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<blockquote>"Regarding evolution and creationism, the linkage is simple: since Biblical accounts of the genesis of our world and species are true but metaphorical, our task is to correctly decipher the metaphor in light of scientific evidence also given to us by God. Hence, the CTMU." <ref>Langan, C.M., </ref></blockquote> <blockquote>"Regarding evolution and creationism, the linkage is simple: since Biblical accounts of the genesis of our world and species are true but metaphorical, our task is to correctly decipher the metaphor in light of scientific evidence also given to us by God. Hence, the CTMU." <ref>Langan, C.M., </ref></blockquote>

==Mega Society lawsuit==

In 2002 the owners of the Mega Society, a ], filed suit against Langan and his wife, Gina LoSasso, for unauthorized use of the society's ]s and ]s.<ref name="sd_court"> Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.</ref><ref> Kevin Langdon. Mega Society, July 15 2001.</ref><ref> Kevin Langdon. Noesis, The Journal of the Mega Society, Number 153, July 2001.</ref> The Langans had been active members of the society but in October 1997 left the organization, and in 1999 formed their own competing organization, which they called the "Mega Foundation." The Mega Foundation was established as a non-profit corporation established to "create and implement programs that aid in the development of severely gifted individuals and their ideas,"<ref name=MSmission></ref> declaring itself to be ''the official Mega Society''. <ref name="MSHomepage></ref> Later they defined their group as a faction of the ''Mega Society'' under the names ''Mega Society-East'' and ''Mega Society-East Coast Faction''. They also named their group's journal ''Noesis-E'' (''E'' standing for ''electronic version'') to resemble ''Noesis'', the journal of the original ''Mega Society'' then published only in hard copy. Langan and LoSasso defended their actions in the original ''Noesis''.<ref name=noesis>[http://megasociety.com/noesis/152/ ''Noesis''. The Journal of the ''Mega Society'', Number 152,
July 2001.</ref> The owners of the ''Mega Society'' contended that the Langan's use of the name "Mega Society" for an organization with a journal, policies and purposes similar to that of their own constituted ],<ref name="arb_decision"> The ''Mega Society'' v. Dr. Gina Lynne LoSasso d/b/a Mega Foundation. Claim Number: FA0312000215404. National Arbitration Forum, January 2004</ref> and sought relief in the courts after negotiations with Langan proved fruitless.<ref name="court_judgment"> Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Diego, March 2003.</ref>

The litigation brought against the Langans resulted in a ] issuing a ruling enjoining the Langans from any use of the Mega Society name and trademark.<ref name="court_judgment"/><ref name="sd_court"/> Also challenged was the Langans use of the ]s "megasociety.net" and "megasociety.com" which had been registered by Langan's wife in her name. A National Arbitration Forum ruling then forced the Langans to release those domains to the ''Mega Society''.<ref name="arb_decision"/> After the California Superior Court ruling and release of domain names to the ''Mega Society'', the Langans retained the domains ''megafoundation.net'' and ''megafoundation.org'' and maintained ownership of another hi-IQ organization using the "Mega" moniker that they named the ''Mega Foundation'' along with its journal ''Noeon''.<ref name="arb_decision"/>


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 20:17, 11 February 2007

Christopher Michael Langan (born c. 1957) is an American autodidact who says that he taught himself mathematics, physics, cosmology and the cognitive sciences. Various media sources report Langan as having an estimated IQ of 195. Langan scored "off the charts" when tested by Dr. Robert Novelly. Novelly, a board certified neuropsychologist, commented that Langan was "the highest individual that I have ever measured in 25 years" of testing. Langan appeared in filmmaker Errol Morris' The Smartest Man in the World episode of the television documentary series "First Person." Langan also appeared in one episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

With only a small amount of college, Langan has held a variety of labor-intensive jobs including construction worker, cowboy, firefighter, farmhand, and perhaps most famously, bar bouncer. Langan, who grew up in Montana, currently owns and operates a horse ranch in northern Missouri. Langan has written question and answer columns for New York Newsday, The Improper Hamptonian and Men's Fitness. In 2001 Langan was featured in Popular Science magazine, where he discussed a concept he developed and promotes which he calls the "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe" (CTMU).

Intelligent design movement

Langan and his wife Dr. Gina Langan (nee LoSasso) are both fellows of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design (ISCID), a think tank of the intelligent design movement. The ISCID's journal Progress in Complexity, Information, and Design published a paper in 2002 in which Langan explained his "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe". Later that year, Langan presented a lecture on Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe and intelligent design at the ISCID's Research And Progress in Intelligent Design (RAPID) conference. In 2004, Langan contributed a chapter to the book Uncommon Dissent, a collection of essays by fellow intelligent design proponents and ISCID fellows edited by William Dembski. In the chapter, Langan offers his opinion of both intelligent design and the modern evolutionary synthesis and proposes a synthesis by means of his idea, the "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe" (CTMU). He explains it as follows on his website:

"Regarding evolution and creationism, the linkage is simple: since Biblical accounts of the genesis of our world and species are true but metaphorical, our task is to correctly decipher the metaphor in light of scientific evidence also given to us by God. Hence, the CTMU."

