This is a story of ‘we don’t know what we don’t know!’ Claude Shannon was a gifted man, no doubt. The real back-story will likely never surface, now.

Why I say this?

Genius usually manifests at an early age, even as young as at birth. It helps if parents are supportive and encouraging. Especially, before the child is channeled into the educational system and taught to think by rote.

One daughter never said ‘mama’ or ‘dada,’ her first words at eight months were, “I want an elevator on my crib!” We were the only two in the room and I knew I did not say this.

Another daughter, outside for her three-month photos, wiggled off the blanket and went up on her knees when she hit the grass. She crawled 15 feet to the side of the house, picked up the hose and took a drink. (Just like her siblings were doing). Photos of this are preserved forever in her personal Album.

Knowing how to encourage a gifted child is a life long endeavor. It may surprise one to know how difficult it was to find teachers qualified to teach these gifted children.

This is the reason I suspect Claude Shannon had a support system allowing him to grow into his Gift. Posterity does not need the back story to appreciate Shannon’s achievements, staying in wonderment is not lethal.