Young, Gifted & Black Series
By Taki S. Raton
Ramarni Wilfred
Upon taking the Mensa test, our exemplar YG&B feature this week was informed that he has an IQ higher than Steven Hawking, Bill Gates, and yes – even Albert Einstein.
He is young, gifted & Black.
Ramarni Wilfred of Loom Groove, Romford in England has become the latest member of the exclusive Mensa society after achieving what the May 20, 2014 posting of the AfricanGlobe describes as “the highest possible score on an IQ test.”
To place Ramarni in some perspective relative to Hawking, Gates and Einstein, Stephen William Hawking, among a host of additional accomplishments in science research, is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.
American business magnate, philanthropist, computer programmer, and inventor William Henry “Bill” Gates III is co-founder of the world’s largest software business, Microsoft, and subsequently has become one of the wealthiest men in the world.
German-born physicist Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity in 1915 which, cites published reports, he considered to be his “masterpiece”.
In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics.
The May 15, 2014 accounting of the Deccan Chronicle reveals that Einstein never took an IQ test as these modern intelligence measuring instruments were nonexistent at that time.
Experts, however, contend that Einstein has an IQ of around 160. Eleven year-old Ramarni Wilfred’s IQ was tested at 162 placing him in the top 1 percent in the UK.
“I was surprised and very happy when I read the results of my IQ test as I didn’t feel very confident after completing the test,” he is quoted in the May 22, 2014 writing of Black-Like-Moi.
He adds that, “I was the youngest person there and some people looked to be in their 40s.”
This pre-teen scholar humbly shares that, “I can’t begin to compare myself to these great men whose hard work clearly proves that they are true geniuses. Who knows?
Perhaps my ‘true genius’ moment will come when I grow up.”
But for now, he contends, he is just proud of himself and “happy that my mom and sister are proud of me too.”
His mother Anthea said that she first noticed her son’s exceptional ability early on and that there was something very special about him.
“He was quite young when he started talking clearly and as soon as he started walking, he would go looking for books,” she reveals in AfricanGlobe. His favorite book, she says, was an encyclopedia.
The 37 year-old proud mother adds that Ramarni would watch the TV with subtitle programming because “he wanted to check the words that he did not understand.”
“Soon,” she continues in AfricanGlobe, “he was telling me the Greek and Latin origins of words.”
She notes that by the time he was enrolled in pre-school, he had already begun to master reading, spelling, and writing and his teachers wanted to advance him straight into first grade.
But his mother, again as quoted by the Globe, “thought it would be best for him socially to remain with his peers.”
Former teacher and French tutor Valerie Mulae describes her gifted student in Globe as “remarkable. He just stood out,” she said.
Ramarni was enrolled in his school’s gifted and talented program and was then invited to join the Brilliant Club, a program for children ages 10 to 16 held at St. Anthony’s Primary School in Forest Gate, London.
According to a page descriptor, the Brilliant Club is an award winning nonprofit initiative for students in “non-selective” state schools.
Their focus is to place doctorial and post-doctoral level instructors in these “low participation communities” to deliver university- style tutorials to this membership of outstanding pupils.
As part of this Brilliant Club program, Ramarni was tutored by a PhD lecturer under whose guidance he wrote a paper on “Fairness” which earned him a 2:1.
This “2:1” UK academic grading is comparable to an “A-“or a “B+” as explained in an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) British and Irish Studies Internet site.
He then, as recognition for his achievements, participated with other students in a mock graduation at Oxford University in Oxford, England.
This path led to the Mensa invitation to take an IQ test at Birbeck University in London.
Mensa International is open to persons who have attained test scoring within the upper two percent of the general population on an approved standardized intelligence test.
As noted in the February 14, 2014 YG&B feature, “4 year-old in top 1 percent of the world’s population,” Anala Beevers scored an IQ of over 145.
She too was invited to join Mensa which has currently 2,800 members under the age of 18 and list 110,000 members from more than 100 countries worldwide.
Mensa, as reported in this particular February YG&B series, was founded in 1945 by attorney Roland Berrell and Dr. Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer, who wanted to form a society in which membership was determined solely by a person’s IQ and not by race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background.
Mother Anthea said that she tries to support her son as much as possible by introducing him to extra activities like museum visits and educational nature walks.
“But now I realize that he needs a lot more stimulation and Mensa has a range of activities that could help him grow, “she said
As additionally quoted in Globe, Mensa’s chief executive, John Stevenage said: “Anyone who registers an IQ score which places them in the top two percent of the population had done remarkably well. The score Ramarni achieved therefore is very good and shows he has great potential.”
He adds that: “Joining the Mensa community will allow Ramarni to network with other extraordinary people and give access to the 100 special interest groups which provide a great opportunity to learn new things.”
Rumarni’s dream is to study at Oxford and become an astrophysicist.
“I love all things science and have always wanted to grow up to have a career in this field.
I also love math and history. Now I want to combine all my favorite subjects and hopefully study physics at Oxford.”
Still positing a highly respected humble nature at 11 years-old, he visions that joining Mensa is, “a great opportunity and I think it can open a lot of doors for me.
But I also believe that having a high IQ isn’t that important unless you do something really special with it.”