China professor spots boy reading Murphy’s Law book on train, asks him to visit top university
- Academic spots studious youngster, 7, with head in psychology book on subway, invites him to visit elite institution
A seven-year-old boy on a crowded train in China, who was reading about a subject considered far beyond his age group, was spotted by a professor from Peking University, who invited him to visit the institution.
Sitting on the floor, the boy, who has not been identified, was deeply engrossed in a book titled Murphy’s Law, a psychological text famous for producing the saying, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.
The book outlines a range of psychological and sociological principles.
He caught the attention of another passenger, Zhao Baisheng, a professor and doctoral supervisor at Peking University’s Institute of World Literature in the School of Foreign Languages.
Struck by the boy’s concentration and what he was reading, Zhao initiated a conversation.
“What grade are you in, young boy?” Zhao asked.
