A has officially become the world's youngest genius at just two years and 182 days old. Joseph Harris-Birtill, two, is the youngest-ever member of Mensa - the largest and oldest high- in the world.

To qualify for the exclusive society, you must have an IQ of at least 132, putting you in the 2% globally. Although his parents have chosen not to reveal his IQ, it was enough to surpass the record previously held by Isla McNabb, who was awarded the honour in 2023 when she was 2 years and 195 days old. showed glimpses of his incredible intellect at just five weeks and said his first word at a mere seven months old.

"It soon became clear that he was an exceptional little being," said his mum, Dr Rose Harris-Birtill, 39.

She added: "He first rolled over at five weeks, said his first word at seven months, and read his first book out loud from cover to cover at 1 3⁄4 years.

"By 2¼ years old, he was reading out loud fluently for 10 minutes at a time, could count to 10 in five languages, and could count forwards and backwards to well over 100."

Joseph's world record should come as no surprise. His parents are academic professionals, and were able to see early on that Joseph's abilities were unusual for his age.

His dad, David, 39, is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews, while Rose is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the same university and Editorial Director at the Open Library of Humanities.

To qualify for membership, individuals must demonstrate exceptional cognitive abilities in various intellectual areas, including problem-solving, logic and language comprehension.

The toddler continues to amaze his family and those around him with his new skills and talents.

Rose said: "He's learning morse code, knows the Greek alphabet, and has recently gotten interested in the periodic table.

"His interests are vast and varied, and he is always keen to learn more and loves a challenge."

Despite scoring at the 98th percentile, Joseph doesn't realise yet just how clever he really is, according to his parents.

"He is very kind and loving, confident and curious, and incredibly determined," said Rose.

Rose hopes Joseph's story will help to raise awareness about highly able learners.

"It is a common misconception that everything is super easy for gifted children," she said.

She added: "But everyone needs appropriate stimulation and understanding throughout their lives, and highly able learners can sadly have their unique talents dimmed by the pressure to fit into environments that simply haven't been properly designed for them."