Polymath
Sigma Medolf was anything but a conventional learner. Until he reached the age of 12 he was a good student who could remember poems, vocabulary words and stories easily, and he earned good grades in arithmetic, English and social studies.
Once he entered middle school, Sigma began to disconnect from his teachers and the other students in his class because they seemed to understand the processes of learning better than he did. Although he studied and tried to remember the names of world cities and to comprehend grammar rules and sentence structuring, he would consistently make errors and blank out when asked a question, both in his classes and on his written tests.
In 7th grade, Sigma had been placed in an advanced alternative program that introduced the “new math” concept. Sigma started out on the wrong foot with his teacher when he couldn’t understand the principle of a negative number being multiplied by another negative number to produce a positive number. He questioned the teacher and told her that he was unable to get past the use of the equation to comprehend the real-world application of borrowing money. To him, borrowing money put a person in debt, or a “negative” amount. Borrowing more money (negative money) didn’t make you less poor than you were when you started. The only way you could break even was by paying the money back, otherwise one was twice as poor as he or she was at the beginning.
The teacher used the formula to demonstrate the application of a positive change in temperature from one below freezing to a temperature above freezing, and Sigma left the meeting with a somewhat better understanding of the application so that he could pass the class, but his problems in middle school continued to be troublesome.
Sigma had lost the ability to remember the vocabulary words he’d studied when the time came for him to recall them for a test, and he had trouble remembering names and places he’d read about in books. He also found it difficult to remember formulas, equations, and the rules of sentence structure... or how to apply them.
Despite his mediocre grades, his teachers saw promise in him since he seemed to have a natural spark and could explain his thoughts clearly and succinctly when speaking one-on-one. But they sincerely believed that he was a lazy learner, since his grades continued to slide from one marking period to the next.
Before entering his senior year he vowed to quit studying altogether. He determined that for him studying was a waste of time and counterproductive. So he listened in his classes, and learned what facts he could, and when it came time to take a test, he surprisingly remembered more than he thought was possible.
Since Sigma was a promising child, his parents invested conservatively to send their son to college. They believed that, although he was different from other children they knew, he was gifted, and were shocked when they learned he was doing poorly in his classes, since he didn’t share his grades with his parents. They were, however, familiar with his inventions, which he crafted in the basement of their home.
At a meeting scheduled at the high school, several of his teachers expressed regret that Sigma didn’t seem to try hard enough and told his parents that their son might not be ready for college and that it might not be wise to have him enroll in a private college or university, even if Sigma could get accepted. The state schools might accept him, but even then it was highly unlikely he’d be accepted with a low “B” average earned over four years of high school.
One teacher stood up for Sigma: Jackson Fuller, an art teacher who had given Sigma his only “A” in a class in which he taught the boy during his junior year. Fuller detailed instances when Sigma showed remarkable abilities and in which he was disciplined in his work habits. The art program wasn’t greatly valued since it was an elective and carried only a single credit.
And, as in Sigma’s other classes, he often acted indifferently to the assignments that were part of the program. Fuller was a watercolorist in decent weather and took his students outdoors to paint. Other assignments included pencil drawings of still life arrangements that changed from year to year, and a potter’s wheel left unused most semesters.
Sigma was usually silent in most of his classes, and rarely painted or drew what he was asked to in class, but had asked Fuller if he could come in after hours to use the pottery wheel to work with clay. During his middle school and high school years, Sigma had created all manner of inventions at home. Some turned out as planned, while many failed to accomplish what he’d hoped.
Fuller monitored Sigma’s processes as he seemed to have a purpose in what he crafted at the wheel, and would question his teacher about glazing and firing methods used to harden the clay.
Unbeknownst to Sigma, the school shop had a kiln stored several years earlier in a closet, and with Sigma’s help, Jackson rolled it on a dolly into the art room. On his own, Sigma learned the different firing methods and the temperature and additives needed to fuse the components together to turn clay into ceramics.
