After outperforming Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein in terms of IQ, an 11-year-old child has been granted an invitation to join Mensa.
Autism sufferer Kevin Sweeney was able to memorise the periodic table by the time he was six years old and could read before beginning elementary school.
The little prodigy, who travelled to Edinburgh’s The Quaker Meeting House to take the exam, scored 162 on the IQ scale, which puts him in the top 1% of all test takers.
The sole kid to take the exam on July 16 was Kevin, who now outperforms theoretical scientist Stephen Hawking, whose IQ was 160, and Albert Einstein, whose IQ is thought to be the same even though he never took the test.
Kevin, a quiz enthusiast and fan of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Chase, and Only Connect, has just been given the opportunity to join the famous Mensa, the biggest and most established high-IQ society.
Eddie Sweeney, a 40-year-old proud father, spoke of how much the news meant to his son Kevin, who was unable to control his joy.
‘When Kevin received the findings, he was racing around the backyard. He remarked, “It meant a lot more to him than we thought it would.”
“We’re hoping this will give him a big lift.” Kevin has problems in life, and we genuinely want to help him reach his full potential and take advantage of all the opportunities that come his way.
Kevin’s mother Laura, 39, and Mr. Sweeney both claimed to have recognised his intelligence from an early age.
It’s incredible, we’re very pleased, and Kevin is ecstatic.
From Lochgelly, Fife, the father of four stated.
He achieved the best score possible for a person his age. There were just grownups taking the exam; no other kids were there.
We worried that having many adults there could overwhelm him, but Kevin was happily talking away to everyone and introducing himself.
Because they both like tests, Mr. Sweeney said that he and Laura took the exam a few years ago, but Kevin was too young to take it, despite his want to.
The parents of Kevin are optimistic that this will now assist Kevin get opportunities in the future.
“As parents, we are really pleased because we always knew he was very intelligent.” Kevin’s father said, “We always called him a genius, and I don’t use that phrase lightly.
It “blows his mind,” according to Mr. Sweeney, a prison service physical education teacher, what Kevin is capable of.
At age six, he was tested on his knowledge of the periodic table after roughly a week, he recalled.
He could explain a number’s meaning, its symbol, and how much an element weighed in response to questions about it.
We often watch Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and The Chase.
He enjoys Only Connect too. I can watch a whole episode and not get anything correct because the characters are so incredibly smart.
“But Kevin will sit there and figure out the answers,” you say.
Even before the alternatives were presented, Kevin’s father revealed how his son correctly answered the £250,000 question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Mr. Sweeney said, “He was convinced the number they supplied was erroneous when another programme inquired about the cost of a bus trip in Harry Potter.
“He rushed upstairs, quickly located the correct page in the correct book, and showed he was correct—the movie had used a different pricing.”