A 12-year-old girl from Essex, England, has scored a near perfect IQ test according to the high IQ society Mensa.
Nicole Barr, lives with her two parents in a Roma travelling community and was put forward for the test by her father, James Barr. Her official score was 162. The average IQ in the Western world is around 100, while anything over 140 is regarded as being genius level. Even historical geniuses such as Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein are said to have IQs under 160, though this is a matter of contention amongst scientists, IQ experts, and historians.
On learning her score, Nicole said:
"When I found out I got such a high score, it was so unexpected. I was so shocked."
Her father said that he knew that Nicole had very high intelligence but wanted to have it confirmed, adding that Nicole has always been ahead of her peers at school and that she wishes to become a doctor when she is older.
He said:
"She's always loved numbers and puzzles, and she's always been excellent at math, performing several years ahead of her age group in school. She likes challenging herself. It's nice for us to be in the news for something good for a change. This shows that it doesn't matter where you come from, anyone can be academically brilliant."
While Nicole's teacher added:
"[Nicole] works incredibly hard and has thrown herself into many different activities in her first year with us."
When asked, Mensa spokeswoman, Ann Clarkson, told reporters:
"Only 110,000 members worldwide have been accepted into the exclusive Mensa society; 20,000 are from the British Isles, 35% of its members are female and only 8% are younger than 16".
While it has been reported that such an IQ score of 162 could be higher than Einstein or other famed geniuses, others have questioned the use of IQ tests as a legitimate measure of intelligence, saying that they can only give a rough indication of intelligence and do not take into account complex thinking or dealing with or developing abstract concepts. That said, anyone with an IQ of 162 must be held as highly intelligent in their own right.
[Based on reporting by: Truth Theory]
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