Norbert Wiener’s father molded him into a genius. Try for FREE for 30 days, and get 20% off your annual premium subscription. Watch my video on William James Sidis, the sad story of the smartest man who ever lived: Chapters: 0:00 A Father’s Experiment 1:44 Homeschooling Through Tears 3:06 A Lonely Genius 4:08 A Shocking Discovery 4:33 Undermined by His Father 5:45 Intellectual Awakening in Europe 6:47 War, Rejection & Finding Purpose 7:57 The Telegram That Changed Everything 8:35 Opportunity at MIT & Brownian Motion 9:55 Finding Love & Personal Freedom 10:27 Ethical Dilemmas & The Nuclear Age 11:19 The Breakthrough: Cybernetics 12:22 Final Reflections 14:07 Today’s Sponsor: Brilliant Follow Newsthink on X Newsthink is produced and presented by Cindy Pom Grab your Newsthink merch here: Support Cindy on Patreon! Sources: 19th-century classroom courtesy of © Jorge Royan / via Wikimedia Commons (transformed into black and white by Newsthink Ltd.) Chemical laboratory: Wellcome Images, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons