Saanya Verma and Kashmea Wahi scored a perfect 162 in Mensa IQ test.
"One day my dad and I had a discussion on whether IQ and age are correlated. I did not think they are and that's how I happened to take the Mensa IQ test", said 11-year-old Saanya Verma, who scored a perfect 162 in the test in January this year. That’s two points higher than Albert Einstein, who is thought to have an IQ of 160.
"I can confirm that Saanya is one of the youngest to achieve 162 in the supervised test as it can only be taken by people over the age of 10 and a half,” a Mensa spokesperson said.
A fan of the Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series, Saanya Verma thinks this is just the beginning and she wants to explore further opportunities. Hoping to become a scientist or a mathematician or doing a research in biogenetics and robotics or being a banker like her father, Saanya Verma has a long list of areas she wants to explore.
"I did lose the bet and 10 pounds for believing IQ and age are directly proportional. But these 10 pounds were so worth it,” says Sunil Verma, proud father of Saanya.
Saanya Verma was born in Bangalore and is now a student of year 7 in a London school.
Two Indian-origin girls have achieved the maximum score of 162 in the Mensa test in a month.
11-year-old Kashmea Wahi, who also achieved the perfect score, said she took the test to prove her parents that it “isn’t necessary” to study all the time. "My parents kept telling me to study and I just did not think it was necessary. That’s when I took the test. I happened to stumble upon it while browsing through my iPad. I do think one should study but just enough. Because rest and play is important. I love coding. And I do hope to develop an app, a game very soon." said Mumbai-born Kashmea Wahi. On Wahi’s remark, her father replied, "Point taken. I don’t really have to study all the time."
The two children have now been invited to the House of Commons for a visit and a tour. ''Indian-origin kids are doing so well here in the UK and we must do all we can to achieve it. I hope they do consider politics too as a career and do some good for our world,” said UK Parliamentarian Virender Sharma.