The Einstein Syndrome:  Bright Children Who Talk Late, by Thomas Sowell

This book is the sequel of sorts to the author’s earlier work on late talking children, and like that book, I found this one spoke to my own personal experience, as the author has an empirical view of a certain set of children of whom I happen to have been one myself.  Reading a book like this can be somewhat fascinating and more than a little bit strange, as one seeks that one’s own personal experiences, which seemed to odd and strange when one was going through them, end up being part of a larger pattern that joins one to other people who share a narrow set of qualities and a particular set of experiences that separates one from the ordinary mass of humanity.  The author manages to deal with an explosive subject in a way that establishes his own bona fides as someone who can speak with authority, and manages to give heavy criticism to those who have sought to distort his own insights and lashed out because their own interests have been threatened by an understanding of a particular group of children who defy the educational norms and who present difficulties to teachers who may not appreciate what they have to offer.

In a bit less than 200 pages, the author manages to discuss the issue of late-talking children as being part of a “syndrome” that is not negative although it has often been mislabeled as such by not particularly competent people who label such children as having a form of disability.  The book begins with a preface and acknowledgments and then moves on to the patterns that can be found about late-talking children in both families as well as children, where children who are talented in both music as well as analytical/mathematical matters who possess excellent memories but who are late in speaking and whose social skills develop later than most (1).  There is then a discussion of adults (2) and children (3) who talked late in history as well as in contemporary research, as well as a discussion of the way that children talking late in the contemporary world often leaves parents groping for answers in the hope that their children will not be labeled as disabled when they are clearly bright if often rather obstinate (4).  The author then looks at tests and evaluations for bright but late-talking children (5) as well as the problems that “early intervention” can bring these children (6) and how people can cope with uncertainties while waiting for their children to talk (7).  The end of the book consists of an epilogue, notes, appendix, and an index.

This book is part of a larger and necessary combination when it comes to the issue of giftedness and the tradeoffs that are inherent in the brain’s workings.  Since the brain has limited capacity and some aspect of scarcity about it, increasing skills in some areas (music, math, memory) entails trade-offs in other areas (delays in speaking and social development).  Although the author is by no means an expert when it comes to child development, his insights on the brain are consistent with his views as an economist where trade-offs are always something to be kept in mind when one is dealing with reality as opposed to political rhetoric, and utilizing his economic mind in the subject of the development of intellect is quite worthwhile.  Additionally, the author sensibly points out that intelligent children in general present problems for the contemporary educational system because they demand more intellectual stimulation than the generally incompetent level of elementary school teachers can provide and may even be smarter than their teachers.  For those of us who fit the mold of this book, this book is both a comfort as well as an insight into the workings of the intelligent mind, and a reminder that increased abilities come with trade-offs that must be endured and overcome.