Mike Grost, Supergenius
This child is Mike Grost, as he appeared in a 1965 article in Life magazine. At the time, he was said to have an IQ of 200+.
Whatever happened to Mike? A 2005 interview from the MSU State News had this to say:
Michael Grost was only 10 when he began at MSU in 1964.
Grost declined comment for this story, but in a 2002 interview with The State News, the Southfield
resident described his life in college as similar to having "40,000 brothers and sisters."
Grost held his first job on campus working with computers his freshman year, which propelled him into
software design after his 13-year college career - five of which were spent at MSU. He also attended
Yale University and U-M, earning a doctorate degree in mathematics at age 23. Grost currently is a
system architect at a computer company in Detroit.
"I really owe (MSU) a lot for the huge chance they took on me as a kid," Grost said in the 2002
interview.
Gee, I don't know. Kinda underwhelming. Shouldn't he be a Silicon Valley zillionaire by now?
Even his home page is kinda lackluster.
Oh, well--maybe as a certified genius he knows that material success is a sham.
Comments
Sounds like he turned out to be a normal, happy person. Zillionaires get there by being jerks. I'll take his success over those of zillionaires any day.
Posted by Harvey on 07/15/12 at 04:17 PM
He's better than William James Sidis who had an IQ between 250 and 300 (or so they said) and graduated from Harvard as a kid. Other than suing James Thurber and The New Yorker, he never really did anything.
Posted by Mark on 07/15/12 at 05:23 PM
Like Harvey said, he has lived a quiet life, successful life. NOT appearing in the public eye is sometimes an indication normalcy
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 07/15/12 at 06:51 PM
Sometimes the numbers just don't add up.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 07/16/12 at 09:53 AM
You don't get rich by being smart, you get rich by working hard, not giving up, and trying lots of things until something works. Smart people are usually less gifted at the hard work and persistence parts that are much more important.
Posted by jswolf19 in Japan on 07/16/12 at 12:13 PM
jswolf19, has it occurred to you that he may be too smart to have *tried* so damn hard to get rich? He seems to be getting along fine and doing what he wants. IQ is a superstition anyhow.
Posted by Rodger on 07/17/12 at 12:49 PM
Smart people usually don't get super rich. They know better. 😕
Posted by Dumbfounded on 07/17/12 at 01:35 PM
Hi Dumbfounded! How have you been sweetie! 💋
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 07/17/12 at 10:14 PM
I worked with Mike at EDS' artificial intelligence services group for many years. He retired a few years ago, and now very busy with reading and writing books. One of the nicest and smartest people I have every known.
Posted by Kas on 08/06/12 at 03:06 PM
KAS--glad to hear he is enjoying his life and talents.
Posted by Paul on 08/06/12 at 04:09 PM
"Gee, I don't know. Kinda underwhelming. Shouldn't he be a Silicon Valley zillionaire by now?"
Oh ya. That's right because if you're smart you should be rich and vice versa or so goes the stupid stereotype.
Oh ya. That's right because if you're smart you should be rich and vice versa or so goes the stupid stereotype.
Posted by fsfsdf on 11/17/12 at 02:45 PM
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Category: Children | 1960s | Natural Wonders | Brain | Child Prodigies