a company.
For asian parents who want their children to truly succeed at life, earn the most money etc. best teach your kids the importance of social skills and street smarts.
I love his supportive parents.. its positive and in a caring way just focusing on their child as a normal human being. Love it.
as adults, you can only wish you've had a classmate like this. These kids just don't understand
Look how being very financially capable and having a burning interest can make us intelligent
Seth is really gifted. I guess there is not much I can say about it other than that he is really amazing. Incredible parents too. From the way they speak, you can tell they are really educated themselves and they are not pushing hard on him to do things the way they want.
His brain is wired completely different from us who are average. I really hope Seth lives a happy life.
The world needs more Dehans
i hope the best for seth and his friends, i'm too in the same state of mind but i can see that i'm slowly getting there as well
Raising a gifted child, the best gift we have given our son is child-led learning.
I think with these self driven learners, they should be given opportunity to present and discuss what they have learnt. Similar to academia, where if u made a new discovery u will go to conferences and present ur ideas and people will ask questions.
This is actually a really good idea.
In 2020, I learnt that the inky way to understand science (a subject i hated the most) was to force yourself to love it. I now love it so much, and it has grown my editing career
genius is lonely without the surrounding presence of a people to inspire it.
Good luck Seth! Hope you pass your exams this year!
Parents are generally obsessed with the idea of having a gifted child, but in reality it isn't as rosy as it sounds. Many parents who have been thru it may hope to have a normal child instead.
this truth hits hard, and very painful...
Parents usually do not know how to deal with their gifted children. When the children grow up, they dislike their parents for taking away their childhood.
nah lowkey the best approach to teaching gifted kids is to get them to do things on there own time. school will never benefot those who think differently and they need to develop themselves in their own time.
i felt like with kids like this, it's really important to also be physically healthy and strong, it's good for mental health, confidence, and power to fight back if necessary
Hard agree. Just taking it and being peaceful gets you no where. Become strong so that you can afford being peaceful. Talking as someone who severely lack any backbone this far.
I understand what he's going through honestly, I went through kind of the same thing? But yea the scenary of what he's going through is almost similar to mine. Kudos to him being a human gift of experience and friends!
I hope he understands how good of a friend Dehan is.
Keep going Seth and Dehan enjoy school and your friendships.
This is a problem in my opinion, after a certain age people don't want to be taught they want to learn about things they find interesting themselves. I feel like the whole school system after elementary has to be restructured to cater to this.
All them kids bullying him tripping, I would’ve brought the guy lunch and sat with him everyday, smart people are who we need 🌌
Yeah man, same with me
they’re really, really stupid. thinking bullying him would do them any good. you should rather buddy up to the smart ones for benefit 😂
Woah I didn't expect to see Seth again, it's been a while.
Same. Back when I watched this video I didn’t want to end my life.
I remember watching him when i was 7 and he really inspired me to do robotics and mechanical stuff. Now I'm 13 and doing it rn
I'm not a genius or anything like that, but I do tend to like doing stuff alone before. But I stumbled upon a quote before that says, "If you want to go fast, go alone, If you want to go further, go together".
I truly wish Seth well
let’s appreciate how he still could pull conversations in front of cameras
Seth honestly doesn’t seem that happy and it was surprising when the parents said he doesn’t give into peer pressure and has his own little world. Didn’t Seth gave jnto peer pressure and stopped answering questions and not respond at all in class and how he was made fun of?
Any human or living being will get hurt in that kind of situation. It’s not about giving in to peer pressure. Also, maybe it’s because he found out other people thought he was showing off when he was just sharing knowledge or participating in class; so he decided to stop answering questions.
he's not just gifted, he's also lucky to have parents supporting him like that. especially from an asian family. i am an asian myself
I actually wanna be his friend he seems like a cool and nice dude to talk to
4:52 this. No matter how fast he can learn and graduate, he will still need to work under other people and with other people in the future and he needs to acquire the right skills for those. Life gets real when he starts working and yes, difficult as it may, he needed to learn to deal with people and that can be nurtured in school.
It's sad that he has to wait so many years until he can be at a school that will make it possible for him to work at his own speed.
He looks like from happy boy to mastermind villain. Waiting for the right time to show his color.
Meanwhile me coding day and night with an average mind 🤡 You see these geniuses, it motivates you even more to do better. If I don’t try my best now, I wouldn’t stand a chance at life and having a good future.
How old are you?
It's sad how accurate this is and how much I relate to it. The main problem I have is that I have to learn what the school wants me to learn, not what I want to learn, and in the school I'm in, we're not allowed to communicate freely as that's seen as disrespect to the teachers.
His father is actually software engineer, so he buy good pc and do also advocate seth to become programmer. Seth need to go to learn how to mingle with people (sports day, playing games with friends, etc).
Hey Seth, I just want u to know u have been an inspiration to me. U prove that age don't matter when it comes to learning any level of topic. Love from Asia.
Wonder if the child was exposed or pushed too early in his childhood beyond the peers that makes it harder to interact with others. Usually the high IQs type prefer to be with their kind, and that's why they don't make friends easily. Thus, wonder if it was a right choice to go Australia where the education is more laid back as compared to Singapore.
See Terence Tao.
I always say that it’s sometimes better to be a bit slow because we all end up at the same jobs, smart people love everything so there’s no one career for ppl like him