Prodigies: myths and the world

Myths around prodigies travel faster than papers. Each item pairs a folklore line with a tighter claim.

Worldwide notes name real systems — 영재교육, 예고, 部活, CTY, AIS, Iten — as places and policies, not racial essences.

Myths

Prodigies are good at everything — Profiles are uneven Winner’s finding.
A cute viral child is a prodigy — Adult-level, repeatable work is the bar Feldman.
They will automatically be eminent adults — Forecast is noisy Simonton.
It is only training — Hours are huge; starting points still look extreme Both.
It is only genes — Families organise the machine Bloom.
Public childhood is a victimless show — Extraction is the ethical risk Shield versus show.

Austria / German lands — Mozart’s tour circuit — The origin audience for wonder children.
Hungary — Polgár household — A private design that became public evidence.
South Korea — Media high-IQ children plus 예고 — Two constructs — IQ headlines and arts-school hours — often mashed.
China — Wang Yani and contest childhoods — State and family exhibition cultures.
United Kingdom — Lawrence / Deutscher public files — Press plus specialist schools.
United States — TV talent shows — A false-positive factory beside real Juilliard children.

Prodigies: drop the folklore that ranks groups. Keep the systems that can be named and improved.