the competition "Lemoniada", inspired by the creative output of Lem. Political views Lem's early works were socialist realist, possibly to satisfy state censorship, and in his later years he was critical of this aspect of them. In 1982, with the onset of the martial law in Poland Lem moved to Berlin for studies and next year he moved for several years (1983–1988) to Vienna. However he never showed any wish to relocate permanently in the West. By the standards of the Eastern Bloc, Lem was financially well off for most of his life. Lem was a critic of capitalism, totalitarianism, and of both Stalinist and Western ideologies. Lem believed there were no absolutes; "I should wish, as do most men, that immutable truths existed, that not all would be eroded by the impact of historical time, that there were some essential propositions, be it only in the field of human values, the basic values, etc. In brief, I long for the absolute. But at the same time I am firmly convinced that there are no absolutes, that everything is historical, and that you cannot get away from history." Lem was concerned that if the human race attained prosperity and comfort this would lead it to passiveness and degeneration. Personal life Lem was a polyglot: he knew Polish, Latin (from medical school), German, French, English, Russian and Ukrainian. Lem claimed that his IQ was tested at high school as 180. Lem was married to Barbara (née Leśniak) Lem until his death. She died on 27 April 2016. Their only son, , was born in 1968. He studied physics and mathematics at the University of Vienna, and graduated with a degree in physics from Princeton University. Tomasz wrote a memoir about his father, Awantury na tle powszechnego ciążenia (Tantrums on the Background of the Universal Gravitation), which contain numerous personal details about Stanisław Lem. The book jacket says Tomasz works as a translator and has a daughter, Anna. As of 1984, Lem's writing pattern was to get up a short time before five in the morning and start writing soon after, for 5 or 6 hours before taking a break. Lem was an aggressive driver. He loved sweets (especially halva and chocolate-covered marzipan), and did not give them up even when, toward the end of his life, he fell ill with diabetes. In the mid-80s due to health problems he stopped smoking.