I'm not extraordinarily intelligent. However, by the time I was 11 years old, I understood a reasonable amount of calculus and topology, and enough physics and chemistry to be able to explain how a nuclear explosion occurs and how to create polymers.
This is clearly not a result of any unusual intelligence, but rather simply because I was exposed to such stuff as a child. For example, I remember coming home from a third-grade class all excited that we'd learned about molecules, and in response my dad handed me a slender Time-Life book on Chemistry, full of pictures. There was enough info in that book to give me a high-school level comprehension within a few months of leisurely reading.
Anyway, my point is that if I could figure this stuff out, there's no reason why most other kids couldn't also get the concept, if they're exposed to it and interested.
