Nature's Gambit : Child Prodigies and the Development of Human Potential

Through portraits of the lives of child prodigies and their families, Feldman illuminates the delicate balance of forces he calls "coincidence", a "general process of development" characterized by the melding of developmental and environmental forces that is revealed with particular clarity in the case of the child prodigy. Although Feldman focuses on exceptionally gifted children with highly specialized talents, "Nature's Gambit" is equally important for what it tells us about the development of ability in all children. For Feldman argues that "the prodigy is a source of knowledge about the long-term prospects for humanity". The more we understand about nature's gambit and the ways it sometimes succeeds in producing children of prodigious abilities, the more able we will be to "use as much as possible of the human potential evolved across human history...to provide conditions that will allow those who are able to do something unique and significant". This book should be of interest to educators and researchers of gifted children, professionals in child development, and to parents and others who wish to learn more about nurturing children's abilities.