Malagasy Genius Seeking Happiness off the Grid   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Arthur at 11 via Dinosoria CC-License-BY
Arthur Ramiandrisoa has been under the spotlight his life. That comes with the territory when you hold the record as the youngest french high school graduate ever [fr] at the tender age of 11. The precocious boy whose father is from Madagascar and mother from France obtained his Masters in Mathematics at 15 from the University of Paris VI. Books were written about him, and TV and radio channels wanted to know the teaching method that got him so successful early on. He seemed destined for great achievements when he decided that what he wanted more than anything is a normal life, away from all the public attention he garnered early on, as E. Pineau explains [fr]:
Présenté comme le “champion des surdoués français”, l'étiquette se révélera trop encombrante. Depuis son doctorat, obtenu à 19 ans, Arthur Ramiandrisoa n'a qu'un souhait : se faire oublier. Contactés à plusieurs reprises, ses proches n'ont pas donné suite à nos sollicitations. Se contentant de nous indiquer qu’“Arthur a gardé un très mauvais souvenir de plusieurs reportages” et “souhaite conserver l'anonymat dans lequel il vit actuellement”.
Billed as the French “champion of the gifted children“, this label will prove too cumbersome in the end. Since he obtained his PhD at 19, Arthur Ramiandrisoa has only one wish: to be forgotten. Contacted several times, his family did not respond to any requests for interviews. They say that “Arthur has bad memories from several reports about him” and “wishes to remain anonymous from now on.“
A Ramiandrisoa, now an IT architect, was also a pioneer of XML modeling for urban planning.