We all love our children and want them to do well, but a study release online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found, “When children are seen by their parents as being more special and more entitled than other children, they may internalize the view that they are superior individuals, a view that is at the core of narcissism. But when children are treated by their parents with affection and appreciation, they may internalize the view that they are valuable individuals, a view that is at the core of self-esteem.” In other words, the study's authors, Brad Bushman of Ohio State University and Eddie Brummelman, a post-doctoral researcher at Holland's University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University, want parents to tell their children that they are loved, but not that they are better than others or deserve special treatment. In recent decades there has been a growth of individuals with narcissistic tendencies and that isn't good for creating a happy world where we all live together with kindness and compassion for one another. Some parents might have difficulty understanding that their little darlings aren't more special than others, so to help mothers and fathers keep a reasonable perspective on their children's achievements, we present the winners of the Intel Science Talent Search. The winners of the search, three high school seniors, each took home awards of $150,000 from the USA's highest-awarding science competition. Noah Golowich, 17, of Lexington, Massachusetts, won the First Place Medal of Distinction for Basic Research, which recognizes finalists who demonstrate exceptional scientific potential through depth of research and analysis. Noah developed a proof in the area of Ramsey theory, a field of mathematics based on finding types of structure in large and complicated systems. He is the captain of his high school math team, plays for his high school tennis team and plays jazz piano in his spare time. Andrew Jin, 17, of San Jose, California, won the First Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good, which rewards finalists who demonstrate great scientific potential through their passion to make a difference. Andrew developed a machine learning algorithm to identify adaptive mutations across the human genome. By analyzing massive public genomic datasets, his system discovered more than 100 adaptive mutations related to immune response, metabolism, brain development and schizophrenia in real DNA sequences. Understanding the genetic causes of these diseases is an important first step toward developing gene therapies or vaccines. Andrew is an accomplished pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall. Michael Hofmann Winer, 18, of North Bethesda, Maryland, won the First Place Medal of Distinction for Innovation, which celebrates finalists who demonstrate the problem-solving aptitude of an engineer through innovative design and creativity. Michael studied how fundamental quasi-particles of sound, called phonons, interact with electrons. His work could potentially be applied to more complex atomic structures such as superconductors. Michael was a silver medalist at the 2014 International Physics Olympiad, where he was the top-scoring US student on the theoretical exam.
Read about the second and third place finishers and the competition itself at www.societyforscience.org
