Recently, 11-year old Wahi beat Einstein’s IQ test of 160. Wahi also surpassed Stephen Hawking attaining 162 IQ level after excelling at the Mensa IQ quiz which is the oldest in the world. She is now referred to as “The New Born Genius” and scientists think she might just have the sharpest mind the world have ever seen. Wahi, is said to have taken the world by the storm with her level of intelligence for her age.
Question is, was she really born a genius? Was anyone gifted with such? Did she need to develop her mental abilities or not? Are they smarter persons out there? These are questions itching for answers. First, we must understand that mental age differs from ageing. While mental age talks about how old one’s mind or cognitive abilities function, the latter talks about how long one has existed.
Mental ageing is as result of consistent development while the other is as a result of growth. The only gift given to man is life. It is what we do with that life that separates us. Growth is as a result of the right meal, rest and exercise. Take all that away and that man will only deteriorate and die eventually. Same for the mind. The mind/brain is a tool and if not used or developed, they become dormant and rather than evolving, they are impaired.
Before now, Albert Einstein was seen as probably the smartest human to have ever lived. Today, that has changed with the emergence of little Wahi. Question is, are there others? They say only a few are born with such abilities. You might wanna ask why not everyone? Weren’t we all created by an impartial God? Shouldn’t everyone possess such gift?
It tells you one thing, no one was born with such. No one was born a genius. The world has only succeeded in tagging the few who decided to develop their minds as “Born Genius”. Fact is, we were all given one gift. A gift we didn’t ask for. A gift we didn’t struggle to have. A gift we don’t even deserve and that is LIFE. Prior to your level of exposure, at birth, your mind was a clean slate. It means we are responsible for what and how we think.
The mind/brain posses limitless capacity. There is no telling what the mind can contain. They say a human can only use up to 10% of his brain in a lifetime. What happens to the other 95%? But today, only a few have chosen to exceed that limit and develop their mental abilities to a level others can’t relate with and therefore, refer to them as “Born Geniuses”.
Again, there are no geniuses only a few who chose to go the extra in directional progress. This is why practice is never perfection but progress. We all have different areas of interest. What is of interest to James may not be of interest to Jane. Fact is, focus is as a result of interest. A man is only focused on a thing because he’s got interest in it.
Now if Jane love numbers and science and then goes on to become one of the smartest people in that area, does that make her any smarter than James who is king in the court room? Certainly not. Both parties have little or no idea about the other’s area of focus. So why term one a genius and the other a mediocre? It tells you one thing, you’re not the smartest person in the world neither are you the dullest. We are just different people excelling in different areas of interest and focus.
Usain Bolt may be the best athlete the world have ever seen yet he knows close to nothing about playing Tennis on clay court like Rafael Nadal or grass like Roger Federer. Denzel Washington may be the best actor and scriptor yet he’s no match for LeBron James when it comes to basketball. Warren Buffet may be exuding amazing business ideas wherever he goes but lacks the technological abilities enormously possessed by Mark Zuckerberg. These are people who have chosen a path and developed themselves in that area.
Fact is, Einstein probably took a lot of interest in science and as a result of continuous research, he came up with uncommon theories and discoveries which eventually became laws. Now that is what I call “Practice and Development”. That is the bedrock of any successful person you see today. You can get anywhere if you don’t move and when you don’t move, you don’t live.
Neither Einstein nor Wahi are as smart as Chinua Achebe [Fiction & Non-Fiction] or Wole Soyinka [Poetry] or even Asa [Music]. Today, Lionel Messi is a renowned football player and regarded by many as the greatest of all time. Does this mean Lionel Messi wouldn’t have excelled in science if he had interest in it and the facilities to aid that interest? Certainly not. Same for Einstein. His interest wasn’t football.
The brain is a system unit. It is garbage in garbage out. What I expose myself to, I become. A simple analogy that applies to all spheres of life. In the final analysis, whatever the area or field, there are no limits. There is no telling what you can achieve when you put your mind to it. Yesterday, it was Einstein. Today, it’s little Wahi. It means there is always a height to attain and a mountain to climb so perfection is not enough but progress. On the track of success, there is no finish line so keep working and getting better. Be consistent. This is Danny world…
DANNY WORLD 