The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived

RCS ^ | 01/26/2015 | Alex B. Berezow

[SeekAndFind]

Who was the smartest person to ever live? There are certainly many worthy contenders. Today, the very name of "Einstein" is synonymous with genius. Others may suggest Stephen Hawking. Those who appreciate literature and music may proffer William Shakespeare or Ludwig van Beethoven. Historians may recommend Benjamin Franklin.

Before I submit my own suggestion, we must first discuss what we even mean by smart. Colloquially, we routinely interchange the words smart and intelligent, but they are not necessarily the same thing. There is an ongoing debate among psychologists, neuroscientists, and artificial intelligence experts on what intelligence actually is, but for our purposes here, a simple dictionary definition will suffice: "capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc."

Implicit in this definition of intelligence is general knowledge. An intelligent person capable of understanding quantum mechanics is useless to society if he is completely ignorant. So, a truly smart person will know a lot of things, preferably about many different topics. He should be a polymath, in other words.

Finally, there is the element of creativity. Creative people think in ways in which most other people do not. Where society sees a dead end, a creative person sees an opportunity.

Which person from history was the bodily manifestation of intelligence, knowledge, and creativity? Our blog's namesake, Isaac Newton, of course!

What was Newton's IQ? It's impossible to say. IQ tests didn't exist in the 17th Century, and if they had, Mr. Newton certainly would not have deigned to spend 90 minutes filling out ovals on a multiple choice test. Besides, he likely would have finished the test early and then spent the remaining time correcting errors and devising more difficult questions.

[gattaca]

ping

[Begin]

I’m a little short right now. Go ashk Bonnie.

[cynwoody]

Young Freepers, please bookmark this from the article:

Newton was a true polymath. Not only did he master physics and mathematics, but he was also a theologian. He was obsessed with eschatology (end-times prophecy), and he calculated -- based on his interpretation of the Bible -- that Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 2060.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

Leonhard Euler?

[Portcall24]

His mom had him tested and he’s not crazy.

[Savage Beast]

The Luegenpresse said it was Hillary.

[dr_lew]

I was gonna say Newton.

qui genus humanum ingenio superavit

( "who surpassed all men of genius" ) ... the inscription on Newton's statue at Trinity College, borrowed from Lucretius' reference to Epicurus.

Certainly, he made the biggest splash in our modern terms. "Nearer the gods no mortal may approach." ( Halley's Ode to Newton, the inscription for the Principia Mathematica )

I think the leap he made, pulling the rest of us with it, is unequalled. We are really still Newtonians, even if modified or equivocating Newtonians.

ROY G BIV ... That's from his Opticks. Did you know that?

[SeaHawkFan]

Surprised no one has mentioned William Hunting.

[Revelation 911]

I’m in agreeement

[ShadowAce]

but the bravest human being ever was the first one who ate a raw oyster.

I was thinking "egg."

Two guys sitting on their porch watching the chickens forage, and one turns to theother and says--"I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes out of that chicken's butt."

[catman67]

During the Manhattan Project, if scientists had an idea, they would talk it over with von Neumann. The saying was:

“If Johnny said it would work, it would work; if Johnny said it wouldn’t work, it wouldn’t”.

[Dr. Ursus]

Moses Horwitz?

[chesley]

Smartest? I don’t know. Wisest? He has few competitors.

[left that other site]

My personal favorites (no particular order):

Isaac Newton(Physicist, Mathematician, Scientist, Author)
Leonardo Da Vinci(Painter, Scientist, Author, Poet, Inventor)
Johann Sebastian Bach(Musician, Father)
Albert Einstein(Scientist, Musician, Physicist)
The Prophet Isaiah(Author, Theologian)
Ludwig Van Beethoven(Musician)
St. Paul(Theologian, Author, Traveler, Evangelist)
Thomas Jefferson(Statesman, Architect, Scientist, Author, Political Theorist)
Michelangelo(Poet, Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Engineer)
King David (Musician, Poet, Author, Warrior, King)

Just my opinion.

[SeekAndFind]

You prefer Jefferson over Ben Franklin?

[left that other site]

I like Franklin too...should have included him:

Ben Franklin(Author, Statesman, Diplomat, Inventor, Scientist)

I guess I’m partial to Architects...Monticello is gorgeous. LOL!

[EinNYC]

Moishe Rabbeinu.

[itsahoot]

I love when Robbie the Robot makes up the huge batch of whiskey for that fellow :-)

Earl Holliman, the cook of course.

[Lazamataz]

Me.

I am the smartest and greatest and best person anywhere.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

I would offer Imhotep of Ancient Egypt who invented stone building and set up a medical college that thrived for 2,000 years, giving Egypt the best medical care in the ancient world (average life of an Egyptian was ten years greater than any place else in the Ancient World) He was so beloved by the Egyptians (and Greeks too) that after his death they made him a God. He might not have liked that because he was one of the first to believe there was only one God. A commoner, he became second only to Pharaoh and his good friend too—proving the King was wise enough to place the smartest man in Egypt in control of day by day running of the nation.