At the age of eight, students are enjoying a carefree childhood. Studying at school, doing homework back home, playing in the evening and then taking a sound sleep. School days are called the best days of one¡¯s life because there is no stress and no responsibility.
As one grows up, the rat race takes a toll on teenager¡¯s life. Grim reality of getting a degree from a reputed institute, securing a job and grabbing a great financial package bogs them down. However, this Indian-origin boy has his priorities sorted.
At the age of eight, Arav Ajaykumar who lives in Leicester is already way ahead of his class. The boy is now one of the smartest people in Britain with an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of 152. He entered MENSA, an international high IQ society which provides a forum for intellectual exchange among its members at a tender age of four.
Photo: Leicester Mercury/ Arav Ajaykumar
Since his childhood, Arav had a knack for numbers. By the age of two he could count to thousand and by four he had been accepted into MENSA. Leicester UK reported that Arav, now eight years old has won Gold and title of ¡®Best In School¡¯ in the UK Primary Maths Challenge at Stoneygate school.
Arav and his family moved to UK in 2009. The boy spoke to Times of India and his response is as clever as him. ¡°I like maths because there is only one right answer.¡± he said in his northern British accent.
He has inculcated habits that feed his logical mindset. Apart from maths, he liked playing chess and even bike riding if the weather conditions were good. He aspires to be a Chess grand master one day.
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Photo: Leicester Mercury/ Arav with his mother Varsha
While many of us dread mathematics examination, Arav perfects his formulae with practise. ¡®Practise a lot¡¯ he told TOI. Next time you want to beat someone while playing chess, take Arav¡¯s advice. ¡°Understand why your opponent does something¡± he further added.
Varsha Ajayjumar, Arav's mother told foreign publication Leicester that he would look for numbers everywhere since he was very young.
"He used to play this game where he had to identify the exact position of a fraction on a line and he would do it immediately. His mind seems to work like a computer, and I really don't know how he can do that." said the proud mother.
Photo: (L) TOI/ (R) Arav
His school and teachers have played an integral role in imparting logical reasoning ability in him. Dr Peter Congdon, founder of the Gifted Children's Information Centre in Solihull said that the boy is considered to be in the superior range of intellect and definitely gifted.
When Arav was four he had the reading ability of an 8-year old, the spelling of a 7-year old and the maths ability of a 10-year old. Arav's IQ puts him in the top 0.03 percent of people in the UK, and is almost on par with Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.