British boy beats Einstein and Hawking
with 162 IQ: Autistic 11-year-old who
memorised the periodic table by the age
of six is invited to join Mensa after
sky-high score on intelligence test
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Arthur Parashar
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
8/28/2022 9:28:07 PM
An 11-year-old boy has been invited to join Mensa after achieving a higher IQ score than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Kevin Sweeney, who has autism, was able to memorise the periodic table at the age of six and could read before starting primary school.
The child genius, who travelled to The Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh to sit the test, received an IQ score of 162 - placing him in the top one per cent of people.
Kevin, who was the only child who took the July 16 test, now ranks above theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking whose IQ was 160 and Albert Einstein,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
jimboscott 8/28/2022 9:40:16 PM (No. 1261973)
You cannot really measure the intelligence of an autistic child with a standard IQ test. The story touts how this young man learned to read before starting primary school.
Frankly, that is nothing - read on...
My first son was also autistic. We would read to him 2-3 time per day and never gave him the first reading lesson. Who WOULD try to teach a three year old to read, right? Well, by the time he was THREE he had FIGURED IT OUT by hearing us read as he watched the symbols on the page. I kid you not. He was still in a HIGH chair (he was also premature) when he picked up a box of Milk Duds from trick or treating and read it for us.
Memorizing the Periodic Chart? That's NOTHING. My wife made a tape in which she read the first chapter of Genesis to help him with auditory processing. He listened to it 3-5 times. He then quoted the entire chapter, perfectly, from memory.
But here is the truth of the matter. None of that makes up for the social deficits, the developmental milestones that never took place and the difficult life that he will face as he gets well into adulthood.
In some ways my son is way off the charts. I would trade all of that in for a kid who was more typical and whose intellectual ability was somewhere to the left of the bell curve.
Again, you cannot measure these kids with savant splinter skills for true intelligence.
45 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Californian 8/28/2022 9:46:00 PM (No. 1261979)
IQ tests are nonsense. You can't assign a single number to "intelligence" which is something we can't even clearly define. This was my field of study in college. This was addressed in the first week and never brought up again for the next 4 years.
12 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
sunshinehorses 8/28/2022 10:14:20 PM (No. 1262001)
Even those that make the iq tests admit that they have changed over the years so it is impossible to compare people from different "eras". Mensa membership is supposedly for those over 150 iq.
6 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
azverano 8/28/2022 10:56:46 PM (No. 1262018)
I know from watching friends raise children with autism that it is very difficult. I applaud these parents in the article and am so glad they have something to celebrate. Poster #1 points out how very talented their own child is, yet the social deficits and developmental milestones their child has is heartbreaking to witness. My son has chorea athetoid cerebral palsy and my grandson is down syndrome. We do not take for granted their achievements and treasure all they can do in our hearts.
20 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
lakerman1 8/28/2022 11:02:37 PM (No. 1262023)
I hate making this prediction, but school will probably crush him. But a multigrade classroom might help him to survive.
4 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 8/29/2022 12:03:28 AM (No. 1262037)
Just wait until they make him get vaccinated and boosted and he dies shortly thereafter. I’m not expecting a long life and incredible scientific breakthroughs. Hopefully the kid is smart enough to say no to the jab.
6 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 8/29/2022 12:35:07 AM (No. 1262042)
Some of this is not impressive. "could read before starting primary school".....Uh, SO? Me, too. I read the newspaper for content on my own initiative at age five with my breakfast.
I'm sure the kid is bright, not disagreeing. Just that the some of the examples are pretty pedestrian.
And I never took an IQ test, never really cared what the score would be, just not that into it. I have known that I'm "pretty smart"....and so what? It depends on what you can do that is useful, at least far more to me.
I wish the kid well, but getting too much 'back patting' too early can lead to arrogance which doesn't help at all.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 8/29/2022 1:14:34 AM (No. 1262054)
Like most posters on this erudite board - - I could do the same things this kid can - - at even earlier ages.
