VietNamNet Bridge - Able to read at 18 months and winner of many competitions, Phan Dang Nhat Minh is excelling at the ongoing 17th ‘Road to Olympia’, a competition held annually for high school students. He is breaking records for his accurate answers.

‘Child prodigy’ and ‘Google boy’ are the words people use to talk about Minh. The 11th grader has been surprising his friends, teachers and reporters with his impressive learning achievements.

According to Nguyen Thi Gai, Minh’s mother, a primary school teacher from Hai Lang district in Quang Tri province, in his childhood, Minh showed his ability and special interests compared with other children of the same age.

When he was four months old, the child liked watching TV game shows with questions and answers such as ‘Chiec non ky dieu’ (Miraculous conical hat), or the news in English and French and foreign-language teaching programs. 

When he was six months old, Minh could recognize numbers. And when he was 18 months old, he could read clearly and loudly the words on TV and in fairy tales. After a short time, Minh went to preschools where he could do operations and solve math questions very quickly.

Minh has a special ability – remembering telephone numbers just after listening to the numbers one time. He can also repeat the numbers from 1 to 100 in English just after listening once. 

Able to read at 18 months and winner of many competitions, Phan Dang Nhat Minh is excelling at the ongoing 17th ‘Road to Olympia’, a competition held annually for high school students. He is breaking records for his accurate answers.

With extremely good memory, intelligence and eagerness for exploration, Minh tries to solve all problems in class to spend time preparing for new lessons at home. Since Minh reads many books and spends time on studies, he finished the curriculum designed for 11th graders when he was in the 9th grade.

Minh became better known throughout the country in 2014, when participating in ‘Chinh Phuc’ (Conquer), a TV game show for secondary school students. He ‘conquered the hearts’ of tens of thousands of TV viewers with his lightening-speed answers.

The 14-year-old boy had comprehensive knowledge in many fields – from math, literature to social issues. With the ability of processing information accurately and quickly, Minh is called ‘Google boy’.

At ‘Chinh Phuc’ 2014, Minh defeated Ho Dac Thanh Chuong, who won the laurel wealth at the 16th ‘Road to Olympia’ to become the champion.

At the ongoing 17th ‘Road to Olympia’, Minh has set a new record with a 460 score at the latest competition.