Issue 11 of IQ has just arrived on my desk and yet again offers rich pickings for curious minds. Highlights include an interview with physicist & broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili, an expert's guide to quantum computing by Charles Orton-Jones, and Kelly Apter exploring what really happens when we're asleep.
I'm very grateful to Think Publishing for offering me the role of Editor-in-Chief two years ago, and to Mensa for entrusting me with launching a magazine for such a razor-sharp audience. It's led to some wonderful experiences. Interviewing fascinating (and really friendly) figures such as Brian Cox and Alice Roberts have been highlights, but equally as rewarding have been some of the amazing Mensans I've profiled.
There are far too many to mention here but, by way of an example, how about 18-year old Annabelle Higgins, who I spoke to in her family's apartment in Moscow in January. Living most of her life in England, she has overcome a life-threatening and highly debilitating childhood brain tumour to become one of the UK's leading experts on Shakespeare. She's also a brilliant artist.
Or there's Paul McNeill, who grew up in a London "slum", left school at 15 and went on to become a millionaire in IT – yet that was only the start. After tumbling down a rabbit hole through his interest in genealogy, he was staggered to uncover his family's past secrets and his own true identity, and developed such expertise in the field that he became a presenter on ITV's DNA Journey.
Among many others, we’ve also interviewed Robin Ince, Philippa Langley, Russell Davies, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Sir Geoff Palmer, Anil Seth, Dave Gorman, Dame Sarah Storey, Andrew Cotter, Princess Superstar, Lizzie Daly, Preet Chandi and Johnny Ball – plus we have some crackers lined up for 2025.
With brilliant freelance writers such as Leila Johnston and Andrew Cattanach, we’ve also taken deep dives into topics such as what comedy and music do to our brains; the joys of psychogeography; extraordinary acts of endurance; the science of food and the art of magic; and why the world needs to make more of its natural intelligence.
I’d love to share the digital versions of the magazine here but it’s a core benefit of Mensa membership. So to get access, why not take the test and see if you’re among the top 2% of IQs in the UK? (My certificate must have got lost in the post – I’ve been waiting for ages.)
