An 11-year-old genius named Laurent Simons has become one of the youngest ever college graduates after attaining a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Local newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Laurent got a higher distinction than all other students after graduating with 85%. In addition, he also completed the course after only one year, rather than the typical three years.
The world’s youngest graduate is Michael Kearney, who received his anthropology degree at age ten from the University of South Alabama in 1994, making Laurent the second youngest graduate.
However, Laurent could have graduated even younger and would have broken the record if he hadn’t dropped out when he was nine years old. In 2019, he dropped out of Eindhoven University in the Netherlands after the school refused to graduate before his 10th birthday on the 26th of December.
Attaining Knowledge And Immortality
However, Laurent doesn’t seem to be interested in the title of being “the youngest.” Aside from turning into a cyborg so he could live forever, he only cares about gaining as much knowledge as he possibly can. “I don’t really care if I’m the youngest. It’s all about getting knowledge for me.” Laurent told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, as translated by Newsweek.
Laurent has his ‘immortality plan’ all figured out. “This is the first puzzle piece in my goal of replacing as many body parts as possible with mechanical parts. I’ve mapped out a path to get there. You can see it as a big puzzle,” Simons told De Telegraaf.
Laurent plans to study quantum physics to start piecing together his massive puzzle — a far cry from the jigsaw one’s other children in his age group are putting together. “Two things are important in such a study: acquiring knowledge and applying that knowledge. To achieve the second, I want to work with the best professors in the world, look inside their brains, and find out how they think.” Laurent told the Dutch newspaper.
While Laurent already has a bachelor’s degree in physics, he is only getting started in his studies. An Antwerp University spokesperson told De Telegraaf that “this year, he also took some courses from the master’s program. After the summer, he will officially start his master’s degree.”
Showcasing Intelligence
After Laurent dropped out of the Eindhoven University, his father, Alexander Simons, said the university had criticized him for the frequent media attention his son was getting at the time showcasing his intelligence. “If a child can play football well, we all think the media attention is great. My son has a different talent. Why should he not be proud of that?” he told De Telegraaf.
Laurent has an Instagram account run by his family, which features the 11-year-old’s activities and achievements. So far, it has more than 78,000 followers!
