Emil O W Kirkegaard

I do wonder, @JonathanLWai @PsychRabble @Russwarne, this supposed stereotype of the gifted I highlighted. I've never seen any actual survey evidence of it. Do you know if such surveys were actually done, or did researchers just presume their view reflected general stereotype?

I mean, maybe there was a stereotype about frail gifted, but only among academics/intellectuals, not among general population. Possible that these people were imputing their own experiences as dorks/nerds into general class of gifted kids who are usually fairly ordinary looking.

There was a proverb at the time: "Early ripe, early rot." It originated in agriculture and apparently was applied to child-rearing in the early 20th century. Terman (1954) claimed that this was a common slogan about gifted children in the 1910's and 1920's. (1/3)

But I can't find ANYONE using it to refer to children before he does (Terman & Oden, 1947). If it was such a common phrase/belief, it seems to have left no written trace. Everyone in #gifted ed just seems to believe Terman when he says it was a common belief. (2/3)

Still, it's not a crazy idea for the time. William James Sidis was a VERY prominent child prodigy who burned out early. Also, there WAS the stereotype that #gifted children were sickly, socially awkward bookworms. But that's not the same as "early ripe, early rot." (3/3)

What about work by Leta Hollingworth? She ought to have mentioned something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leta_Stetter_Hollingworth …

I'm not as well versed in Hollingworth's thought, but I have read quite a bit of her stuff. I'm not aware of her saying it. The best discussion of the phrase is here: https://books.google.com/books?id=_qPpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA275&lpg=PA275&dq=%22early+ripe+early+rot%22+Shakespeare&source=bl&ots=EiY0bh4q64&sig=D1p1L3Kge65jyVMljLZNeo29Tkw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjChu-WqrLdAhXrYt8KHTThBO0Q6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22early%20ripe%20early%20rot%22%20Shakespeare&f=false …