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For child prodigies in fiction see Fictional Child Prodigies

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A child prodigy is a child who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age. One generally accepted heuristic for identifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 13 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavor. ^[1] [1] There is some controversy as to at what age and standard to use in the definition of a prodigy.

The term Wunderkind (from German: "miracle child" or "wonder child") is sometimes used as a synonym for prodigy, particularly in media accounts, although this term is discouraged in scientific literature. Wunderkind also is used to recognize those who achieve success and acclaim early in their adult careers, such as Steven Spielberg and Steve Jobs.

See also: List of child prodigies

Few studies have examined the neurological activity of prodigies. However, Michael O'Boyle, an American psychologist working in Australia, has recently utilized fMRI scanning of blood flow during mental operation in prodigies to display startling results. “Calculators,” those capable of mentally performing arithmetic, geometry, or other complex mathematical operations, normally reserved for electronic calculators, achieve six to seven times the typical blood flow to parts of the brain observed to be active during mathematical operations.^[2]

Mental calculators are not to be confused with other mathematical prodigies, because mechanically carrying out and keeping track of progress in a calculation is very different from having an understanding of the deeper principles behind mathematics. This is potentially one of the reasons why mental calculators do not necessarily go on to become mathematicians. A similar principle, for nearly the same mental mechanism, can be observed among players in games, such as, for example, chess or go. People typically think a few moves (or ply) ahead. Recent studies have indicated that ordinarily university students think 2, 3, or 4-ply when confronted with some kind of game-playing or problem-solving task. Beyond that it becomes very difficult to keep track of the different branches and details. But some people (and chess tournaments are good places to look) are able to look further ahead than that, and the skill sets between games and mathematics are very similar.

PET ScansPDF (72.6 KiB) performed on several math prodigies have suggested thinking in terms of long-term working memory (LTWM). This memory, specific to a field of expertise, is capable of holding relevant information for extended periods, usually hours. For example, experienced waiters have been found to hold the orders of up to twenty customers in their heads while they serve them, but perform only as well as an average person in number-sequence recognition. The PET scans also answer questions about which specific areas of the brain associate themselves with prodigious number-manipulation. One subject never excelled as a child in mathematics, but he taught himself algorithms and tricks for calculatory speed, becoming capable of extremely complex mental math. His brain, compared to six other controls, was studied using the PET scan, revealing separate areas of his brain that he manipulated to solve the complex problems. Some of the areas that he and presumably prodigies use are brain sectors dealing in visual and spatial memory, as well as visual mental imagery. Other areas of the brain showed use by the subject, including a sector of the brain generally related to childlike “finger counting,” probably used in his mind to relate numbers to the visual cortex.

Most researchers recognize that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, the environment that the individual resides in, the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures, and the personal characteristics of the individual. This seemingly vacuous statement is necessary to rule out a simplistic view. The environment also plays an extremely important role, many times in obvious ways. Solely environmental theories to account for the performance of prodigies have been developed, examined, and to some degree 'tested'. For example, Laszlo Polgar set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasizing the potency an environment has in determining the area toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.

• List of child prodigies
• Fictional child prodigies
• Genius
• Gifted
• Gifted education
• Child actor
• Late bloomer
• Whiz kid
• Chess prodigy
• Intelligence Quotient
• Mensa
• Triple Nine Society