The Boy Genius of Ulan Bator 163
An anonymous reader writes "A lot of us grew up tinkering with electronics and cherishing the one or two reference books we could find that explained exactly what we wanted to know. Nowadays, with internet access widely available and online educational materials coming into their own, we're going to see a lot more kindred spirits coming out of places all over the globe. The NY Times has a story about one such, a lad from Mongolia who hacked together complex sensors at the age of 16 and was one of the 0.2% of students to get a perfect score on MIT's first Massive Open Online Course. From the article: 'Battushig, playing the role of the car, moved into the sensor's path to show me how it worked, but it was clear he was not entirely satisfied with his design. "The use of the long wires is very inconvenient for my users," he said, almost apologetically, clasping his hands together in emphasis. He realized that contractors would be reluctant to install the siren in other buildings if they had to deal with cumbersome wiring, so he was developing a wireless version. ... Battushig has the round cheeks of a young boy, but he is not your typical teenager. He hasn't read Harry Potter ("What will I learn from that?") and doesn't like listening to music (when a friend saw him wearing headphones, he couldn't believe it; it turned out Battushig was preparing for the SAT). His projects are what make him happy. "In electrical engineering, there is no limit," he said.'"
Re:Must we call him a genius? (Score:5, Informative)
TFA mentions his interest in photography, tennis and billiards, so it is unfair to say he does not have any time for recreation. As for music, not everyone is interested in music so much that they would bother to actively seek out opportunities for listening music. I am also an electronics guy and I don't listen to music either (instead, I have a passion for movies).
Get the name right (Score:4, Informative)
Ulan Bator is based on a misunderstanding. The correct spelling is Ulaanbaatar.
It means 'Red Hero' and, surprisingly, predates Communism despite its reference to the color red. The city is named for a historical character whose real name, deeds etc have been forgotten. All that it is remembered is that they were a woman.