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flamingdem

(39,308 posts) Tue Jul 24, 2012, 09:35 PM Jul 2012

Neuroscientists debunk idea Colorado suspect was supersmart [View all]

snip--

James Holmes seemed well on his way to a career as a scientist.

A video from a science camp he attended after high school shows him making a presentation about temporal illusions, misfirings in brain cells that lead to misreading the passage of time — the feeling that time stands still. In the video, Holmes refers to "an illusion that allows you to change the past."

He was one of six students admitted to the University of Colorado's graduate program in neuroscience last year. He received a $26,000 federal stipend.

But neuroscientist David Eagleman says Holmes' credentials were no better than those of an average student. The suspected mass killer is no elite neuroscientist, says Eagleman, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"He was just a second-year grad student," he says. "He didn't know anything."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-24/john-holmes-smart-academics/56467518/1

47 replies

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Neuroscientists debunk idea Colorado suspect was supersmart [View all] flamingdem Jul 2012 OP

Sounds like something Sheldon would say Gman Jul 2012 #1

He wasn't even a second year grad student. He quit at the end of first year. LisaL Jul 2012 #13

Seems like maybe he had come to the end of his intellectual ability Lex Jul 2012 #2

I think they'll be tightlipped about any incidents where he hit a wall at school flamingdem Jul 2012 #5

Sounds like he tanked his prelims, but it might not have been for intellectual reasons. gkhouston Jul 2012 #8

These were some the pre-grad school things that caught my eye Lex Jul 2012 #11

It was pre- undergrad school. LisaL Jul 2012 #12

If it was pre-undergrad, then it was pre-grad too Lex Jul 2012 #14

The point is, he was still in high school. LisaL Jul 2012 #15

Without knowing what the other kids at the summer program were like, it's hard to gkhouston Jul 2012 #16

If THIS GUY was "one of six students admitted to the University of Colorado's graduate program"... Zalatix Jul 2012 #3

That's a pretty strange thing to say, considering one guy knew Holmes when Holmes was LisaL Jul 2012 #21

What do you think an employer will say if one of six neuroscience grad students Zalatix Jul 2012 #28

Maybe you should re-read the darn article. LisaL Jul 2012 #30

Maybe YOU need to re-read the article. Perhaps you missed this part? Zalatix Jul 2012 #31

He was accepted into program not based on his high school record (whatever it was) LisaL Jul 2012 #33

If he graduated with honors then why did he have so much trouble handling his first year grad exam? Zalatix Jul 2012 #38

Probably because that's not what he's been thinking about for months. gkhouston Jul 2012 #39

U. Calif. has structure. Igel Jul 2012 #41

His up-coming exams were probably the last thing Surya Gayatri Jul 2012 #43

That "actual professor" is a competitor at Baylor with his own self-serving agenda. pnwmom Jul 2012 #47

Hardly. He had graduated with highest honors from U.Cal/Riverside. pnwmom Jul 2012 #46

"He was just a second-year grad student," he says. "He didn't know anything." alcibiades_mystery Jul 2012 #4

Sounds like the sort of faculty we used to call walruses. gkhouston Jul 2012 #10

ROFL! I've never heard that, but now I'm picturing half my colleagues with big petronius Jul 2012 #20

I hope it will provide a useful degree of detachment gkhouston Jul 2012 #22

That's good. Igel Jul 2012 #42

In academia, yes. In the wild, I don't know. n/t gkhouston Jul 2012 #44

When I read Holmes had said that, I frogmarch Jul 2012 #6

Scientists tend to be super-competitive. Maybe Holmes was a dolt or maybe pnwmom Jul 2012 #7

Grad students in most programs can be pretty hostile to one another Posteritatis Jul 2012 #36

Let's put it this way jberryhill Jul 2012 #9

Agreed, but let me add... gkhouston Jul 2012 #17

Oh, absolutely jberryhill Jul 2012 #18

Oh, yes. I'm kind of surprised the target was a movie theater, and gkhouston Jul 2012 #19

What was that Malcolm McLaren movie where he shot up the college? flamingdem Jul 2012 #25

Do you mean Malcom MacDowell and "If..." ? gkhouston Jul 2012 #27

That's probably the main adjustment with graduate studies Posteritatis Jul 2012 #37

I'd say that depends on what your undergrad experience was like, and also what gkhouston Jul 2012 #40

Classic doctoral professor remark. Mine told me not to show up for my masters hooding... aikoaiko Jul 2012 #23

I'm beginning to think the program contributed to pushing carrot top over the edge flamingdem Jul 2012 #24

Oh give me a break already. LisaL Jul 2012 #26

A rough grad program can certainly push an unstable person over the edge. aikoaiko Jul 2012 #32

A lot of things can push an unstable person over the edge. LisaL Jul 2012 #34

Of course. aikoaiko Jul 2012 #35

Snorf. That is *so* typical. n/t gkhouston Jul 2012 #29

He graduated with "highest honors" from University of California/Riverside. pnwmom Jul 2012 #45