Yep, geniuses are born these days too! I even think that today, more than ever, we have the highest number of geniuses being born every year, but it’s not wrong to say that today we have school systems that are dumbing us down and prevent us from flourishing, even as an ordinary human being with normal IQ.
One genius (since he wore diapers) broke the chains and raised above the systems. Kim Ung-Yong is a South Korean civil engineer that displayed astonishing level of intelligence shortly after his birth, March 8, 1962.
He was also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the man with the “Highest IQ.” What’s even more genius than the man himself is the thing that he shared with the world about the key to happiness. He told us what really matters…
WHO IS KIM UNG-YONG?
Kim Ung-Yong was born in Gangneung, Gangwon, South Korea. He started speaking when he was 6 months old and was able to read Korean, Japanese, English, German and many other languages by his second birthday. By the time he was four, his father claimed that his son Kim Ung-Yong had memorized about 2000 words in both English and German. He was writing poetry in Korean and Chinese, and wrote two short books of essays and poems (less than 20 pages).
At age four, he scored over 200 on an IQ test normally given to seven-year-olds.
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Geniuses cannot go unseen. That’s exactly why NASA took Kim Ung-yong under their wings at the age of 8. In the beginning he was learning the rookie stuff, but in 1974 he began working alongside with the most brilliant minds. He spent almost a decade at NASA.
When you feel something isn’t right, it usually isn’t. This is what happened to Kim Ung-yong at NASA. He pushed himself to the limit year after year, and yet he felt emptier than ever. He felt void consumed by working the “robotic life” as he called it. “At that time, I led my life like a machine – I woke up, solved the daily assigned equation, ate, slept, and so forth. I really didn’t know what I was doing, and I was lonely and had no friends,” he says.
At the age of 16 in 1978 he went back to South Korea. People, no different than any majority around the globe, started calling him “a defective genius.” After receiving criticism from the public, he decided to continue his education at a local university.
As of 2007 he served as adjunct faculty at Chungbuk National University. In March 14, 2014, he became associate professor in Shinhan University, and became vice president of North Kyeong-gi Development Research Center.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A HIGH IQ?
People often talk about very high IQ scores, often referred to as genius IQ scores, but what exactly do these numbers mean and how do they stack up?
A Breakdown of IQ Scores
The average score on an IQ test is 100. These labels are often given for IQ scores:
- 1 to 24: Profound mental disability
- 25 to 39: Severe mental disability
- 40 to 54: Moderate mental disability
- 55 to 69: Mild mental disability
- 70 to 84: Borderline mental disability
- 85 to 114: Average intelligence
- 115 to 129: Above average or bright
- 130 to 144: Moderately gifted
- 145 to 159: Highly gifted
- 160 to 179: Exceptionally gifted
- 180 and up: Profoundly gifted
IQ tests use a standardized scale with 100 as the median score. On most tests, a score between 90 and 110, or the median plus or minus 10, indicates average intelligence. A score above 130 indicates exceptional intelligence and a score below 70 may indicate mental retardation.
Simply put, IQ tests are designed to measure your general ability to solve problems and understand concepts. This includes reasoning ability, problem-solving ability, ability to perceive relationships between things and ability to store and retrieve information. IQ tests measure this general intellectual ability in a number of different ways.
BEING SPECIAL IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS LIVING AN ORDINARY LIFE
For Kim, having IQ was not always a gift. He missed many ordinary things in his childhood. Without human relationship, Kim says “that’s no life at all.”
“People always try to be somebody special by neglecting their ordinary happiness. But they should know happiness means ordinary things that we take for granted, such as nourishing friendships, sharing memorable moments with friends at school and so on…I couldn’t have these things even if I wanted to. This is why I know that what I’m saying is important,” Kim said.
Kim’s message is loud and clear: “Being special is not as important as living an ordinary life.”
