2 degrees, flies planes, author, works at NASA. His age? 17

[former9thward]

BOSTON (AP) — Moshe Kai Cavalin has two college degrees, but he's too young to vote. He flies airplanes, but he's too young to drive a car alone.

Life is filled with contrasts for Cavalin, a 17-year-old from San Gabriel, California, who has dashed by major milestones as his age seems to lag behind. He graduated from community college at age 11. Four years later, he had a bachelor's in math from the University of California, Los Angeles.

This year, he started online classes to get a master's in cybersecurity through the Boston area's Brandeis University. He decided to postpone that pursuit for a couple of terms, though, while he helps NASA develop surveillance technology for airplanes and drones.

Between all that, he's racked up an exhausting list of extracurricular feats. He just published his second book, drawing on his experience being bullied and stories he's heard from others. He plans to have his airplane pilot's license by the year's end. At his family's home near Los Angeles, he has a trove of trophies from martial arts tournaments.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20151102/us--teen_prodigy-d63e41561c.html

[cyberswede]

1. Good for him. I bet it's really difficult to be so different from other kids.

Glad he wrote a book about it. (along with all his other accomplishments).

[AZ Progressive]

2. Good for him. Most are not as lucky as he is. Hope he does a lot with his gifts

And hopefully to help humanity.

[Stardust]

3. Here's a pic...

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.brainmindcentre.com/2012/03/anak-ajaib.html&h=200&w=198&tbnid=CZlZp3bAZwZA-M:&q=moshe+kai+cavalin&docid=p-2nHsFaf6S_DM&ei=HBY4Vr-JNY7qjwOijInwBg&tbm=isch&ved=0CBkQMygWMBY4ZGoVChMIv4eo-5TzyAIVDvVjCh0iRgJu

[Egnever]

4. Cool did he get any time to be a kid though?

just wondering

[lancer78]

5. definately not

No reason to go through life that fast.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. Are you assuming it's his parents that are driving him? nt

[Egnever]

7. Nah couldn't be that

[ChisolmTrailDem]

8. It could be. But it could also be an intelligent child who doesn't make time for the things...

...children normally do. In which case, he is the one deciding whether or not he's missing his childhood.

I'd wager he has completed at least Child Psychology 101.

[LanternWaste]

9. Does a 40 year old playing video games get time to be an adult?

Does a 40 year old playing video games get time to be an adult?

(corollaries often illustrate the absurdity of a premise...)

[LiberalElite]

11. Maybe kid (a/k/a "age appropriate") stuff bores him nt

[Egnever]

16. Could be

I hope so

[LiberalElite]

17. I know there are stage manager parents -

there's a young boy often seen in the NYC subway system playing classical music on a keyboard, with a watchful adult standing nearby. He's a pro but I do wonder about him somewhat in the same way.

[hunter]

13. I occasionally have nightmares where I'm forced to finish high school...

... because I didn't have the "proper" high school experience.

My middle and high school experiences were traumatic. I was a skinny, squeaky, clumsy, highly reactive autistic spectrum kid with unusual interests. I was a chew toy for the bullies, and surrounded by so-called adults telling me if I would "just be a man" then all my problems would go away.

All my problems did go away when I quit high school for college. Most adults who physically torment minors go to jail, and not many of those moron adults end up in college anyways.

But I did have a few professors, back when lower division work wasn't all farmed out to graduates paid starvation wages, who were uncomfortable with minors, especially in field work, and they made no apologies for it. They did not like that my parents had to sign field trip permission slips, or that they felt an obligation to chaperon me. But no worries, my parents are artists and I'd seen naked people of all ages starting as a toddler, and understood adults enjoyed sex.

Still, I meet many people who had a wonderful time in high school who think I missed out on something grand and necessary in U.S.A. human development. That's where my nightmares come from. In high school I never went to a football game, I never went to a dance, I never dated, and I never went to a party where alcohol was served.

I was both allowed and encouraged by my parents to seek my own path.

But there's always this troubling sliver of irrational doubts in my head that maybe I ought to have conformed to this society's norms. Thus the nightmares of myself, more than half a century old, being forced to finish high school. It's impostor syndrome. Maybe I'm not a true U.S. American. I enjoyed no Happy Days as a youth, except when I was doing science, making art, building computers, or writing code.

I once got to spend an evening with Buckminster Fuller as a "gifted" student. How cool is that?

Sometimes in these high school nightmares I'll escape by thinking, "Hey wait a minute, I graduated from university and taught this stuff in hardcore urban public schools!"

But other times I'm still the geeky high school kid getting physically abused in P.E. locker room by big morons with pubic hair. I didn't have any noticeable body hair anywhere until my third year of college, after my left testicle had been removed because it wanted to kill me.

[Egnever]

15. He is barely old enough for high school.

Sorry your experience was so horrible.

I don't think of school as being a child. I think more of playtime and opportunities to explore the world around you. School is more like a job.

[Snobblevitch]

10. Is there a California law that prevents

a 17 year old from driving a car alone?

In my state, there are limits to the number of passengers a 16/17 year old can have in there car. There some limits about hours of operation as well, but as far as I know, if they are properly licensed, they are legal to drive alone.

[former9thward]

14. If you are under 18 you are a "provisional" driver in CA

Any licensed driver under the age of 18 is subject to provisional restrictions.

For the first 12 months, a driver must be accompanied by a licensed parent or guardian, an instructor or another licensed driver who is at least 25 years old, during the following situations:

Carrying passengers who are 20 years old or younger
Driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Additionally, drivers younger than 18 cannot use electronic communication devices while driving — in particular, that means no cell phone to text or talk, even in "hands-free" mode.

Certain exceptions are allowed, but a signed note must be kept in the teen's possession that explains the need and the date that need will end. The exceptions are as follows:

For medical-related transportation when reasonable alternatives are not sufficient — signed note from doctor required
For school or a school activity — signed note from school principal or other official
For a job when operating a vehicle is part of employment — signed note from employer
For your own need or that of an immediate family member — signed note from parent or guardian
No documentation required for emancipated minors, if already declared as such to the DMV with Proof of Financial Responsibility

So he can drive alone but with the various restrictions.

[Xyzse]

12. That's great. It is always amazing when kids are allowed to pursue their interests.

Good on him.