TESTIMONY. “I’m 12 years old and have a master’s degree in quantum physics”

The geniuses are not only found in the lamps of the countries of the Orient. You can also come across them in the streets of our good old Europe. In Ostend, Belgium, he took on the appearance of a bright-eyed 12-year-old boy, Laurent Simons. “His grandpa and his grandma, who often kept him because of our very demanding professional activity in Rotterdam, told us that he was particularly intelligent”, recalls Lydia, his mother. Particularly intelligent, to put it mildly…

From the age of 4, the little prodigy enters CP. Then he does an express schooling. Entrance to college at 7 years old, high school completed at… 9 years old. At the age of 10, he obtained his degree in physics before validating, with congratulations, a master’s degree in quantum physics at the University of Antwerp in the year of his 12th birthday. The secret of this exceptional journey? An IQ of 145 (the average being between 90 and 100), combined with an overdeveloped memory capacity. Extraordinary faculties that allow Laurent to affirm, smiling, in daily Dutch-speaking Het Laatste Nieuws: “I did not find it so difficult! I think I can do more and better.”

The gifted youngster loves go-karting, playing with his dog and watching TV series

Even if his most faithful companions are a laptop computer and a book dedicated to microchips, the gifted youngster in jeans and basketball loves karting, playing with his dog and watching television series. For him, graduating at his age is completely “normal”. He even finds it “nice”.

His dream ? Become a medical researcher. With a goal worthy of the gift that nature gave him: “My goal is immortality. I want to be able to replace as many parts of the body as possible with mechanical elements. I have the path in head to get there. Quantum physics – the study of the smallest particles – is the first piece of the puzzle.”

“We remain attentive to the fact that he enjoys life like any child”, specify his parents

“Laurent’s qualities are simply extraordinary”, summarizes Sjoerd Hulshof, director of the degree in electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Aware of the media attention Laurent receives, especially in Belgium where he is a real star, and of the battle that universities around the world are waging to recruit this prodigy, his parents take care of the balance of his ego. .

“We are very proud of him, but remain attentive to the fact that he enjoys life. A child must also remain carefree, says Alexander, the father, a dentist by profession. If, at some point, we realize that If he becomes pretentious or arrogant, he will be brought back down to earth.” Head in the stars and feet on the ground, a winning combo to prove that being a genius does not in any way imply having a big head!