British Indian Anwita Jayaprakash Patil records an IQ higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking!

British Indian Anwita Jayaprakash Patil has registered a hitherto unheard score of 162 on the IQ test with Mensa International, the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world and in the process has out beaten none other than the world-renowned scientists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking!

Mensa and its activities: Ronald Berill, a barrister and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer founded Mensa in 1946 with the aim of creating a non-political society devoid of all racial and religious barriers. In fact, Mensa means table in Latin and it was so named because Mensa is a round-table society wherein ethnicity, colour, creed, nationality, age, political affiliation, educational and political background don’t make any sense. The only relevant qualification for membership is scoring within the upper two per cent of the general population on an approved intelligence test. As of now, there are 145, 000 Mensans roughly in about 90 countries.

Diverse exciting opportunities: The society has members of all ages worldwide and it provides all of them with diverse and exciting opportunities for social, cultural and intellectual interaction. Lively exchange of ideas through lectures, journals and special-interest groups, stimulating discussions, and debates at local, regional, national and international levels are the main activities. They also hold thought-provoking surveys and investigations of members’ opinions and attitudes apart from providing valuable assistance to researchers, inside and outside Mensa, in projects dealing with intelligence and Mensa.

Score higher than Einstein and Hawking: Anwita Jayaprakash Patil, an 11-year-old British Indian kid studying in the Seventh standard undertook an IQ test with Mensa in January 2023. To the astonishment of everyone, including her own parents Anupama and Jayaprakash Patil, Anwita bagged an amazing score of 162 surpassing the internationally acclaimed Physicists’ namely Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Her accomplishment of getting the maximum possible score enabled her to lower the positions of both, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking as both of them had scored 160.

Mathematics flows into genes for the fifth generation: Anwita Jayaprakash Patil is a gifted child in the real sense. Thanks to her ancestral background tracing back to her roots from Hirebagevadi village in Belagavi Taluk and District in Karnataka state it looks like excellence in Mathematics has continued into the fifth generation and successfully enough. Anvita’s mother Dr Anupama Patil is a Gold medalist in Mathematics from the Karnataka University, Dharwad. She is also a Ph.D. holder in Mathematics.

Vijaya Patil, topper in Mathematics: Dr Anupama’s mother Vijaya Patil also did her M Sc in Mathematics. Vijaya Patil was also a topper in Mathematics during her studies apart from having won the Best Girl award at the St Joseph’s High School in Dharwad. She also presented a paper on her findings in Mathematics in China, although more details on the subject, exact place and institute are not available.

Grandfather and Great Grandfather: Dr Anupama Patil’s Grandfather BR Patil, retired Professor of Government B Ed College, Dharwad now running 96 is well known for his mastery and skill sets of teaching Mathematics with ease. He has also written about 200 Vachanas on Sharana philosophy and Lord Basavanna of the 12th century but hasn’t published them yet. BR Patil’s father Ramanagouda Patil was one step ahead as he wrote four books in Kannada, Vyakarana Vruksha on grammar, Ganitha Bodhini on Mathematics, Basha Shastra on Linguistics and Ankalipi on the significance of alphabets.

Dr Anupama Patil’s siblings: Dr Anupama Patil’s sister Anjali Patil is a lecturer in Statistics at the JNMC Medical College of KLE Society in Belagavi. Her brother Amit Patil is a graduate in Economics working as a lecturer at Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Bengaluru. Dr Anupama’s father Jayaprakash N Patil is a retired IFS officer with the Government of Karnataka but associated with the Karnataka State Forest Academy, Dharwad post retirement.

Dr Jayaprakash Patil, Consultant in NHS: Anwita’s father Dr Jayaprakash Patil is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesia at National Health Service (NHS) Manchester. In fact, his family comes from a Science and Medical background with many doctors and Scientists.

Anwita bestowed with natural intelligence: Thanks to the Mathematical genes flowing incessantly for the fifth generation accompanied by the Science and Medical background of her father Anwita has been blessed with natural intelligence all along. Her parents were taken aback at her intelligence and skill sets in handling Mathematical problems even when she was much younger as a kid. Initially, when both, mother and daughter were attending to the numbers puzzles, many a time Dr Anupama Patil sensed her lovely kid Anwita being not just intelligent but extraordinarily amazing. It used to so happen that Anwita was super fast in getting the answers in comparison to the Mathematician mother.

Anupama didn’t know? Dr Jayaprakash Patil recalls-“Anwita had her own ways of handling the Mathematical problems even when she was in the Primary school level itself. At times even her mother Anupama was puzzled at the way Anwita got the answers in no time. It was at this stage we realized that Anwita is adorned with special characteristics in dealing with the problems”. Even Dr Anupama Patil laughingly admits-“We both used to do Maths challenges together. However, at times when I was yet to get answers she would be ready with the right answers and much before anyone’s imagination. In a way, her thought process altogether was different as there were many things she was aware of but not taught in the school”.

Expected membership; but much more was in store: Dr Anupama Patil, in fact, had been following with the Mensa organization for many years and was also very much aware of the fact that it is open only to all those who score more than 98 per cent or higher on a standardized and supervised IQ intelligence test while the permissible score for membership remains at 140. Dr Jayaprakash Patil and Dr Anupama Patil were very much impressed with Anwita’s continuous performance and felt like taking her to the Mensa test formalities. The test comes in two parts with the first one testing linguistic ability and lateral thinking while the second test relates to visual and spatial awareness. Anwita scored 162 in the first test and 140 in the second test. “By and large it is a test of logical problems giving little scope for any sort of formal preparation. In a way, it is like testing your inherent capacity and the two tests can be done on all age groups including children”, reveals Dr Jayaprakash Patil. Astounded at the outcome the proud parents first were wondering whether Anwita was cracking a joke as they were just expecting a membership while what Anwita achieved was beyond their imagination in leaps and bounds.

Teachers, school thanked: Anwita is studying at Withington Girls’ School in Manchester. Her parents have expressed their thanks to her teachers and other staff members of the school and more so to Aileen Hoare from the North West Gifted and Talented organization. It was this organization which helped Anwita recognize her potential and helped her develop the confidence to take up exams like Junior Maths Challenge and many others successfully.

Like any other child: Apart from her tremendous score on the Mensa test Anwita is just like any other kid enjoying reading Harry Potter, playing the piano and learning Bharatnatyam classical dance. Her Dad Dr Jayaprakash Patil signs off-“She is very much fascinated with the practical applications of maths in subjects like science, engineering or computers. Anwita hopes that she will help solve societal challenges using her skills and experience when she grows up”.

-Manohar Yadavatti