Mega Society lawsuit

In 2002 the owners of the Mega Society, a high IQ society, filed suit against Langan and his wife, Gina LoSasso, for unauthorized use of the society's trademarks and trade names. The Langans had been active members of the society but in October 1997 left the organization, and in 1999 formed their own competing organization, which they called the "Mega Foundation." The Mega Foundation was established as a non-profit corporation established to "create and implement programs that aid in the development of severely gifted individuals and their ideas," declaring itself to be the official Mega Society. Later they defined their group as a faction of the Mega Society under the names Mega Society-East and Mega Society-East Coast Faction. They also named their group's journal Noesis-E (E standing for electronic version) to resemble Noesis, the journal of the original Mega Society then published only in hard copy. Langan and LoSasso defended their actions in the original Noesis. The owners of the Mega Society contended that the Langan's use of the name "Mega Society" for an organization with a journal, policies and purposes similar to that of their own constituted bad faith, and sought relief in the courts after negotiations with Langan proved fruitless.

The litigation brought against the Langans resulted in a California Superior Court issuing a ruling enjoining the Langans from any use of the Mega Society name and trademark. Also challenged was the Langans use of the domain names "megasociety.net" and "megasociety.com" which had been registered by Langan's wife in her name. A National Arbitration Forum ruling then forced the Langans to release those domains to the Mega Society. After the California Superior Court ruling and release of domain names to the Mega Society, the Langans retained the domains megafoundation.net and megafoundation.org and maintained ownership of another hi-IQ organization using the "Mega" moniker that they named the Mega Foundation along with its journal Noeon.

References

  1. Biography, Christopher Langan ISCID.
  2. Fowler, D. (2000). Interview with Mega Foundation BBC Outlook. London: British Broadcasting Company.
  3. Sager, Mike. (November, 1999) "The Smartest Man in America." Esquire.
  4. Brabham, Dennis. (August 21, 2001). "The Smart Guy". Newsday.
  5. Wigmore, Barry. (February 7, 2000). "Einstein's brain, King Kong's body",The Times
  6. According to 20/20
  7. McFadden, Cynthia. (December 9, 1999). "The Smart Guy". 20/20
  8. Morris, Errol. (August 14, 2001). "The Smartest Man in the World". First Person
  9. Chris Langan] Internet Movie Database.
  10. Langan, C M (2001), Chris Langan answers your questions. New York Newsday, September, 2001, Melville, NY
  11. Langan, C M (2000-2001). HiQ. Improper Hamptonian. Westhampton Beach, NY
  12. O'Connell, J., Ed. (2004) World of knowledge: we harness the expertise of the brawny, the brainy, and the bearded to solve your most pressing dilemmas. Mens Fitness.
  13. Quain, John R. (October 14, 2001). "Wise Guy". Popular Science.
  14. ISCID fellows
  15. Langan, Christopher M. (2002). The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory. Progress in Complexity, Information, and Design 1.2-1.3
  16. "The concept of teleology remains alive nonetheless, having recently been granted a scientific reprieve in the form of Intelligent Design theory. "ID theory" holds that the complexity of biological systems implies the involvement of empirically detectable intelligent causes in nature. Although the roots of ID theory can be traced back to theological arguments from design, it is explicitly scientific rather than theological in character, and has thus been presented on the same basis as any other scientific hypothesis awaiting scientific confirmation. Rather than confining itself to theological or teleological causation, ID theory technically allows for any kind of intelligent designer – a human being, an artificial intelligence, even sentient aliens. This reflects the idea that intelligence is a generic quality which leaves a signature identifiable by techniques already heavily employed in such fields as cryptography, anthropology, forensics and computer science." CTMU.org Christpher Langan, 2003
  17. RAPID conference schedule
  18. Langan, Christopher M. (2004). Cheating the Millennium: The Mounting Explanatory Debts of Scientific Naturalism. In Uncommon Dissent: Intellectuals Who Find Darwinism Unconvincing, Wm. Dembski, Ed., Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
  19. Langan, C.M., CTMU Q & A
  20. ^ View Case Detail - MEGA SOCIETY vs LANGAN Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.
  21. Reply to Gina LoSasso Kevin Langdon. Mega Society, July 15 2001.
  22. Special Issue: Kevin Langdon Replies to Chris Langan and Gina LoSasso Kevin Langdon. Noesis, The Journal of the Mega Society, Number 153, July 2001.
  23. Mega Foundation Mission page
  24. "The Official Mega Society Home Page"
  25. [http://megasociety.com/noesis/152/ Noesis. The Journal of the Mega Society, Number 152, July 2001.
  26. ^ Decision The Mega Society v. Dr. Gina Lynne LoSasso d/b/a Mega Foundation. Claim Number: FA0312000215404. National Arbitration Forum, January 2004
  27. ^ Judgment Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Diego, March 2003.

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