14-Year-Old Jacob Barnett, Who Could Be a Nobel Prize Winner

Who is Jacob Barnett?

Jacob Barnett is a 14-year-old prodigy whose school had put him in special-ed classes and declared that he could not learn — diagnosing him with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder, a condition found usually in children characterized primarily by inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness).

How did he escape special ed?

Had it not been for his mother, Kristine Barnett, who recognized his abilities, he would have perhaps just been described as an autistic kid with special needs. She knew from the very beginning that there was something different about him. He used to draw maps with q-tips on the floor of the places they had visited.

She describes in her book The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius that she was afraid of pulling him out of school: "For a parent, it's terrifying to fly against the advice of the professionals. But I knew in my heart that if Jake stayed in special ed, he would slip away." She listened to her heart and pulled Jacob out of elementary school. Jacob learned all of high-school math in just two weeks — without anyone's help or teaching.

How smart is he?

At the age of two, he was diagnosed with autism, and doctors said he might never talk or tie his shoes. Now at 14, he is often thought of as more intelligent than Einstein. At 9, he started working on an original theory in astrophysics; at 10, he enrolled in Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to study physics; at 12, he became a paid researcher in quantum physics. His TEDx Teen speech, "Forget What You Know," drew millions of views. He was, at 14, a master's student on his way to a PhD in quantum physics — and was already being tipped to one day win the Nobel Prize. At 15, he was accepted as a visiting researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada.

What about his charity work?

He runs a charity called "Jacob's Place" along with his family to educate people about autism — a charitable community center for autistic and special-needs children and their families. They go from city to city explaining the truths about autism.