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An ordinary-looking guy with an IQ higher than Einstein.
By Damian Clark — Written on Apr 15, 2023
Chris Langan often lays claim to the title of the smartest man alive.
He was born a self-confessed nerd. His intelligence was inborn. With an IQ between 195 to 210.
Luckily for us mere mortals, Natural Language Processing (NLP) has a technique called Modelling. It states you can replicate excellence by installing and mastering a person’s beliefs, physiology, and thought processes.
Let’s see areas we can upskill and challenge Christopher for his title.
“I’m just saying ‘yes’ to life” — Independent learner
“Taught myself advanced math, physics, philosophy, Latin and Greek, all that.”
Chris Langan wasn’t a yes-man
From an early age, Chris was bored with school. He recognized those in authoritative positions didn’t ask questions that penetrated life’s mysteries.
It satisfied teachers and those figures in power to accept what others had said before them and merely regurgitated their information.
Chris took up the challenge early to be a household scholar.
He learned for learning’s sake, not to harvest knowledge to display it on social media for followers. He found true joy in asking questions.
What to do: Diligently study your areas of interest. Don’t allow your opinions and conclusions to be dulled by authority figures.
Here are five signs of a highly intelligent person — from the smartest person in America:
1. It killed the cat — Curiosity
“It (the cognitive-theoretic Model of the universe) includes physics and the natural sciences, but it also goes to a level above. A level on which you can talk about the entirety of science.”
Chris Lang has come up with a theory on life and God.
It’s called The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe.
Due to not being a scholar, his theory will never get the airplay that David Hawkins received. There was no book deal from one of the large publishers, nor an appearance on David Letterman.
However, being an independent thinker and not bowing down to “experts”, Chris has maintained a childlike curiosity about investigating the mysteries of the universe.
As infants, we constantly asked our mom or dad “why” questions. “Why do you have to go to work today, dad?” “Why can’t I eat pizza again?”
Slowly, over time, having been molded through the schooling system, those “whys” shifted to subservient “yeses”.
And with this passage of time, curiosity about who we are and what our true purpose is lost.
This spark is not dead, however, it’s dormant.
What to do: Observe others and yourself. Look, with a child-like wonder, at what motivates a person’s behavior.
2. Soar like an eagle — Independence
“You come home and you begin doing equations in your head. You kind of retreat into your own world - make it work for you the best you can.”
The ‘predator confusion effect’ states that predators find it difficult to pick out individual prey from groups as a large moving target creates a sensory overload.
Fear drives species, including people, to move in packs.
Chris Langan was an independent and self-sufficient type of guy. But his approach wasn’t one of rebellion. It was born from a sense of self-reflection.
He would fall back inside himself and through self-contemplation. Outside noise did not influence his conclusions.
What to do: Make self-doubt a thing of the past and back yourself.
3. Build it and they will come — Your own community
“The Mega Foundation is an educational nonprofit providing content and resources for gifted and enlightened individuals.”
Being what Malcolm Gladwell considered an outlier, Chris Langan created his out sanctuary of liked minded-souls.
Instead of changing himself to be a jock, nerdy young Chris remained on the sidelines. For a long time, he was unable to find his tribe.
Thus, later in life, he created a community called the Mega Foundation.
The aim of his organization is to build a community of gifted people and their families.
What to do: Find your community based on your values.
4. What’s your superpower — Memory
“Chris could walk into a test in a foreign-language class, not having studied at all, and if there were 2 or 3 minutes before the instructor arrived, he would skim through the textbook and ace the test.”
— Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Because of a lack of interest in what was being taught at school, Chris wouldn’t study for tests. He would wait until immediately before the test and then flick through the class textbook.
With not much apparent effort, he would receive the highest mark in the class.
He got a perfect score on the SAT, even though he fell asleep during the test.
I am not promoting taking a siesta during exams. Nor do I think it’s a good idea to avoid studying for tests.
But memory plays an important role in intelligence. Being able to hold large amounts of information allows for connections to be made that allow for realizations.
What to do: Increase your memory through mind mapping.
5. Bookworm — Surround yourself with books
“There were piles of books in his study. He (Chris Langan) ordered books from the library all the time.”
— Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Like the larvae of the anobium beetle (woodworm) that hatch and boreholes inside books.
So too does Chris consume books: vivaciously, hungrily. He knows books feed and expands your knowledge base. Books spark creativity.
What to do: Turn off the TV and apply for a library card.
While these qualities and behaviors will not make you the next Einstein, they could change your life.
Intentionally stoke the flames of curiosity that may have been dormant for some years.
Allow your inner introvert to shine.
It’s your greatest strength.
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Damian Clark is a freelance writer with a bachelor's in psychology who writes about mindfulness, men's health, and Indian philosophy.
This article was originally published at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the author.