Not many people have heard about Chris Langan – Christopher Michael Langan. But Chris had a higher IQ than Albert Einstein, who noted as one of the world’s brightest and the best. Einstein developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics; and also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein was so popular that his brain was preserved after he died in 1955.
This article is a continuation of our Late Bloomers Series! A late blooming adult is a person who does not discover their talents and abilities until later than normally expected. In certain cases it happens well into retirement.
Albert Einstein had an IQ of 150; but Chris Langan’s IQ was so high that it could be measured. It was later reported, his IQ was “between 190 and 210.” As a result of his score, he has been described as “the smartest man in America.”
Poverty slowed Langan down! While Einstein, raised by a rich German family, attended good schools, Langan had a tough time surviving debilitating poverty and a dysfunctional home.
It is said that while growing up, food was a luxury. He owned only the clothes on his back. His stepfather beat him for eight years. Langan took a string of labor-intensive jobs for some time, and by his mid-40s had been a construction worker, cowboy, forest service ranger, farmhand, and, for over twenty years, a bouncer.
He later developed the Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe (CTMU) but he remains relatively unknown in many parts of the world. He said CTMU “explains the connection between mind and reality, therefore the presence of cognition and universe in the same phrase”.
Poverty may have delayed Langan’s success or its magnitude. Swadchet Sankey, UNICEF Education Specialist, said last week that the kind of environment a child grows in or is nurtured in would to a large extent affect the quality of his/her brain and development in life irrespective of the intellectual capacity of the parents.
Other natural reasons for delayed success or breakthrough; could be early setback and the individual himself. Everyone has their in-born gifts to be developed but poor habits, laziness and lack focus have killed many dreams.
The supernatural
The God factor requires a lot of caution to discuss because of the futility of trying to understand God. His ways are not our ways. So T.D Jakes warns people against asking God questions.
“How can you understand God with your small brain compared to who He is?”
A friend who had the small, still voice talk back at him agrees. He had worked hard, prayed and fasted over an expectation he called God’s promise. One night as he prayed he asked God why he had been made to wait that long. The small voice in him responded instantly:”You have been doing your waiting in the comfort of your home; where did Joseph do his waiting.”
“In the prison,” my friend answered aloud. Then it all went quiet! He remembered Joseph left prison straight for the palace to be a Prime Minister in God’s time – the said time or due season. When he resumed praying his focus was for God’s will to be done.
TD Jakes did not try to understand God or ask questions with his “small brain”, when he lost his job, his car, and other things at 26. Left with no money to pay their bills or even feed the family, he said he was pounding the streets in desperation one day, when God spoke to him promising, “I will not suffer your feet to be moved.”
He believed God and that stabilised him but there were no immediate miracles or job offers. “I still had to plough it through,” he recalled.
Today, he is a Bishop of a mega church with world-wide popularity. He hit the limelight through a miracle. The owners of Trinity Broadcasting Network, an international Christian-based broadcast television network, heard him preach, fell in love with it and made him a regular feature on their programmes.
Reports say when T.D. Jakes first stepped into the pulpit, he trembled with nervousness and anxiety. Speaking in front of crowds was initially quite difficult for him due to a pronounced speech impediment.
Today, Jakes rightly attributes his success to his spiritual gifts and well-honed abilities, saying, “When a person flows into God’s purpose and timing for his or her life, God can take a person with less ability and use his/her to extreme capacity, just because they are willing to be available.”
In the example of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken cited last week, God’s hand was obviously on him, keeping the poor, yet hardworking man from the dead for a purpose.
There is an example nearer home. Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, admits his surprise over God’s call, some people call that an “arrest” – a case where the individual is left with no choice than to follow God.
There were several instances when God spared his life for no obvious reason to him. But it is clear now that God wanted to use the boy born into debilitating poverty some 75 years ago. Today the church he leads has spread from Nigeria to 198 countries.
The late bloomers
Among the late bloomers in life are people who have their success delayed because of early setbacks and unfavorable environment they grow up in; those who have had earlier successes blown up and have to try again; and those who have to pass through series of adversity as part of God’s plan to prepare them for higher, bigger calling. Sometimes the delay appears longer because of the need to prepare where He is taking them.
Every individual is born with a gift or wired to achieve a special purpose in life. Success rate is not IQ-dependant. Many of the world’s famous footballers were not particularly brilliant at school; and many great innovators were indeed school dropouts.
Life’s success is all about discovering one’s gift and developing it through learning and practice with perseverance and obedience to God.
