This Kid is Smarter Than Yours

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Thom Lang/Corbis

Arran Fenandez is going to Cambridge University. Quite a lot of people do that, but not at 15 and a quarter years old.

Fernandez, a math prodigy, will study the subject at Fitzwilliam College, the youngest person to be accepted into the notoriously difficult course since 1773, when William Pitt the Younger got the fat envelope. Pitt went on to become the British Prime Minister at the age of 24. Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking are also alums. So, you know, no pressure.

Fernandez, who says he wants to study more English literature and go bird-watching while at university, is not breaking any molds as far as brainiacs are concerned. He’s been tutored by his father and his main ambition is solving the Riemann hypothesis. He wears T-shirts with Shakespeare on them. He speaks three languages including Latin. He plays the violin and the clarinet. He has memorized and can recite 2,000 digits of pi.

To be fair, Fernandez’s ascent to Cambridge student hasn’t been that fast. After all, he did his A level maths (the equivalent of your AP or SAT here in America) way back when he was 10 years old. He got an A. But hey, I’m sure your kid has some really great qualities.