The Story of Adam Konantovich

    The second celebrity in this cerebral hall of fame is Adam Konantovich (from "Nature's Gambit", David Henry Feldman, Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1991). At birth, in 1974? 1975?, Adam was pronounced "neurologically exceedingly mature", but that pronouncement ill-prepared his parents, Fiona and Natheniel Konantovich, for a child who would begin speaking words, and then grammatically correct sentences at the age of three months. At six months, Adam was carrying on complex conversations, and at one year, he was correcting his mother's spelling (and Fiona is a psychotherapist!) Upon his first visit in 1978, Dr. Feldman writes (on page 34),
    "I don't recall having any preconceptions about Adam before I met him in 1978; only an immense curiosity about what a three-and-a-half year-old would be like who was reported to read, write, speak several languages, study mathematics and compose for the guitar. Lynn remembers wondering whether he'd be wearing diapers. (He was not.) In fact, at first sight, he was like any other young boy. He was a round child with a chubby face and long, wavy auburn hair, dressed in a colorful T-shirt and Health-Tex overalls. He lisped a bit when he talked.
    "But he talked more like a bright ten- or twelve-year-old, conversing in an elaborated way about things that interested him. He liked to play with words, making "proto-puns" and jokes that combined words with physical activivty. In fact, one of the things that struck us most about Adam during that first visit was his exceptional sense of humor. He had a wry quality and--if it is possible for a three-and-a-half year-old--a dry wit that almost more than anything else that day seemed extraordinary for a child of so few years."
    Later, Dr. Feldman writes,
    "The Konantovich family, warm and generous and fun-loving, is the most dedicated, persevering, and intellectually active trio I have ever had the opportunity to observe."
    Adam's parents probably set new standards in their "unending quest" make Adam's childhood as "stimulating and supportive" as possible. I have seen a claim that Adam tested out at an IQ of 268, setting a new record. Ellen Winner, in her "Gifted Children: Myths and Realities", observes that Adam attended an ordinary college at an early age and had a spotty academic record. She says, "At the time of this writing" (1996), "he plans to go to graduate school in musical composition."