Comparison between two math prodigies

During the classes for the whole last week, we’ve dealt with child prodigies such as Amadeus Mozart and William Pitt the Younger who showed outstanding abilities as highly skillful adults at a young age. Among those prodigies from various fields, I’d like to compare two prodigies from the field of mathematics: Yoo-geun Song from Korea and March Tian Boedihardjo from Hong Kong.

First of all, I’ll introduce their similarities while focusing on each person’s profile. Yoo-geun Song, born in 1997, created a nationwide sensation with an exceptional talent in mathematics and physics. What’s more surprising was that he hasn’t had any type of private education except for ballet lessons. In fact, he has got several offers from top-ranked universities in Korea. Among those, what he chose was the one with a high-quality mentoring system, making him the youngest university student in Korea.

Similarly, March Tian Boedihardjo, born in 1998, is also known for being a genius for mathematics. Like Yoo-geun, at the time he was accepted at Hong Kong Baptist University, he became the youngest ever university student in the city. Later, he attended Greene’s Tutorial College which is famous for its one-to-one tuition helping him to further develop his interest in mathematics. In this sense, we can draw a conclusion from their profiles: they caught public attention for being genius in mathematics, were the youngest ever to attend university, and got one-to-one tuition from their schools.

Then, what is the difference between these two boys? Their differences can be explained in terms of their academic career and hardships. Firstly, let’s talk about their academic career. As mentioned earlier, Yoo-geun hasn’t been educated in any private institutions, but rather got homeschooling or public education in his country. What’s special about him was that he participated in a mentoring program in university and at the same time attended elementary school in order to socialize with his peers. However, before obtaining a Bachelor’s degree, he decided to enroll in the Master’s course in Space Science and he is now in the Doctor’s course in Astrophysics. However, in March’s case, not until he was accepted at a local university in Hong Kong, did he get education in his home country; he had an education in Britain. In addition, he doesn’t have any experience in studying with students his age. After graduating from the university, he went to the United States and he is currently conducting collaborative research with two renowned mathematics professors.

Furthermore, they have gone through different types of difficulty. In Yoo-geun’s case, he has faced the harsh reality of education in Korea. Instead of being encouraged, he had a problem for being different from other kids of his age. In fact, he wouldn’t have been able to jump on college-level if it had not been for his parents’ efforts against Korea’s current education system. On the other hand, there’s nothing much revealed about hardships March has had. However, his father once stated that his family has financial problems so that March wouldn’t be able to enter Oxford University as well as his brother, who is also a child prodigy and has already been studying there.

Taking things into consideration, these two boys seem to have something in common, but lots of differences as well. It is true that their future is unpredictable and there are possibilities that they could either be more successful or hit a wall. So, let’s cheer both of them to be a winner in their life.