He was born of parents Boris and Sarah Sidis, emigrant Jews who escaped anti-Semitic Russian pogroms and came to America at the end of the 19th century. William James Sidis ('Billy') was born on April Fool's Day in 1898. He became a strange combination of an April Fool and a 20th century genius vastly beyond common sentient discernment.
Both Boris and Sarah became well educated. He with Ph.D's and M.D., and she with M.D. His first Ph.D. was basically settled upon him by Harvard to entice him to do their bidding. Boris and his family were so bright that they could learn and understand difficult, complex intellectual concepts at a rate greater than ten times as quickly as typical advanced academics. Boris claimed to have a technique which allowed him access to an energy source. He taught Sarah, then William how to access and manage this source of abundant energy.
Here is a partial list of William James Sidis’ extraordinary capabilities and accomplishments:
- Given IQ is a purely anthropocentric means of assessing intelligence, Sidis' IQ is crudely estimated at 250-300.
- Infant Billy listened to Greek myths read to him by Sarah as bedtime stories.
- Started feeding himself with a spoon at eight months (after two months of trial and error).
Cajoled by Boris, Billy learned to pronounce alphabetic syllables from blocks hanging in his crib. - At six months, Billy said, "Door." A couple months later he told Mom he liked things, doors and people, that move.
- At seven months he pointed to Earth's moon and called it, "moon." He wanted a 'moon' of his own.
- Mastered higher mathematics and planetary revolutions by age 11.
- Learned to spell efficiently by one year old.
- Started reading The New York Times at 18 months.
- Started typing at three. Used his high chair to reach a typewriter. First composed letter was an order for toys from Macy's.
- Read Caesar's Gallic Wars, in Latin (self-taught), as a birthday present to his Father in Billy's fourth year.
- Learned Greek alphabet and read Homer in Greek in his fourth year.
- Learned Aristotelian logic in his sixth year.
- At six, Billy learned Russian, French, German, and Hebrew, and soon after, Turkish and Armenian.
- Calculated mentally a day any date in history would fall at age six. Absolutely fascinated by calendars.
- Learned Gray's Anatomy at six. Could pass a student medical examination.
- Billy started grammar school at six, in 3 days 3rd grade, graduated grammar school in 7 months.
- At age 8, Billy surpassed his father (a genius) in mathematics.
- Corrected E. V. Huntington's mathematics text galleys at age of eight. Total recall of everything he read.
- Wrote four books between ages of four and eight. Two on anatomy and stronomy, lost.
- Passed Harvard Medical School anatomy exam at age seven.
- Passed MIT entrance exam at age eight.
- Intellect surpassed best secondary school teachers.
- At age 10, in one evening, corrected Harvard logic professor Josiah Royce's book manuscript: citing, "wrong paragraphs."
- Attempted to enroll in Harvard at nine.
- In 1909, became youngest student to ever enroll at Harvard at age 11.
- In 1910, at age 11, lectured Harvard Mathematical Club on 'Four-Dimensional Bodies.'
- Billy graduated from Harvard, cum laude, on June 24, 1914, at age 16.
- Billy entered Harvard Law School in 1916.
- Billy could learn a whole language in one day!
- Billy knew all the languages (approximately 200) of the world, and could translate among them instantly!
- More recently, in late 2005, we commence recognition of Billy's probable (perhaps only intuitive) adeptness in ancient Judaic Gematria and Hermetics. Doug - 8Dec2005. Again, refer Sam Rosenberg's conjectures. Perhaps there is even more than Sam decrypted. Billy: quanton(Hyde,Jekyll).
- Here is a partial list of William James Sidis' idiosyncratic and acultural behaviors:
- Utter disregard of sports and physical activities — learned from his father.
- Utter disregard of things monetary — learned from his father.
- Utter disregard for academia, academicians, academic bureaucracy and their 'titles.'
- Collected street car transfers. Knew most details of most routes in USA.
- Rabid atheist by age six. (His father, Boris, was too, but intensely studied great religious works.)
- His only fear was dogs.
- Learned to hate mathematics in grammar school; later at 7.5 years he started a life long love of math.
- Avid interest in politics.
- Dressed in Russian peasant clothes as a minor.
- On hearing a Bible read aloud, declared he didn't believe in that and didn't want to hear it.
- In school, only worked problems to which he didn't know answers.
- After 3 months in high school, parents withdrew him; teachers were relieved.
- Thinking was his chosen refuge from media antagonists.
- Essence of Billy Sidis: "I want to live the perfect life. The only way to live the perfect life is to live it in seclusion. I have always hated crowds."
- Celibate: Vowed never to marry. "Women do not appeal to me."
- Considered traditional classrooms, 'stifling.'
- Billy was a pacifist, anti-war, conscientious objector.
- He was a reformed communist/socialist — eventually found both intellectually disgusting.
Paradoxes were his logical specialty. - William James Sidis probably represents the apex of recorded human intellectual capabilities.
A Partial List of Boris Sidis' Books:
- A Study of Galvanometric Deflections
- An Experimental Study of Sleep
- Human Progress
- Multiple Personality, 1904, D. Appleton & Company
- Nervous Ills, Their Cause and Cure, 1922, J. J. Little & Ives Company
- Philistine and Genius, May 1911, Moffat, Yard & Co., NY
- Psychopathological Researches, Studies in Mental Dissociation, 1902, G. E. Stechert & Co.
- Symptomatology, Psychognosis, and Diagnosis of Psychopathic Diseases, 1914, Gorman Press
- The Causation and Treatment of Psychopathic Diseases, 1916, Gorman Press
- The Foundations of Normal and Abnormal Psychology
- The Nature and Causation of the Galvanic Phenomenon
- The Psychology of Suggestion
- The Psychology of Laughter
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