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Follow-up

I hate to have to interject again so quickly, but new issues have just arisen with respect to the first paragraph of this article. Certain details are disparaging and improperly sourced. I'll comment on each sentence separately.

1. "Christopher Michael Langan (born March 25, 1952) is an American horse rancher known for his claim of a very high IQ, frequently reported to be at 'around 195'."

I typically don't make claims regarding my own IQ, and I certainly hadn't done so prior to being profiled by Esquire Magazine and other mass media outlets. Instead, when pressed on the issue, I have usually cited estimates published by the mass media without discussing their accuracy. The phrase "his claim" seems designed to make it appear that my notoriety is strictly a function of self-promotion. But in fact, I have never requested media coverage, and anyone who says otherwise would be lying. I was informed by media sources that I had been contacted because, in their preliminary investigations, I had been recommended for coverage by various members of the high IQ community.

2. "Many of his claims met not without controversy, since Langan only scored a 42 out of 48 on his first try on Ronald K. Hoeflin's Mega Test (equivalent to an IQ of 164, sd=15) published in Omni Magazine."

This is evidently a pretext to insert alleged information regarding my first application to a certain high-IQ club which had initially promised admission for a certain test score, but then reneged without warning (this kind of turnaround is sometimes called a "bait and switch"). It is immediately followed by a reduced estimate of my intelligence, which is apparently supposed to have something to do with the "controversiality" of unspecified "claims" I'm supposed to have made. In fact, the media were fully informed, by me and others, about the circumstances under which I took the particular test in question, and exactly why I was forced to repeat it.

3. "A second attempt gave a score of 47 out of 48 under the pseudonym 'Eric Hart', after Marilyn vos Savant published some of the answers in Omni IQ Quiz Contest."

I don't know Marilyn vos Savant, and I have never before heard that she released answers to the Mega Test. If she did, then it was certainly unknown to me (and many others) at the time I took the test, which was all the way back in the mid-1980's. In any case, I see no source, let alone a reliable source, for this statement. As for "pseudonyms", several people who took the Mega test did so under pseudonyms, and I made it clear exactly who I was not long after joining.

4. "As a result of his score, he has been described as "the smartest man in America" as well as "the smartest man in the world" by some journalists."

This is an unsubstantiated causal inference. Yes, it is perfectly true that I've "been described as 'the smartest man in America' as well as 'the smartest man in the world' by some journalists." But it has always been my impression that I was chosen to be profiled for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the abovementioned personal recommendations by other members of the high IQ community. It is unclear why the Mega Test should be identified as the sole reason.

In short, while I and my work - especially the CTMU - are certainly notable by Misplaced Pages standards, and while it is indeed true that "Christopher Michael Langan, an American horse rancher who is known for having a very high IQ (frequently reported to be around 200), has been described as 'the smartest man in America' as well as 'the smartest man in the world' by some journalists," speculative and/or improperly sourced additions and disparaging insinuations obviously have nothing to do with it.

I respectfully request that the recurrent violations of WP:BLP and other Misplaced Pages policies to which this article has been subject for the last 15 years or so be expeditiously corrected whenever they (re)appear.

My sincere thanks to the Misplaced Pages community for your attention. Chris Langan (talk) 20:15, 5 October 2019 (UTC)

@Chris Langan: I changed the lede a bit to make it sound less like an expression of doubt, which hopefully addresses (1) and (4) I'm not seeing the text from (2) and (3) currently in the article. It might have been removed between the 5th and now... My take here is that this article would really benefit from a more typical Misplaced Pages-style of referencing (e.g. using citation templates and named references). This is especially true since it seems many of the sources are early 2000sish and mostly exist in archives now. With the way its referenced now WP:V is more difficult than it needs to be which makes arbitrating disputes more difficult. I started doing this in the lede. Many of the citations mentioned there are no longer appear in the article and I had to do some hunting to find them. Step one would be to do that for the rest of the article, step two would be to complete the citation templates appropriately (populating all the necessary attributes, naming, reusing the names instead of citing independently). - Scarpy (talk) 22:29, 8 October 2019 (UTC)

There is no such thing as a verifiable IQ beyond the 160-164 range. All these HIQ tests are unrecognized and invalid.

