Mariam
An 11-year-old Iranian girl who is a student at Aylesbury High School beats both Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein’s IQ scores by getting the highest Mensa IQ scores. Tara Sharif’s results were 162 points, this score indicates that she way above the so called ‘genius benchmark’ of 140.
Stephen Hawking was known to have an IQ of 160 and it is believed that Einstein, who never got to take the test, would have also had an IQ level at 160.
Tara Sharif took a non-verbal test in the British city of Oxford. It targeted her understanding of means of different phrases. All of the questions had to be answered within a specific time limit.
“It was a joint decision between me and my parents to take the test,” the talented girl said. “It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet other people within the Mensa system. I have told some of my friends at school and they were really impressed.”
With the score she received, she is now able to apply for a membership with Mensa, the world’s largest and oldest high IQ society.
The reaction
Tara shared her thoughts on her mind-blowing achievement: “I was shocked when I got the result. I never expected to get such a good score.” She also shared her plans for the future: “When I am older, I would like to do something related to arithmetic”
Tara Sharif’s father also shared his immense pride on his daughter’s success saying: “I am extremely proud but very surprised at how well Tara scored.” He added: “I figured she might do well when we watched TV and she would get maths questions before the contestants. I knew she was very clever but I did not think she would have such a high IQ.”