Why 9-year-old prodigy Laurent Simons dropped out of university

Young Laurent Simons, who was educated at the Technical University of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, decided to quit his studies. It would seem that there is such a thing in this news — thousands of young people around the world make such a decision every day. But the thing is that Simons is not a simple tech student, because he is only 9 years old.

At the age when parents usually decide for a child whether he should combine a visit to the pool with a modeling circle from plasticine, Laurent Simons not only entered one of the best universities in Europe, but also managed to be disappointed in his studies and make a strong-willed decision to quit it. What made a child prodigy do that?

Laurent Simons was supposed to receive a diploma of higher education on December 26, 2019, thus becoming the first graduate of the Technical University of Eindhoven to complete his education before the age of 10. Of course, it was not the boy himself who was passionately striving for the record, but his ambitious parents.

But the university administration had its own point of view on this issue and informed the prodigy's family that graduation would have to be postponed until mid-2020, since the boy would have to prove his level of knowledge by passing several additional exams.

Because of this, the Simons family's plan to complete Laurent's education in 10 months, until he changed the next ten, failed miserably. The parents of the young genius immediately canceled their son's classes and began to actively communicate with the press, telling journalists about the injustices prevailing at the Dutch university.

Lydia and Alexander Simons with their brilliant son

The father of the young student, Alexander Simons, said that the university leaders put pressure on him because they were dissatisfied with the fact that he regularly communicates with media representatives and talks about the successes of his child. In addition, the boy's family was accused of excessive pressure on his son and even threatened with a medical examination.

So in an interview with the newspaper De Volksrant, the prodigy's father outlined his position in this situation. To draw attention to the problem, Simons Sr. posted screenshots of correspondence with the university administration on his Instagram, in which it was said that Laurent received his diploma in December 2019. The man marked the images with a concise but succinct signature — "Liars!"

And what does the university say in this regard? The official document from the administration of the educational institution clearly states that they do not see the grounds for obtaining a diploma by a boy in December. The child will not be able to study the subjects in such a short time, and most importantly — to demonstrate his creative abilities and critical analysis.

There is no doubt that Laurent is actually a unique child. He went to the first grade like all the children and spent the required year at the desk with his peers. But after that, incredible changes happened to him — a 6-year-old boy began to absorb knowledge and demonstrate abilities unusual for his age. Over the next 18 months, Simons mastered the school curriculum and successfully passed exams in all subjects necessary for obtaining a certificate of maturity.

When the boy was asked how he was able to assimilate a huge amount of educational material, he just shrugged his shoulders and replied that he had no idea. But tests conducted by specialists showed that Laurent has a photographic memory and an IQ of 145.After graduating from school, Laurent took a break and nothing was heard about him for almost a year. And then the boy reappeared in the field of view of journalists, in connection with admission to the Netherlands Technical University of Eindhoven. The boy entered the university at the age of 8 and his parents planned that he would receive a diploma in electrical engineering before the age of 10.

Laurent with his grandparents

By the way, the boy's diploma is devoted to the issue of connecting an electronic chip to the human brain, in order to control neurons and control their number. Laurent's parents are doctors, so he is interested in electronics precisely from the point of view of using it in the human body. After graduating from the Technical University, Simons planned to devote himself to medicine and get a PhD degree.

This is how the young genius answers journalists' questions about his goals in life. It is not yet known how the fate of the baby, "disappointed" in university education, will develop further. Most likely, his parents will find him another place to study and will again revel in attention and fame. And the young genius can only listen to his parents and systematically go to his wonderful goal.

Perhaps, if this is not prevented by the personal ambitions of parents, we will soon hear about Laurent Simons as a scientist who changed modern medicine. Many child prodigies are already benefiting humanity by creating new technologies and making scientific discoveries. Unfortunately, sometimes there are broken destinies.