Is Paloma Noyola Bueno the next Steve Jobs?

John Rodriguez

November 8, 2013

Justly believed to be this generation’s top inventor, American entrepreneur and inventor of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs has been called the one mind being revolutionizing the personal computer. However, according to Wired they have found the next Steve Jobs.

According to the technology publication, Paloma Noyola Bueno is believed to be the world’s next technological genius. And she is only 12-years-old. Bueno lives in Matamoros, a Mexican border town, with her mother and other family members who survive on selling scrap metal and food on the streets.

A student at a school located near the municipal waste dump, last year Bueno intelligence was discovered when she became one of the youngest of eight children to score a maximum of 921 on the Mexican version of the SATs. Considering that Bueno lives in a border city which was heavily in the midst of a turf between Mexican drug cartels her score was the best in the entire nation.

The nurturing of Bueno’s intelligence may be due in part to her teacher’s pedagogical methods. The article notes that Sergio Juárez Correa, aged 33, employs a different teaching method which utilizes a “minimally invasive education” which is a concept developed by Sugata Mitra.

A professor from Britian’s Newcastle University who teaches educational technology, Mitra’s method allows students to tap into their own curiosity and lets them self-educate in how to solve problems.

Using this method on his students, Correa noticed that his students’ scores in Spanish and Mathematics had risen significant with nine other students scoring an estimated 900 in a similar test Bueno took.

Due to the dire circumstances Bueno lives in, Bueno and other students face a lackluster potential to grow. In a school which lacks property facilities like running water, telephone access, and a normal presence of students dropping-out due the limits of the Mexican education system her success should be highly praised. Bueno is just one of many students who are forced to live in an environment that could hinder their educational growth.

“If Paloma had the same opportunities or open doors as Steve Jobs, she probably would be a genius in this subject,” said Correa, imaging the possible future that could be easily attained for Bueno if she were permitted to certain access.

While she may not live in an ideal environment, there is nothing stopping Bueno. With a strong support network, the young genius recently went to Mexico City for a mental math competition and has earned media recognition in her home country earning her a national star status due to it.

The coverage that circulates around her hasn’t gotten to Bueno who is merely happy to be receiving an education and is, “very happy.”

The future is bright for Paloma Noyola Bueno who leaves us with wise advice, “If you want it, you can do it.”