Thursday, July 12, 2012

The word 'prodigy,' as it can apply outside of the arts...

When one thinks of the word 'prodigy,' or 'genius,' the name Mozart almost automatically leaps into our consciousness.
Of course, the stupendous gifts this man possessed are so very much a part of human history- for a child to commit music to manuscript before he could write down his own name; to be known outside his own country before he was ten - and on and on...
But can one apply the words 'prodigy' or 'genius' to other pursuits?
I think of the great golfer Tiger Woods, who knew what to do with a golf club at age two, and in his third year was already playing the game. He actually played against the acclaimed comedian Bob Hope, who was a superb golfer... little Tiger was age three at the time.
What about a baseball pitcher named Bob Feller, who appeared in the major leagues before he returned to complete his senior year at high school? A man, who today would be considered quite small - at 6 feet in height, weighing around 180 pounds (as much as 5o pounds lighter than some of today's pitchers), he routinely threw the ball at 102 miles per hour, and was once clocked at 106.7 miles per hour - absolutely fantastic for those times; the 1930's. As a young boy, he would work on the development of his arm strength by hurling rocks at the barn wall on the farm his father ran.
And so, I thought that it might be a bit of fun to apply 'genius,' or 'prodigy,' to different pursuits - how many examples can you summon? Enjoy the pursuit!

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