Nishi’s IQ higher than Einstein’s. (Right) Donna Strickland works at Waterloo University
Nishi Uggalle, this year’s UK child genius, says her idol is Canadian physicist Donna Strickland who won the Noble Prize for 2018, becoming the first woman to win the honour in 55 years. Only other women physicists to win the coveted prize were Marie Curie (1903) and Maria Goepart Mayer (1963).
Strickland, who graduated from the University of Guelph in Canada is presently working as a professor at the University of Waterloo. She succeeded in creating ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses critical in the manufacturing of small, precise medical devices such as the stents used to inflate obstructed arteries. They are also used to make precise incisions in corrective laser eye surgery and cataract surgeries, where ultrashort pulses are necessary to prevent tissue from burning.
Nishi, British-born 12-year-old daughter of Sri Lankan parents, topped the Mensa intelligence test with 162 has set her sights on such heights. The youngest girl in Mensa history to obtain 2 points more than Albert Einstein is dabbling in a different branch of physics. The girl, hailing from Manchester, describes herself as a super fan of late genius Stephen Hawking and is keenly interested in black holes.
No one knows what Einstein’s IQ was, as he was never tested but it is assumed he would have an IQ score of 160+, which is reckoned to equate with genius level, according to The Guardian.
The British daily further added “When Nishi was tested almost three years ago by Mensa, a membership organisation for people with very high IQs, she scored 162 – the highest possible score in the test she was taking.”
Appearing on a Sri Lankan TV programme presented by late entertainer Ronnie Leitch in 2017, Nishi told in Sinhala that Einstein had done lot of great things and it is not fair to compare her with him. During the programme, titled Poddange Weda (Children’s Exploits), which was modelled on Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shots, Nishi said she read a lot and as a kid learnt computer programming from her IT consultant dad, Neelanga, and maths from the accountant mom Shiromi.
“My passion as a kid was to create computer games with the help of programing that my dad used to teach me. I shared the games with my cousin brother in Sri Lanka,” she told Ronnie. One of the first games she created was to save fish from a ravenous octopus.
She faced off with 11-year-old William Harwood at the finals to be the brightest child of the year. Some of his facial expressions meant that he knew most of the answers but Nishi was faster on the buzzer and capitalized on two questions that William failed to answer, and one he did not know though he pressed the buzzer. She became the youngest child to score 162 in a Mensa test.
In an interview with the BBC With Breakfast after winning the coveted trophy she said her plan is to enter the Cambridge University. Asked from the parents whether they pushed her to study hard they denied doing so. “She is our only child and we did not know her capabilities till her pre-school teachers told that was she doing advanced things than the kids in her same class. We never pushed her. She is the pushy one,” Neelanga said smiling. Nishi told the BBC that her idol is Canadian professor Donna Strickland.
She inspired the audience with her feminist-inspired speech, urging the girls not to fall into stereotypes because of their gender and study things like maths and physics which are generally believed to be the prerogative of males. It is interesting to note that when Prof. Strickland was studying in the university she was one of three women in a class of 25.
While describing her closest rival William as incredible and applauding his incredible fight, she said, “One of the main reasons I entered in the competition was to show that there are a lot of stereotypes about girls not being able to do maths or physics for example. I’d like to show that’s not true at all”.
In a different development, a Mensa spokeswoman claims there is a strong correlation between high IQ and good health, longevity and career success, but a high IQ can produce social isolation. “One of Mensa’s aims is to bring together ‘gifted’ children because their general cohort may find them a little odd. I know many chess players who are brilliant problem-solvers but can barely cope with “real” life,” he added.
Nisha, with her prodigious talent and her spontaneous oratorical skills seems undaunted by such stereotypes attached to gifted children. “My friends call me Hawking but I call myself a geek, a proud geek. People think maths is a boy’s subject but I don’t definitely think that. If a girl could excel in maths than a boy I would definitely love that”.
Apart from physics and her passion for exploring black holes she leads a very normal child for a 12-year-old girl. “I listen to lot of music and chill out with my friends whenever I have the time,” she says trying to strike the perfect balance between her super intelligence and a normal life. – newstrails.com
