The Boy Who Played with Fusion

Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star

Tom Clynes

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780544084742
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This story of a child prodigy and his unique upbringing is " an engrossing journey to the outer realms of science and parenting" (Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish ). A PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Finalist Like many young children, Taylor Wilson dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Only Wilson mastered the science of rocket propulsion by the age of nine. When he was eleven, he tried to cure his grandmother's cancer—and discovered new ways to produce medical isotopes. Then, at fourteen, Wilson became the youngest person in history to achieve nuclear fusion, building a 500-million-degree reactor—in his parents' garage. In The Boy Who Played with Fusion, science journalist Tom Clynes narrates Wilson's extraordinary story. Born in Texarkana, Arkansas, Wilson quickly displayed an advanced intellect. Recognizing their son's abilities and the limitations of their local schools, his parents took a bold leap and moved the family to Reno, Nevada. There, Wilson could attend a unique public high school created specifically for academic superstars. Wilson is now designing devices to prevent terrorists from shipping radioactive material and inspiring a new generation to take on the challenges of science. If you're wondering how someone so young can achieve so much, The Boy Who Played with Fusion has the answer. Along the way, Clynes' narrative teaches parents, teachers, and society how and why we urgently need to support high-achieving kids. "An essential contribution to our understanding of the most important underlying questions about the development of giftedness, talent, creativity, and intelligence." — Psychology Today "A compelling study of the thrills—and burdens—of being born with an alpha intellect." — Financial Times

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Introduction
• PART I
• The Digger
• The Pre-Nuclear Family
• Propulsion!
• Space Camp
• The “Responsible” Radioactive Boy Scout
• PART II
• The Cookie Jar
• In the (Glowing) Footsteps of Giants
• Alpha, Beta, Gamma
• Trust but Verify
• Extreme Parenting
• Accelerating Toward Big Science
• Heavy Water
• Bright as the Sun
• PART III
• Bringing the Stars Down to Earth
• Roots of Prodigiousness
• The Lucky Donkey Theory
• Twice as Nice, Half as Good
• Photos
• Atomic Travel
• Champions for the Gifted
• PART IV
• A Hogwarts for Geniuses
• A Fourth State of Grape
• Heavy Metal Apron
• Birth of a Star
• The Neutron Club
• PART V
• A Field of Dreams, an Epiphany in a Box
• The Father of All Bombs
• We’re Just Breathing Your Air
• The Super Bowl of Science
• Scotch Tape
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author
• Footnotes