He Earned PhD in Math at the Age of 16. What Has He Become at 28 Now?
While eating coco puff stacking like a small hill in a bowl of milk, I told my parents a dream from last night, “I was back in high school and had no idea what I was learning. All my classmates were preparing for the entrance exam of universities. I wasn’t studying, or working, what was I doing?”
My parents laughed and I complained, “Hey, I was frantic in the dream!” My father told me a piece of recent news which was about the current situation of a prodigy from China.
Yang went to university at the age of 10, and at the age of 13, he studied for a master’s degree from the Beijing Institute of Technology, breaking the record for the youngest person in China to get a master’s degree. He kept pursuing for Ph.D. at the age of 16, becoming the youngest doctoral student at the time.
Now 12 years have passed, and Yang is 28 years old now but he’s living a life that is hard to believe he was once a genius in mathematics.
He does not work although he did once teach in college for two years and works on a project now with a friend without earning any money yet.
Chinese media “Nine News” exclusively interviewed Yang, and he bluntly revealed his ‘philosophy’ of life. “The times have changed, no one will starve to death now and can still have a happy life.”
He simply said to the reporter, in a casual way of teaching a six-year-old that 1+1=2.
He doesn’t think about starting a business since there is no guarantee of success. Why do young people make their lives miserable? “I don’t only rely on my parents, I also rely on my parents’ parents and my grandparents’ parents. We used to have an affluent business in the past, so I can live on the property left by the past generations.” He stated calmly.
“I call my dad when I need anything. Besides, my parents promised to buy a house for me in Beijing if I passed the exam for a master’s degree and pursued for Ph.D. As the time goes by, they have already ‘owned’ me Chinese Yuan 40,000,000 (US Dollar 5,476,000.)”
Yang continued,
“Why do I have to work under other people and force myself to get along with others to make sure my job is secure? Without working, I can still live.”
Yang’s university teacher still holds his breath for Yang’s future, saying, “He is a good learner, but his ability to live independently is poor because all his life has been about learning."
The teacher revealed that too much suffering causes Yang to lose his ambition for life. “It is not a prodigy’s falling because he has not even taken off!” The teacher confirms that someday Yang will achieve something amazing.
All comments below this report are negative and point out the failure of the educational system in Asian countries, and who should take responsibility for such a tragedy.
Some people sympathize with Yang and believe the fierce competition in China extinguishes the fire of a young life.
After reading this report and the interview video, Yang says ‘he’s satisfied with his life now.’ A question pops into my mind,
‘Life? You mean breathing?’
As a human, he can do nothing, think nothing, and expect nothing but still feel satisfied, a prodigy’s thinking style is beyond me, as an average person.
Life is never fair, and we are comforted that God has already assigned a path for every particular person. Some people have an IQ of 140, some were born with billions of dollars waiting for them to grow up and just sign up their names.
People on the magazine cover are born with beauty that can turn everyone’s head around on the street. Without any effort, they make money by just showing their faces.
A pimple on the face might be the only setback they encounter in life.
Natural-born advantages are ladders that can help people climb to a ‘Wow’ height much faster than others. But those people who are already in a higher place may suddenly feel,
“What’s the point of keeping going? If I just sit on the ladder, with no sweat and no pressure, what I have is already enough to live the rest of my life.”
A void inside the heart and an empty human shell. A death who doesn’t know he has already been dead.
To write this article, I declined my mom’s invitation to buy new shoes since my soul had been whistling while I was typing. Even I know no one cared, and no one would even spend time reading this part.
Dedicating to something you love and are able to do it, every critique for me is words of wisdom to teach me to learn nonstop and define my own value. It might be worthless in society’s view, but I can freely attend every party in heaven or hell to share this joke with people from various walks of life.
To Yang’s professor, do you think the first attempt at shooting a spaceship to the moon was successful? Falling is for jumping higher or discovering what truly enthralls you underground, you might find out the ocean is your belonging instead of the sky.
To Yang, I would say ‘Why not climb down the ladder and say hello to people who are still climbing or reach a hand to people who are afraid to keep going?’
Like the ladders in Harry Potter, getting lost is a way to find out the destination.
