Christopher Langan

Christopher Michael Langan (born March 25, 1952) is an American horse rancher and former bar bouncer, known for his purported high intelligence and for a high score on the Mega Test, a self-administered, untimed, non-standardized IQ test that he took under the pseudonym Eric Hart. Under that name, Langan was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records high IQ section alongside Marilyn vos Savant and Keith Raniere, who had taken the same test. The record was discontinued in 1990, as high IQs are considered too unreliable to document as world records. Langan was later a subject of Malcolm Gladwell's 2008 book Outliers: The Story of Success, in which Gladwell discussed why Langan's reputation for high intelligence had not led to greater conventional success. Langan has no degree, having twice dropped out of college. The book compared him with J. Robert Oppenheimer and focused on the influence of their respective environments on success. Langan has formulated and promoted the Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe (CTMU), which he describes as a theory in which reality is a self-simulation. He self-published a book about it in 2002. In interviews and self-published writings, he has expressed beliefs in a variety of fringe proposals and conspiracy theories, including arguing in favor of eugenics to prevent "genomic degradation", opposition to interracial relationships, and support for the 9/11 truth movement. His political opinions have gained him a following in far-right politics.