Other students became curious about the shapes of objects that Sigma created, since they weren’t bowls, pots or vases, but sculpted objects of various sizes. He molded the clay with his fingers as well as turned parts on the wheel and would glaze them before firing.
“I asked him late one afternoon what he was doing,“ said Jackson. “And instead of his usual one-word answers, he explained that he was creating a housing for one of his inventions.
“I probed a bit more and found out that he was creating a multi-use Bluetooth speaker housing that could serve as a stylish vase, centerpiece or pitcher displayed on a table or sideboard.
“When I asked him why, he told me that speakers were usually hidden from view, and thought that a multipurpose one in different colors and shapes might be marketable.
“‘But won’t the mechanism be in danger of getting wet and being ruined?’ ‘Not this one,’ he answered. ‘I’ve already created a speaker and battery assembly that can be taken out through the bottom of the casing for cleaning, and now plan to create multiple housings that will go with any home decor.’
“Sigma only remained in my class that last year. I assumed he had either given the project up, or purchased his own kiln.”
Sigma’s mother then spoke up and said that he had asked for a kiln for his birthday. “It was a bit outside our price range, but he seldom asks for anything, so we purchased one used.” His father added that his son had applied for a patent for his invention, but that he hadn’t heard anything since. He wondered if anything had come from the venture or not, but was happy that his son had found a passion, and that he probably would head into engineering.
“From what all of you are saying, except for Mr. Fuller, it seems like Sigma has been indifferent to studying, but obviously has some special gifts. Are there any suggestions you might have to assist him as he moves forward?”
“I’m surprised, and a bit embarrassed,” said Mr. Grover, the principal.“We pride ourselves on adapting to the special needs of the young people who attend the school, but Sigma’s unusual learning style has seemingly escaped most of us.”
The teachers acknowledged that they all had missed the mark, when Sigma’s father spoke up. “We can’t blame you, since we’ve missed whatever signs he’s given us, just as you have. What I think we have to do is ask what can be done to change the trajectory of his life from this point forward.”
“We’ll need to have a little time to work on that,” said Grover. “But we may figure some ways we might assist him, even though he doesn’t seem to want our help.”
Fuller added, “As Mr. Grover said, Sigma might not want our help, but now that we know his issues, it just might be possible to work behind the scenes to get him past some of the stumbling blocks he’ll face in finding a school that is suited to his needs. Even if he doesn’t, he’ll probably be fine. But with the right education, he may be able to move mountains.”
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By the time Sigma entered the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design as an undergraduate, he already had myriad devices which he’d submitted for patents. His instructors were often astounded by Sigma’s ability to bypass conventional methods to create innovative products that were both useful and marketable. His prototypes were beautifully crafted and were constructed of the most advanced material, such as carbon fiber and titanium for rods, sprockets and joints, and covered with powder coatings to provide the most durable and attractive finishes.
Sigma was never surly, nor did he feel entitled in class. He knew that his methods were unconventional, and that many of his techniques were nearly impossible for him to teach to others. But he also knew that other students often had struggled with learning disorders similar to his, and who, like him, could come up with a dozen answers to a design or engineering problem in far less time than other students who were more receptive to standard educational practices.
For many years, Sigma had believed himself to be stupid and hampered by his disabilities, but from almost his first class at the d.school he felt empowered. Not having a clue as to where to find a college or technical institute that would accept him because of his poor college boards and grades, his Uncle Elias, after seeing a few of his nephew’s models, told him about Stanford’s new art/engineering school and assessed it as a possible fit for his nephew’s skills.
This was not an accident, since Sigma’s father had spoken to his brother Elias, an alumnus of Stanford, and a large donor to the University, who then reached out to David Kelley, the co-founder of the Institute, and sent him one of Sigma’s creations along with a letter of introduction.
