
Albert Einstein (Photo credit: mansionwb) If you thought this was the 4-year old genius, Heidi Hankins, you're not a genius.
Probably not. Maybe the name Heidi Hankins doesn’t ring a bell now. Why? Because she’s only 4 years old and hasn’t made her mark on the world yet. But 20 years from now, her name may become synonymous with Einstein if she’s the one that solves the laws of the physics defying nanoparticles (or solve the riddle of one of man’s greatest mysteries, the female mind).
Heidi’s IQ is a whopping 159…supposedly 1 point less than Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and myself. (Just checking to see if you were paying attention.) She just joined MENSA.
This brings me to a hypothetical question. What if this capacity for knowledge was bestowed upon my child? A gift like this makes for an interesting perspective on child rearing. Would I be smart enough to realize how smart my kid was? Would I be able to exercise his mind to the extent that it would need to be, in order to maximize his abilities? Challenging a child of that intellect would be, um, challenging. And the problems that come with that ‘genius‘ moniker could destroy the person.
Imagine if everyone expects your kid to be the best at everything? Imagine if everyone expects your kid to be the next Einstein? What if your kid doesn’t want to be? What if the world says that your child’s talents were wasted and denounces your parenting skills? Those are the things society will probably think and say. (This is a sad part of the idiocracy we live in.) The societal pressure of expectation can be a difficult burden to bear.
Would I be happy if my child was a genius? Yes. Would I be happy if my child was normal? Yes. Would I be happy if my child was a kind, generous, loving human being? Above anything else, yes. In my eyes, his genius can take a backseat to this.
Some tidbits that you may find interesting:
- There is an international MENSA organization (http://www.mensa.org)
- There is an American MENSA organization (http://www.am.us.mensa.org)
- The top 5% GMAT scores can be submitted for acceptance into MENSA.
- The average Amerikun has an IQ of 100. Genius is over 140.
Related articles
- Heidi Hankins, 4-year old Genius
- 4-year-old girl joins Mensa with 159 IQ (digitalspy.co.uk)
- 159 (agoesisyourlordandmaster.wordpress.com)
- Tell-tale signs of a genius child (bbc.co.uk)