Who are the most brilliant kids in the world?
How much would the world benefit if we could find out, and get those kids training from the best educators on the on the planet?
Those are the question that Brilliant, a startup in Palo Alto, California, wants to find answers to.
Brilliant CEO Sue Khim's belief is that policy-makers are only concerned with the bottom 20% of students around the world, and that the top 10% are "being ignored."
Khim says her company's mission is to find "underserved" geniuses around the world, and help provide them with an education by introducing to top educators and educational institutions.
Brilliant is finding these kids with a website, Brilliant.org, where anyone can go and answer progressively more difficult math and science questions in weekly olympiad-style challenges.
So far, 70,000 people from 155 countries have taken part in Brilliant.org's contests.
Already, some incredible people have come to light.
We asked Brilliant.org to identify the 10 smartest kids it has ever encountered. Khim and her colleagues Bradan Litzinger and Molly Turner found nine, and included one more discovered through other channels. Brilliant then reached out to the parents of these children and got their permission to tell their stories.
15-year-old Phoebe Cai of the USA is working on data analysis for U Penn's medical school
A 15-year old high school junior, Phoebe Cai is already engaged in research at a collegiate level, assisting in the data analysis of a research project at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
This past fall, Cai placed eighth in the Math Prize for Girls at MIT and was a bronze medalist at the Math Prize for Girls Olympiad.
Cai also qualified for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad this year, and is a two-year member of the Lehigh Valley Fire team, which won first place at the Princeton University Math Competition in 2012. Cai hopes to study science in college and eventually pursue a graduate degree.
Bio written by Molly Turner, Brilliant.org.
Here's a problem Phoebe solved about dominos
Dylan Toh,12, of Singapore's abstract linear algebra skills are the envy of college students
Since a young age, Dylan Toh has had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
Bored with his school mathematics curriculum, Dylan scoured his local libraries for more challenging material.
The Singaporean Ministry of Education later approved him for acceleration in mathematics, matching him with a secondary school teacher to study material several grade levels above that of a typical 12-year old.
Toh found Brilliant.org while searching the internet for challenging math problems, and the organization was able to match him with another mentor at the University of Michigan.
During his mentor sessions with Farrell Wu, he studied abstract linear algebra and demonstrated abilities that would, according to his mentor, place him in the highest level of scholarship offers at top tier American universities.
His mentor was impressed with the clarity and organization of his solutions, saying, “most college students would envy Dylan’s ability to present his ideas.”
Toh is also training to participate in robotics, mathematics, and table tennis competitions in Singapore.
Bio written by Molly Turner, Brilliant.org.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider