14-year-old inventor from California named ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were participating in science fairs, the winners' projects were often highly correlated with their parents' professions.

Parents will confer some advantages to their kids. That's a given. Doesn't mean there's something bad or unethical about it. Your mom was a volleyball player and your dad made it to the NBA? No surprise if the kid ends up excelling at basketball. It kind of goes without saying. But for some reason we can appreciate the kid playing basketball, but not the kid who won a science competition?

Additionally, would we be digging into Leanne's parental background if she was black? Wouldn't we just be happy that she won?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were participating in science fairs, the winners' projects were often highly correlated with their parents' professions.

Parents will confer some advantages to their kids. That's a given. Doesn't mean there's something bad or unethical about it. Your mom was a volleyball player and your dad made it to the NBA? No surprise if the kid ends up excelling at basketball. It kind of goes without saying. But for some reason we can appreciate the kid playing basketball, but not the kid who won a science competition?

Additionally, would we be digging into Leanne's parental background if she was black? Wouldn't we just be happy that she won?

SJW's brains are wired oddly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were participating in science fairs, the winners' projects were often highly correlated with their parents' professions.

Parents will confer some advantages to their kids. That's a given. Doesn't mean there's something bad or unethical about it. Your mom was a volleyball player and your dad made it to the NBA? No surprise if the kid ends up excelling at basketball. It kind of goes without saying. But for some reason we can appreciate the kid playing basketball, but not the kid who won a science competition?

Additionally, would we be digging into Leanne's parental background if she was black? Wouldn't we just be happy that she won?

It's interesting to look at some of these superkids once they get beyond their parents' grasp though. Many get into top universities but often their superkid status stalls. They do well, but not brilliantly. Others I know who excelled in fields that can't be managed as much by their parents (eg pure mathematics) have continued to be top achievers doing innovative work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were participating in science fairs, the winners' projects were often highly correlated with their parents' professions.

Parents will confer some advantages to their kids. That's a given. Doesn't mean there's something bad or unethical about it. Your mom was a volleyball player and your dad made it to the NBA? No surprise if the kid ends up excelling at basketball. It kind of goes without saying. But for some reason we can appreciate the kid playing basketball, but not the kid who won a science competition?

Additionally, would we be digging into Leanne's parental background if she was black? Wouldn't we just be happy that she won?

It's interesting to look at some of these superkids once they get beyond their parents' grasp though. Many get into top universities but often their superkid status stalls. They do well, but not brilliantly. Others I know who excelled in fields that can't be managed as much by their parents (eg pure mathematics) have continued to be top achievers doing innovative work.

How many Gatorade players of the year end up busting in college? A ton. How many college superstars bust in the pros. A ton. Same thing with music prodigies. Some people just stop developing or peak too early. Happens in many fields.

But that’s no reason to rain on someone’s parade. Leanne did good work. What she did is not easy.

[Anonymous]

Is this really posited to treat a middle ear infection? So the ultraviolet light is supposed to penetrate the thickened opaque eardrum?

Otitis media is essentially a middle ear abscess. Even if the UV light did sufficiently penetrate the eardrum, it's only going to hit the half millimeter of pus and bacteria right next to it.

This proposed treatment doesn't make any sense. Are people just humoring her or something?

[Anonymous]

^^Oh, wow. In her video, she is apparently assuming that killing bacteria on the surface of a Petri dish generalizes to similar effectiveness in treating bacteria trapped in a pus ball behind the eardrum.

This is all such very bad science, even for her age. How unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this really posited to treat a middle ear infection? So the ultraviolet light is supposed to penetrate the thickened opaque eardrum?

Otitis media is essentially a middle ear abscess. Even if the UV light did sufficiently penetrate the eardrum, it's only going to hit the half millimeter of pus and bacteria right next to it.

This proposed treatment doesn't make any sense. Are people just humoring her or something?

Not many medical treatments are 100%. 20% of 100 million is still 20 million treatments. let's stop all research and innovations since they do not work 100% of the time and see how much progress we make in medicine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this really posited to treat a middle ear infection? So the ultraviolet light is supposed to penetrate the thickened opaque eardrum?

