With an estimated IQ between 250 and 300, William James Sidis could read The New York Times when he was just 18 months old. By the time he was six, he could speak multiple languages, including English, French, German, Russian, Hebrew, and Turkish. At one point, Sidis even invented a brand-new language of his own. He entered Harvard at age 11 and graduated at just 16, at which point many were convinced that Sidis was the smartest person who ever lived, and they were eager to see what he would do next. But despite his unparalleled intelligence, he had no interest in changing the world or staying in the limelight. Instead, Sidis told reporters, "I want to live the perfect life. The only way to live the perfect life is to live it in seclusion." And that's exactly what he did, taking on menial jobs to avoid drawing attention to himself, and ultimately dying penniless and alone.

Go inside the surprising stories of Sidis and 26 other geniuses with the highest IQs in history: https://inter.st/d6y4

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