Four Years Old, Thousands of Books Later: Meet One of Canada's Youngest Dual Members of Mensa International and Intertel
"What is infinity minus infinity?"
It is not the sort of question most people expect to hear from a four-year-old.
Yet for Arjun Prajapati, questions like that are simply part of an ordinary day. One moment he is wondering whether black holes represent "the beginning or the end of everything." The next, he is asking why an even number plus an odd number is always odd, what lives inside a mud puddle, or how long it would take to reach Neptune.
That relentless curiosity has earned Arjun recognition as one of Canada's youngest dual members of Mensa International and Intertel, two organizations whose memberships include individuals with exceptional cognitive ability. It follows a comprehensive Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5) assessment that identified profoundly gifted intellectual functioning, including a Full Scale IQ of 141 (99.7th percentile), a Working Memory score of 146 (99.9th percentile), and a Nonverbal IQ of 149 (99.99th percentile). His results also meet the eligibility criteria for the Davidson Young Scholars program, one of the world's most selective talent development programs for profoundly gifted young learners.
Those numbers are certainly impressive.
What they cannot fully capture, however, is the young boy behind them.
Long before Arjun was old enough for kindergarten, books had already become close companions. Entirely self-taught, he began reading independently at just two years of age. Since then, he has explored more than 3,000 books, ranging from encyclopedias and mythology to history, geography, literature, and advanced science. Mathematics has become another favourite. Today, he comfortably works through concepts around a Grade 5 level, has independently mastered multiplication tables through 20, enjoys mental arithmetic, and often invents mathematical challenges simply to see whether a pattern always holds true.
Ask Arjun what he enjoys learning most and his answer comes quickly.
"Math because it's easy and fun, fun, fun to do. Going to school is fun because I play and learn with my friends. I want to learn more about black holes if they are the beginning or the end of everything. I like to know how things work inside my body. It is so cool."
For Arjun, learning is not simply about memorizing facts. It is about understanding how the world fits together.
Some children ask for toys.
Arjun asks questions.
"What is infinity minus infinity?"
"What happens if we add all the even numbers from 1 to 100?"
"What is 1 + 2 + 3... all the way to 1000?"
"I also wonder why we cough, what is in the mud puddle, and what the yucky things, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans, do to your body."
His fascination with science naturally spills into hands-on exploration. Rather than simply reading about simple machines, gravity, or planetary motion, he enjoys testing ideas for himself. One project in particular still stands out in his mind.
"My first science experiment for the science exhibition. I built a ramp, and a ramp is a simple machine. When I rolled my toy car down the ramp, gravity pulled it down. The higher the ramp, the faster the car went. It was so much fun, and my friends loved it too."
His curiosity reaches well beyond science and mathematics. Soon after beginning formal piano lessons, he surprised his instructor by immediately playing with both hands using a coordinated ten-finger technique. He enjoys chess, learning new languages, riding his bicycle, swimming, reading stories to family and friends, solving puzzles, and sharing scientific facts with anyone willing to listen.
Although his interests are remarkably broad, one theme appears again and again throughout his answers: helping people.
Asked what he would like to learn next, his response moves naturally from astronomy to medicine.
"I want to learn more about black holes because they can swallow everything. I also want to learn really big numbers, like what happens when you add 100 and one million. I want to learn how the brain works too, and how doctors fix people."
When asked what he would invent, his imagination quickly turned toward improving lives.
"I would make a machine that can find germs as soon as they enter your body so doctors can help people before they get really, really sick."
Then, with the honesty only a young child can offer, he added another wish.
"I also want to find out how my mommy can stay with me forever and ever—an infinite time."
His concern for others extends beyond his own family.
Asked what he would change if he could change one thing in the world, Arjun spoke about healthier food and caring for the planet.
"Say YES to food from the farm and NO to food from the factory."
"Say YES to energy from nature like the sun and the wind, and NO to using up oil from the Earth. That will help stop the Earth from getting hotter."
His dreams for the future are equally ambitious.
"I want to be an astronaut and travel to the blue planet Neptune to see if the trees are blue or green."
"I want to be a police officer and catch the bad guys."
"I also want to be a doctor and save people's lives, especially help my Mumma live a very long time because I love her."
When asked who he admires most, there is no hesitation.
"My Mumma... she is the best."
"She keeps trying even when things are hard. She takes a deep breath, makes a plan, and tries again. So I can try again in different ways too."
That perseverance is something Arjun is already learning himself.
"Learning Spanish with kids who already spoke Spanish was hard at first, and that's okay."
"Everyone starts at the beginning."
"Every new word like 'hola' or 'gracias' is like building another block in your tower."
"At first it was slow, slow, slow, but when I practiced every day it got better and better."
"Riding a bike was like that too. At first I wasn't ready, but once I tried, I figured it out in one day. Now I love riding different trails with my family."
For Arjun's parents, his recognitions are meaningful, but not for the reasons many might assume.
"For our family, this recognition is not about labels or accolades. It is an affirmation that curiosity, when nurtured with patience and encouragement, can flourish at a very young age."
Their approach has always been remarkably simple.
Rather than directing every step of his education, they prefer what they call "fostering, not forcing." Books, conversations, museums, educational resources, and opportunities to explore have become the foundation of family life. If Arjun spends a week fascinated by black holes or the cardiovascular system, they simply follow where his curiosity leads.
"We believe the joy of learning is far more important than collecting accomplishments."
Asked what makes them proudest, their answer has little to do with test scores.
"What makes us proudest is not Arjun's cognitive ability but his kindness, humility, empathy, and genuine desire to help others."
Perhaps that is why this story resonates so strongly.
Being recognized as one of Canada's youngest dual members of Mensa International and Intertel is certainly an exceptional accomplishment. Yet what lingers after meeting Arjun is not a percentile, an assessment, or a membership certificate. It is the image of a little boy wondering about infinity, dreaming of Neptune, imagining machines that could save lives, and hoping his mother will be with him "for an infinite time."
Before the interview concluded, Arjun was asked what advice he would give another child who loves asking questions.
His answer may be the best summary of his journey.
"Keep asking questions because every question teaches you something new."
Somewhere, another child may read those words and decide to ask one more question.
If that happens, Arjun's greatest contribution may already be beginning.