The product he sent was Sigma’s modern take on a “Magic 8 Ball,” modeled after the original fortune telling globe brought to market by Abe Bookman in 1946. Sigma’s model could answer questions similar to Siri, Apple’s virtual voice assistant, but was also able to measure heart rate and body temperature of the person holding it. In addition, Sigma’s 8 Ball could pick up conversations that enabled it to answer personal questions posed by the user. By gathering information such as the language accent, demeanor and elocution of the person holding it, but the 8 Ball was able to enter into a conversation that usually was fairly accurate.
After Kelley’s review of the product, he contacted Elias to schedule an interview at Stanford with his nephew for October 12th.
Sigma was unsure about his prospects for admission until he actually met David Kelley, a convivial, bald-headed and mustachioed man who dressed casually for the meeting. Kelley was well prepared and asked several pointed questions about the 8 Ball, as well as several of the boy’s other inventions. Prior to the meeting, Kelley had reviewed transcripts of Sigma’s grades and doubted whether, despite any recommendation he might make, he would be able to secure a place for Sigma in the program.
After speaking with the young man on many subjects, Kelley discovered that Sigma was a polymath, a person often untrained, but with a wide-range of knowledge and abilities. He realized that Sigma’s interests far exceeded even his. He learned that Sigma had machined his own parts for his inventions and learned how to work with the chemistry of the components used as well. Sigma also had discovered on his own how to modify AI to enhance the predictions of his 8 Ball, and to use it for other inventions he was planning for learning-impaired students like himself.
Kelley’s take on Sigma was that this young man was the perfect candidate for the d.school and he promised to do everything in his power to assure his acceptance, if he chose to attend the school.
The office where they met was small and cluttered, and Kelley himself seemed suited to the space as he explained the school’s approach to design, which he called a “radical collaboration” between students, faculty and practitioners, often from various disciplines, perspectives and backgrounds.
“We put kids to the task immediately by addressing real-world problems and challenging them to take risks and to experiment,” said Kelley.
“We believe that there is no right or wrong way to solve a problem, so we make sure that what students consider abstract answers are valued as much as purely logical ones. In many cases, a far out idea may be the one that ultimately meets the goals of a project better than the one that seems most solid and salable.”
Kelley then spoke of improvisation and how some students plod through many choices before beginning a project, while others grab inspiration from wherever it may be found.
Timidly, Sigma spoke up after being cued by Kelly’s statement. “That’s how I’ve done my best work, Mr. Kelley! I don’t look for the perfect place to start. I just start with whatever is at hand, or a conversation I had with someone the day before, or even a joke I’ve heard or a tool I’ve used that morning. From there I work my way backward and forward, sometimes eliminating the object or words that inspired me, but which became only catalysts to my process, and which I then discarded for a more effective solution.”
“And when did you learn this method?” asked Kelley.
“I don’t think that I ever thought about it until just this moment,” answered Sigma, rubbing his forehead.
After an in-depth conversation lasting more than 40 minutes, Kelley’s Smart Watch alarm went off and he jumped from the edge of his desk where he’d been seated, apologizing for having to cut the meeting short. He concluded by asking Sigma to do two things: “Pick up your grades, however you can, and then take your college boards once more before you submit your application. I’ll do whatever I can to hold a place for you, and bypass the fact that your grade point average may be substandard.
“Take extra classes these last two semesters, or redo classes you’ve failed, to pull your GPA up as high as you can get, and then, if you suspect you can’t succeed in getting past those in admissions, apply to another school and figure out your best way through the first year to get the highest grades possible.
“For polymaths like yourself, getting perfect grades may be difficult, but if you’re smart and as creative as you appear to be, figure out your own method to get here. It will be worth your effort.”
Kelley grabbed his hat from the rack behind his desk and tossed a copy of his book, Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, to Sigma.
“If you have time, read this,” said Kelley on his way to the door. “My brother and I wrote this book some years back. You probably don’t need to read it, and most likely could have written it better yourself. But it may offer a few suggestions for you at this point on your journey.
“Keep in touch, and do your homework.”
And with that, Kelley was out the door.
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