Otitis media is essentially a middle ear abscess. Even if the UV light did sufficiently penetrate the eardrum, it's only going to hit the half millimeter of pus and bacteria right next to it.

This proposed treatment doesn't make any sense. Are people just humoring her or something?

Not many medical treatments are 100%. 20% of 100 million is still 20 million treatments. let's stop all research and innovations since they do not work 100% of the time and see how much progress we make in medicine.

No, you don't understand. That's 20% reduction on a DIFFERENT MODEL. She was looking at a Petri dish and then a light shining through a broth-filled test tube -- a light that hits a "nutrient broth" in the test tube all around it. That's entirely different from shining a light at a tiny opacified window into just one corner of a ball of thick pus.

So she got at most a decrease of a "significant amount" of bacteria in 20% of a different setup which was much more ideal and doesn't really represent a middle ear infection at all. Clinically significant? Probably not -- and we know what happens when you do just enough treatment to wipe out some of the bacteria, not all of them. That's where antibiotic resistance comes from, and hey, now let's introduce UV light resistance? No.

Look, it's great she is getting support and recognition, but you are literally never going to see this as an actual medical treatment, because it's ridiculous as an idea. But maybe otitis externa (swimmer's ear)? It's just that treating OE doesn't have the sexy numbers or the promise of preventing hearing loss, but it might be a goal she could actually reach. However, that 20% is worrisome -- undertreatment of bacterial infections can be as bad as not treating at all.

[Anonymous]

^^At some point, this idea should have been run past someone with some kind of medical experience, not just research experience.

This is effectively claiming you can treat strep throat by rubbing a cream on your neck, because antibiotic cream has been shown to help clear up neck skin infections.

That stuff isn't getting in where it needs to, and that's obvious just from the design.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were participating in science fairs, the winners' projects were often highly correlated with their parents' professions.

Parents will confer some advantages to their kids. That's a given. Doesn't mean there's something bad or unethical about it. Your mom was a volleyball player and your dad made it to the NBA? No surprise if the kid ends up excelling at basketball. It kind of goes without saying. But for some reason we can appreciate the kid playing basketball, but not the kid who won a science competition?

Additionally, would we be digging into Leanne's parental background if she was black? Wouldn't we just be happy that she won?

It's interesting to look at some of these superkids once they get beyond their parents' grasp though. Many get into top universities but often their superkid status stalls. They do well, but not brilliantly. Others I know who excelled in fields that can't be managed as much by their parents (eg pure mathematics) have continued to be top achievers doing innovative work.

It's not like anyone with any sense buys this hype. It's obvious it's their parents.

[Anonymous]

I'm just sitting here thinking about the tiny infant and toddler ear canals, what with the bends and twists, the hairs and the occluded earwax. When you remove it, it comes back within a couple of days.

Even if light on the tiny eardrum was enough, ultraviolet light to shine through all that detritus with any reliability or effectiveness? Go back and start from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just sitting here thinking about the tiny infant and toddler ear canals, what with the bends and twists, the hairs and the occluded earwax. When you remove it, it comes back within a couple of days.

Even if light on the tiny eardrum was enough, ultraviolet light to shine through all that detritus with any reliability or effectiveness? Go back and start from scratch.

I'm just wondering if you shine all this UV light into a place where the sun don't shine, are these kids going to get skin cancer in their ear canals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful accompalishment by this kid. Of course, the fact that many jealous people gets triggered by her success makes it even more wonderful.

+1 jealousy is so unbecoming especially in adults.

[Anonymous]

It's a shame when people are so blinded by appearing to be right that they no longer care if something is right.

Children's actual health is important, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful accompalishment by this kid. Of course, the fact that many jealous people gets triggered by her success makes it even more wonderful.

+1 jealousy is so unbecoming especially in adults.

Yes. That doctor wannabe poster should go back to being a quack and leave the kids alone to do their research and innovation. I doubt that quack ever researched anything except attack a 13 year old who is trying. You should be a shamed of your self. Research how medical researches are done.