I see a lot of people talking about intelligence and laziness. I have studied a number of inventors from the 19th and 20th centuries. My favorites are Philo T. Farnsworth and Nikola Tesla. Based on my own investigation of the topic, I found that self-motivation and self-control appear to be much more important factors in success and accomplishment than intelligence. The issue isn't that the educational system fails to accommodate prodigies, the issue is that the educational system isn't very good at teaching students how to motivate themselves. This applies to any student, not just those that are gifted.

In terms of raw academics, smaller schools provide a better quality education to the overall student body. In terms of social climate, smaller schools tend not to have as many of the large scale social problems experienced by larger institutions.

As a consequence of No-Child-Left-Behind, some school systems have really been struggling for financial support. Lately they have been using gender-segregation to improve test scores with dramatic results. There appear to be a lot of negative social mores influencing student achievement in mixed-gender situation (junior high/high school level). A lot of students intentional under-perform to avoid certain social stigmas, especially those related to the perception of the opposite gender.

I agree with a lot of the other posts that demonstrate concerns about the prodigy not being able to handle social and societal interaction beyond their prodigy. Based on my understanding of such matters, I would say that a small same-gender school would be the best way to proceed. It allows them to learn the rules and experiences of social interaction and society while limiting some of the academically detrimental factors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_(movie)

Now their will be a legitimate reason for the Battlestar Galactica characters to where skin-tight uniforms in the new Syfy series. Tighten the suits and water down the writing. :( All in the quest to prevent bone density loss.

SMTPS or a new avenue for identity theft? Tonight at 11.

How powerful are the lasers being used? If the phosphor wears thin over time, would you have laser radiation burning out your eyes. Perhaps the technology will bring some truth to that old parental adage about sitting in front of the tv too long.

Why not build Thorium-based reactors instead? The material is 100x more abundant. The USA has an ample natural supply. You get 10 times the energy because you don't have the 238 problem. There is almost no waste and the byproducts decay within a human lifetime. And you can't use them to make nuclear weapons.

Steve Job's clone is almost old enough to take over. Steve has been spending time with his clone for the past year to prepare for the transition. Apple decided almost a decade ago that they couldn't survive without Steve and worked with a biotech firm to have him cloned. It should make the 2010 keynote a historic event. Don't miss it!