Regarding the psychologist that tested langan,1- we haven’t seen the test itself

2- the psychologist isn't known for psychometrics , and it there is no souece that he even specializes in administering IQ tests.

3- the psychologist has had several infractions on his psychology license.

4- the test doesn’t break the ceiling of 160 anyways.

5- there is a conflict of interest because ABC hired him to precisely validate their click bait story. Nigerian chess player (talk) 23:25, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 February 2020

It is requested that an edit be made to the semi-protected article at Christopher Langan. (edit · history · last · links · protection log) This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, that is, specify what text should be removed and a verbatim copy of the text that should replace it. "Please change X" is not acceptable and will be rejected; the request must be of the form "please change X to Y". The edit may be made by any autoconfirmed user. Remember to change the |answered=no parameter to "yes" when the request has been accepted, rejected or on hold awaiting user input. This is so that inactive or completed requests don't needlessly fill up the edit requests category. You may also wish to use the {{ESp}} template in the response. To request that a page be protected or unprotected, make a protection request.

It is imprecise to put eugenics in this context as from what I could gather Mr. Langan is in favor of anti-dysgenics. It's an important difference. Also, he is not blaming Third world immigrants per se, but rather those who unreasonably and forcibly are trying to uproot the Western culture by irrational immigration policies. So, the changes I have put in more precisely represent the author's views. Mich.Szczesny (talk) 22:25, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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These are your opinion, under the pseudonym eric heart he did clearly espouse positive eugenics. Regardless, it is a distinction without a difference.

And yes he is blaming third world immigrants, and you are vandalising the page and starting another edit war. Now be careful , get back to reason , because the facts are all on our side. Nigerian chess player (talk) 22:47, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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The terms "anti-dysgenics" and "eugenics" are synonyms. Langan has publicly argued in favor of eradicating genetic traits that he feels negatively impact on a person's quality of life. In his essay, "On the Differences between People, Birds, and Bees", he includes low IQs and physical unattractiveness in this category. He is an open supporter of eugenics, and using the obscure term "anti-dysgenics" could be seen as a way of sugar coating this. We have a duty to present the facts to our readers in the most unambiguous way possible.

The word "eugenics" ought to remain in the article. EarlWhitehall (talk) 23:28, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 February 2020

It is requested that an edit be made to the semi-protected article at Christopher Langan. (edit · history · last · links · protection log) This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, that is, specify what text should be removed and a verbatim copy of the text that should replace it. "Please change X" is not acceptable and will be rejected; the request must be of the form "please change X to Y". The edit may be made by any autoconfirmed user. Remember to change the |answered=no parameter to "yes" when the request has been accepted, rejected or on hold awaiting user input. This is so that inactive or completed requests don't needlessly fill up the edit requests category. You may also wish to use the {{ESp}} template in the response. To request that a page be protected or unprotected, make a protection request.

The article states that Mr. Langan was criticised for excessive use of ill-defined neologisms. I think it's important to present the views of peole who appreciated his mastery of the written word and would like to add the following paragraph: "On the other hand, Pierre R. Latour has appreciated Mr. Langan's work and precise use of words by writing: 'He has devised a deep philosophical foundation for the principles of proper scholarship and enquiry (...). His logic language is king'." Mich.Szczesny (talk) 22:37, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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“Mastery of the written word” ?

Your obviously not an objective observer. His use if word salad is the consensus amongst almost everyone save a small minority of sycophants of his. Nigerian chess player (talk) 22:50, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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I agree with Nigerian Chess Player. This part of the article was not specifically about Langan's writing skills, so including the opposing (minority) viewpoint is unnecessary here. EarlWhitehall (talk) 23:28, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Recommendation to add a personal views section

I would like to add a personal views section with direct quotations from chris langan himself sourced to his own knowledge base website.

There appears to be confusion about his social and political views, so lets let langan settle it with his own mouth. Nigerian chess player (talk) 23:08, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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Hi, Nigerian Chess Player. I think this is a good idea. Langan is active on social media sites, and many of the views he expresses online are highly controversial. I think it's important that people reading Langan's Wiki page be made aware of these views. EarlWhitehall (talk) 23:32, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

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Calling them high controversial is an understatement but lest I be accused of bias, lets put them up on the article and let the readers and the arbitration committee judge for themselves.

