When students graduate from college, not many people think about inventing ways to achieve immortality. However, that is not the case with Laurent Simons, the 11-year-old who recently graduated from college.
Inspired by his grandparents' condition, Simons expressed his desire to someday develop a technology that will promote immortality by changing human body parts into mechanical parts.
Belgian student Laurent Simons, 9 years old, poses during a photo session at his home on November 21, 2019, in Amsterdam. - Laurent Simons is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology and is on course to finish his degree in December. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Laurent Simons: Second Youngest College Graduate
Simons is a gifted Belgian child who finished high school at only eight years old and has an IQ of 145. He completed his three-year bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Antwerp in only one year and topping his class with a passing mark of 85%.
According to Interesting Engineering, Simons initially would have become the youngest college graduate at only nine years old from Netherland's Eindhoven University in 2019. However, school officials refused to allow his graduation before his tenth birthday because he had not taken sufficient exams.
But when asked about his opinion, Simons said that he does not care because it is all about getting knowledge for him. He dropped out later on, and the University of Antwerp has confirmed his graduation and distinctions, citing that Simons has been studying in the university for his physics degree since March 2020.
Moreover, The Register reported that Simons was also working on a master's degree while also finishing his bachelor's degree. Simons hopes to complete his master's degree at an Israeli university studying biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, and medicine. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has thwarted his plans.
As of now, he is looking forward to a master's degree program that is specially tailored for him at the University of Antwerp, which also works with other academic institutions in Israel, the UK, and the US.
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Aiming for Immortality
"Immortality, that is my goal. I want to be able to replace as many body parts as possible with mechanical parts. I've mapped out a path to get there. You can see it as a big puzzle. Quantum physics - the study of the smallest particles - is the first piece of the puzzle," Simons said in a report from the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
He said that replacing body parts with mechanical parts is the first puzzle that he wishes to accomplish. He wants to be able to replace as many body parts as possible with mechanical parts.
Simons added that he already mapped out his path towards his goal of immortality. He believes that by working with the best professors in the world and look inside their brains to find how they think, he could solve this puzzle.
According to him, he was inspired to achieve this goal because of his grandparents, who have cardiac issues, and he wants to help them.
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