The Man With The World’s Highest IQ, Christopher Langan, Is Gaining A Following On The Far Right

Christopher Langan in 2001. Image by Wikimedia
Christopher Langan may have the highest IQ in the world. So why is he gaining a following among the far right? A recent article from the Baffler examined the phenomenon, likening Langan to “Alex Jones with a thesaurus.”
Langan, now in his sixties, has been a curiosity for nearly 25 years, a man who has clocked his own IQ somewhere north of 190 (Albert Einstein wasn’t quite there, apparently) who has mostly worked as a bouncer in a bar, and never attained any significant professional roles or published any serious academic work.
He’s been the subject of several profiles, from Esquire magazine to Malcolm Gladwell. (He makes an appearance in “Outliers.”) The documentarian Errol Morris even interviewed Langan:
But over the years he has garnered a following that overlaps considerably with fans of alt-right internet content. He inveighs against the academic establishment for not accepting his papers about his proprietary theory of everything. He frequently touts his IQ, inviting the interest of alt-right readers and writers who subscribe to the belief that IQ is racially determined and a sign of racial superiority.
One of Langan’s posts, an obituary for the intelligent gorilla Koko, wherein Langan suggested that the U.S. would do better to admit African gorillas as refugees than African people, was praised by The Daily Stormer, the neo-Nazi blog. The Baffler also reported that Langan’s blogs are also discussed on other neo-Nazi internet forums like Stormfront.
Langan has also used patently anti-Semitic dog whistles in his writing, railing against “globalists” and “international banksters,” and in one post skirted around the question of just how worthless the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is.
Some have called for Langan to debate Jordan Peterson Langan suggested that Peterson was intimidated by the genius’ genius.
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
- 4
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Fast Forward Long Island synagogue cancels Ben-Gvir talk amid wide tensions over whether to host him
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.