When it came to the question period of a lecture on “How to Compute with DNA,” one tiny voice stood out in a room full of retired academics from The University of Western Ontario.
Nine-year-old Adib Sedig amazed the Western Retired Academics Group last Friday with incisive questions about computing with DNA. The boy’s father, a Western faculty member, wanted his son to hear first-hand about the theories he has been reading about lately.
Surrounded by men and women several decades his senior, nine-year-old Adib Sedig was dwarfed by the lecture attendees last Friday. It was a general meeting of Western’s Retired Academics Group, an informal association of retirees and spouses.
Too young to have a career to retire from, Sedig had drawn attention even before opening his mouth.
Not to be intimidated by the forum, he raised his hand to ask two questions of Computer Science professor and Canada Research Chair Lila Kari. She had just presented a lecture on how the emerging field of DNA computing is inching closer to the creation of a bio-molecular computer.
“I read your article…” he began, and all heads turned to look. He continued with two technically detailed and specific questions.
So what was a nine-year-old doing at an event for retirees?
“I’m very excited about mathematics and science and I like to read lots of books about them,” he said afterwards during an interview. “In the past few years I’ve become very interested in computer intelligence, because I am very interested in neuroscience and also in electrical engineering.”
Kari is a colleague of Sedig’s father, Kamran, who is cross-appointed in the Department of Computer Science and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. To help fuel his son’s interest in the field, Kamran brought him to the lecture.
“I thought it was very interesting and I learned a lot more,” says Sedig.
Although Sedig was not her target audience, Kari was impressed. “I found this interest remarkable,” she says. Having met Sedig in the past, she was aware of his curiosity about mathematics and science.
“I find it very encouraging – and frankly, it makes me very happy – to see such a bright, eager young mind interested in fundamental things that most kids his age would find boring. I had doubts whether he would be able to follow the review article that this talk was based on, or the talk, but apparently he did follow it, at least the broad lines. I think this is highly unusual.”
Unlike most nine-year-olds, Sedig spends much of his time fostering his knowledge in areas of psychology, neuroscience and philosophy.
“I thought his questions were very intelligent and moreover very concrete and to the point,” says Kari. “What I mean is that he did not ask something general such as ‘how is this research going to change our lives,’ he asked something very specific, ‘What did you mean by evolutionary programming?'” says Kari.
“If there is any way in which I can keep his flame of curiosity alive, I will be happy to do it.”