Parents should not force gifted children to skip grades or focus too much on academic achievement as it could hinder their social, emotional or intellectual development, according to the latest winner of the prestigious Crafoord Prize for mathematics.
Terence Tao, a child of Hong Kong immigrants to Australia and currently a professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, was awarded what is sometimes called the Nobel prize for mathematics by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Crafoord Prize is intended to promote research in mathematics as well as other academic fields such as astronomy and biosciences and is presented personally by Sweden's King Carl Gustaf.
Tao, labelled by some of his peers as the Mozart of Maths for his creativity, won the prize along with a Belgian scholar, Professor Jean Bourgain of Princeton.
Being passionate about one's own work and having freedom to choose were both keys to success, according to comments Tao made about educating prodigies on his blog.
'Obtaining degree X from prestigious institution Y in only Z years, or scoring A on test B at age C,' would not help long-term development, he said.
In 2006, Tao became the second ethnic Chinese to receive another coveted maths award, the Fields Medal, after renowned mathematician Yau Shing-tung won in 1982.
Tao admitted a big reason for his success was the freedom his parents, Billy and Grace Tao, gave him from an early age and his own passion to learn.