This article is outdated , since 2017 Me langan has been very active on social media and lots have happened since. It is my wish to make the readers of this wiki aware of these changes. Nigerian chess player (talk) 23:45, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2020

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

change 'The CTMU was criticized by mathematician Mark Chu Carroll' to 'The CTMU was criticized by software engineer Mark Chu Carroll' Johnnyyiu (talk) 05:18, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Markchu carrol is a computer scientist and a software engineer which involved lots of mathematics .

If Dr Mark Chu is not a mathematician neither is Langan a philosopher. Nigerian chess player (talk) 15:46, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Reverting to a neutral version per WP:BLP

While discussions of the new content is being debated and before we reach a consensus as of what to include, I am reverting back to a neutral version per WP:BLP. Johnnyyiu (talk) 11:14, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

"Langan's IQ has been estimated by various sources to be between 195 and 210"

This is not true. What sources? Even inside the High IQ community these claims are taken to be veey exaggerated. There isn't a single reliable test that give such score interval while maintaining a modicum of accuracy and reliability.

ZenMechanics (talk) 12:45, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Its an outdated version skewed by langan himself and his lackeys to present him in a positive light .

zenmechanics is correct , there is no such thing as a recognized IQ above 160. Nigerian chess player (talk) 15:44, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Inaccurate part of article needs removing , langan didnt publish “many books and articles over the years”

Langan’s book hasnt been published since he appeared in 1989, this is almost 31 years. The only “book” he published is a collection of essays half of which were already in the public domain called “art of knowing” .

Parts about his recent exploits need to clarify that the journal is not scientific and has an impact rating lower than 1 . Nigerian chess player (talk) 15:41, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

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I agree with Nigerian Chess Player. Here is what an Amazon search for Langan's name returns: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chris+langan&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Langan's "book", The Art of Knowing, is simply a collection of essays. The other two "books" he has published are (1) a collection of his social media posts, and (2) a 36-page paper that he published in the discredited Cosmos & History journal, which is available for free online: http://www.cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/788 EarlWhitehall (talk) 19:31, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Agreed, except the last two is a fan collected material and the other a paper not a book.

So this leaves that one book which is a collection of essays .

Anyone disagrees ? Nigerian chess player (talk) 20:22, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2020

It is requested that an edit be made to the semi-protected article at Christopher Langan. (edit · history · last · links · protection log) This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, that is, specify what text should be removed and a verbatim copy of the text that should replace it. "Please change X" is not acceptable and will be rejected; the request must be of the form "please change X to Y". The edit may be made by any autoconfirmed user. Remember to change the |answered=no parameter to "yes" when the request has been accepted, rejected or on hold awaiting user input. This is so that inactive or completed requests don't needlessly fill up the edit requests category. You may also wish to use the {{ESp}} template in the response. To request that a page be protected or unprotected, make a protection request.

I would like to suggest that this Wiki page be removed, for the following three reasons:

1) There is ample of evidence that Langan is a delusional cult leader with neo-Nazi and conspiratorial views, yet when this information is added with sources, it is almost immediately taken down. I suspect that Langan's fans/supporters are watching over this page and trying to ensure that it paints him in a favorable light to the public.

2) Langan’s “mainstream sources” are just outlets quoting other outlets for a hot story. There is no credible evidence that an IQ of 195 is even possible, let alone that it has been achieved. Nevertheless, this article gives the impression that such scores are not only legitimate, but that there is an actual “debate” over whether or not Langan has achieved such a score.

3) The article is very outdated, and has repeatedly been subject to editing wars by Langan, his wife, and various pro-Langan accounts (possibly sock puppets of Langan himself). The same pattern has occurred on Quora and other fora where Langan has recently been banned. Let us also not forget that Langan was banned from Misplaced Pages itself under the name "Asmoedeus".

What's more, Langan was also kicked out of the very Mega Society which is his own claim to fame, by a democratic vote of its members. There is a clear pattern here. EarlWhitehall (talk) 20:25, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

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