Wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate

HAVE YOU EVER MET A CHILD WHO TALKED LIKE AN ADULT? . Who knew big words and knew how to use them? Was he a charmer or an insufferable smart aleck—or maybe both? Mark Oppenheimer was just such a boy his talent for language a curse as much as a blessing. Unlike math or music prodigies he had no way to showcase his unique skill except to speak like a miniature adult—a trick some found impressive but others found irritating. Frustrated and isolated Oppenheimer used his powers for ill—he became a wisenheimer—pushing his peers and teachers away acting out with prank phone calls and worse. But when he got to high school Oppenheimer discovered an outlet for his loquaciousness: the debate team. . This smart funny memoir not only reveals a strange compelling subculture it offers a broader discussion of the splendor and power (including the healing power) of language and of the social and developmental hazards of being a gifted child. Oppenheimer’s journey from loneliness to fulfillment affords a fascinating inside look at the extraordinary subculture of world-class high-school debate and at the power of language to change one’s life.