There are all kinds of intelligence. My "IQ" is off the charts - - because my brain is wired to ace tests of that kind. On the other hand - - I can't play the piano or properly read a corporate annual report or change the oil on my car. And neither could Einstein.
So - - what's the big whoop?
11 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Rinktum 8/29/2022 1:46:43 AM (No. 1262062)
Average IQ here, but I love learning new things and am infinitely interested in the way the world ticks. Intelligence is both a curse and a blessing and I am grateful that I am who I am. I definitely am not the smartest but I am teachable. I have known several very intelligent people and most all of them have had other issues to deal with in life.
God gives us all kind of gifts and I am happy for anyone who has been given the gift of high intelligence, the ability to make beautiful music or art. The guy or gal who can work with their hands and create and fix anything is to be admired. We all have things in our lives that make us unique and life is good when we are able to do what we do best and we are happy doing it.
8 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
MrDeplorable 8/29/2022 2:27:50 AM (No. 1262075)
I’m another. Grandparents came for a visit when I was 5, Grandpa hoisted me up into his lap and I read the Sunday funnies to him. He said, “When did you teach the boy to read?” and Mom said, “I didn’t but without a baby sitter, I’ve been taking him to my substitute teacher job every day and he sits in the corner and listens and watches.” I figure I got four more years of grade school than everyone else.
6 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Msquared112 8/29/2022 7:02:40 AM (No. 1262139)
Savants’ brains don’t work like ours do. Their brains “photograph” and “record” everything they see and hear, which is why so little stimulation can send these children off the rails. They have to be so vigilant. I love the movies where we see savants in action. A particularly good one was “The Man Who Knew Infinity.” There are others.
1 person likes this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
petrichor 8/29/2022 7:47:31 AM (No. 1262166)
There is less practical application of genius than one would think. Mensa used to require a 130 IQ but I think they just upped it a bit. Like people with CPAs or Actuary Fellowships who want to make it harder for the next group to join their club.
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
mobyclik 8/29/2022 7:49:09 AM (No. 1262169)
I'm no Mensa candidate by any means, but I do have a healthy dose of Common Sense and have had a good life, which places me far above your typical democrat. You can be the smartest person in the world and still be an idiot.
5 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Sully 8/29/2022 8:12:14 AM (No. 1262194)
There is a wide range or "spectrum" of strengths n weaknesses in autistic children.
Some are highly functioning some are not. Most need helped w social skills and to communicate w peers.
An IQ test is highly dependant on reading or speaking skills of the testee. I have no idea what it means in this boys case. It seems he has a hyper ability and interest in one area. He may also be highly vulnerable and suggestible in others.
God blessim and protect him.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Strike3 8/29/2022 8:19:45 AM (No. 1262201)
He should turn down the invitation. Mensa has gone woke and diverse along with many other once-respected entities.
2 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
lakerman1 8/29/2022 8:32:03 AM (No. 1262211)
Second post apologies, but, #13, my favorite Dilbert comic reads something like this.
A job applicant is being interviewed by the pointy haired boss.
The boss, reading from the applicant's resume, says, "I see you have two Master's Degrees and a Ph.D. The applicant says, "Yes, but surprisingly enough, I have no common sense."
"You probably should not say that during a job interview, " said the boss.
"why not?" said the applicant.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Axeman 8/29/2022 8:52:29 AM (No. 1262225)
Intelligence is the ability to learn. Genius is the ability to create knowledge. They are but loosely attached.
0 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
JackBurton 8/29/2022 11:23:07 AM (No. 1262411)
I think it was Isaac Asimov who scored 160 on the Army IQ test when he was drafted and that was because they didn't have a higher score, he just got everything right. Mensa requires 130 or 132 IQ basically the top 3% of all the IQs and they only accept IQ tests from a certain range of years because the results have been cheapened greatly in the name of social justice. They have tests that one can take currently to qualify. I always did very well in test taking and became a member for one year. But I was smart enough to realize that there weren't that many benefits and I did not re-up
0 people like this.
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