Chris Langan was born with a freakishly potent brain, having arguably the highest IQ of any living person.
Langan began speaking at six
months old and went on to skip several grades. He had an adult vocabulary by
age 10. He breezed through college-level tests as an adolescent. He took his
SAT several years early and got a perfect score in half the allotted time and
took a nap.
Today, he is a rancher. He never
finished college. Most of his adult years were spent as a bouncer at a bar, and
in manual labour jobs.
It all stemmed from his rough
childhood. He grew up in a poor family. His mother married multiple times
before he turned 12. One stepfather committed suicide. Another was psychopathic
and abusive.
His stark upbringing created behavioural
problems and a persisting contempt for authority. Combine this with inadequate
mentorship, resources, and an absent professional network and he never
weaponized his extremely rare gift.
The sad truth is that there are many like Langan, who are like the gifted child working on a 3rd world farm, born into poverty and dealt a common, cruel blow to the chance of success.
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