Going as a former genius kid for Halloween and going in full costume will have people asking “What should you be?” And I’m like, “I wanted a lot of things.”
— @leahtriss 2019/10/26
christopher langan
Chris Langan became famous when a television network interviewed him for reportedly scoring ~170 on an IQ test.
Langan has not created any acclaimed works of art or science. In this way, he is quite different from outsider intellectuals like Paul Erdős, Stephen Wolfram, Nassim Taleb, etc.
But Langan is clearly a smart guy. Probably he passed 140+ in IQ test. He speaks like a book. He won $250,000 in a major trivia show.
Maybe that’s why this interview breaks my heart. Resentment, eugenics, ego – Langan earned a reputation as “Alex Jones with a thesaurus” and the “Steven Seagal of intellectuals”.
I don’t want you to hate this guy. Yes, he actively promotes toxic rhetoric – ignore it for now. this is about YouConsider all your failures, your unfulfilled potential, and the raw unfairness of it all, It sucks, and you shouldn’t let that bitterness take over you, You can only forgive history; You can practice gratitude toward an unjust world, You need no certifications, no awards, no secrets, no skills to do this, You are allowed to like yourself,
Langan had a difficult childhood:
Langan’s biological father left before he was born, and is said to have died in Mexico. Langan’s mother married three more times, and had a son by each husband. Her second husband was murdered and the third killed himself. Langan grew up with a fourth husband, Jack Langan, described as a “failed journalist” who used a bullwhip as a disciplinary measure and continued drinking, disappearing from home, locking kitchen cupboards so the four boys could not find food in them. The family was very poor; Langan recalls that they each had only one set of clothes. The family moved around, living for a time in a teepee on an Indian reservation, then later in Virginia City, Nevada.
Trauma never excuses bad behavior, and that’s not the point. it’s still about YouYou can learn about yourself through the stories of others, and empathy is the scariest thing when you encounter similar mess within yourself,
You will never have enough intelligence, no money, no time, no energy. This is not an excuse.
You are enough – no, no, you are Very,
Kim Ung-yong
Instead of competing in actual games, some people create unimportant/winnable sub-games. These people are called “scrubs”. They want to compete, but they can’t afford to lose; They want to win, but they are too risk-averse and too undisciplined to excel in fair play. Those who commit to such useless/unwinnable games are called “losers”.
But you forget that participation is optional. You always have your specific definition of “success” engraved directly on your forehead. You’ve been carrying your pain for so long that you can’t remember what it feels like to be free of expectation, of ambition, of guilt, of inferiority – no, you don’t have to do any of that. You May Do whatever you want, and you can
whatever You want.
According to his parents, Kim Ung-yong began calculus at the age of 3, scored 210 on an IQ test and began studying physics at Hanyang University at the age of 4, spoke five languages at the age of 5, and received an invitation to work at NASA at the age of 7.
In 2010, Kim reflected on her childhood this way:
At that time, I lived my life like a machine – I woke up, solved daily set equations, ate, slept, etc. I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I was alone and had no friends.
As an adult, Kim consciously chose practicality over abstraction. He studied civil engineering. He worked as a middle-manager in the compensation department at Chungbuk Development Corporation.
Kim Ung-yong rejected the title of “failed genius”:
I’m trying to let people know that I’m happy just the way I am. But why do people call my happiness a failure? […] Some people think that people with high intelligence can be omnipotent, but this is not true. Look at me, I neither have musical talent nor do I excel in sports. […] Society should not judge anyone by one-sided standards – everyone has different learning levels, hopes, talents and dreams and we should respect that.
In 2014, Kim joined Chungbuk National University as an associate professor. In 2020, he donated 15,000 books from his private collection to the city of Uijeongbu for public use.
But it’s still about you. There are no certificates, trophies or titles that can quench your thirst for sustainability. If you worship human intelligence, 210 IQ is not enough. It’s enough if you let it be.