Signs of prodigies are cues for curiosity, not a diagnosis and not a caste stamp.
Tests measure a sample already shaped by teaching and invitation. False positives are part of the identification problem.
Early cues
- 3–6 — Adult-level work, dated — Not cute — professional.
- 7–9 — Uneven rest-of-child — Winner’s split.
- 10–13 — Family as scheduler — Hours are organised.
- 14–17 — Peer mismatch — Hollingworth’s isolation.
- Adult — Asks to stop performing — Ethics cue.
Tests & tasks
- Blind professional rating — Would this pass as adult work?
- Repeatability across weeks — Not one night.
- IQ headline — A different file.
- Clip count — Not a bar.
Environments
- A teacher at adult standard — The scarce person.
- Peers who can play along — Isolation injury.
- Off-stage hours — A childhood remains.
- Consent about publicity — Show versus shield.
False positives
- Viral cute — Bar missing.
- Parent-finished work — A family product.
- High IQ only — Not domain prodigy.
- One contest day — A sample of one.
Prodigies: a cue is information. A label without a review date is a caste.