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by Jan Szafranski on April 21st, 2004
This is not an easy question to answer. To begin with first one needs to define 'smart'. If one uses the IQ system of measure it should be noted that this system is flawed and can only really answer the question "who is the man, or woman, who has the highest recorded IQ score aggregated across several IQ systems?". If this is the question, then there are several individuals who belong to MENSA (check out the websites) who can claim this accolade. Be aware though that many possible candidates don't record their IQs and may actually "be smarter". A typical famous example is Albert Einstein who was never measured, but is generally accepted as being a 'genius' (this is actually a technical reference of IQ). Also be aware that IQ scores vary according to age and scale. Personally my IQ has been measured as 168 on one scale and 147 on another - this doesn't mean that my IQ has varied between tests, only that the scales used are different. Either way, these scores classify me as being "up there" yet despite this measure, I wouldn't for a moment classify myself as belonging to the echelon you're seeking to identify.
With reference to Prof. Hawking, while a popular and great thinker, I'm sure that even he would admit that he's not at the top of the list. As a point of information, in a recent poll of scientists as to who were/are the greatest scientific minds, although Prof. Hawking did make it into the top 100, it wasn't very high and he only polled 1 vote (from the hundreds of scientists) when the top 10 was complied.
by gtravels loves her life penguin on August 8th, 2007
The one who can get the packaging off of CDs and DVDs.
by R U Sirius on July 14th, 2005
Tom Cruise
Because no one knows the history of psychology like he does.
by Scrappy on October 9th, 2008
one who NEVER talks about politics, religion, abortion, or any sensitive topics..
by Ender is back.. And slightly confused. on August 18th, 2007
I think the smartest man on the earth is the one who doesn't think he is the smartest man on earth.
by Ioannis on June 30th, 2006
Intelligence is a multidimensional entity, a human characteristic too complicated to be accurately and sufficiently measured by any IQ test. IQ tests merely photograph one's cognitive level / mental performance, rather than fully analyze and describe it, mainly since IQ itself is not all there is to intelligence. Creativity, for instance, which is highly correlated to imagination (the core of intelligence), is not IQ dependent. So it's really very hard to say, even more since the IQ estimation of most of the greatest geniuses of all time is based almost entirely on their work, since they're not alive. Thus, the results' credibility cannot be verified with intelligence tests.
Despite that, several psychometricians consider William James Sidis to be the most intelligent human who ever lived. Moreover, some believe his peak cognitive level to be representative of the highest possible level a human being can reach (his deviation IQ is estimated at about 250-280, sd 16). Others characterize Emanuel Swedenborg as the most intellectually charismatic person ever (during his lifetime, his mental abilities where considered nearly divine).
Some other universal geniuses allegedly reaching or exceeding the level of a deviation IQ of 200, sd 16 are Leonardo Da Vinci, Socrates, Plato, Nikola Tesla, Hypatia and more. Others, with an estimated deviation IQ of 180, sd 16 - the critical level of 5 sigma above the mean - are Friedrich Nietzsche, Gottfried W. Leibniz, Stephen Hawking, Salvador Dali, Baruch Spinoza, Marie Curie, Johann W. Goethe, Pythagoras, Srinivasa Ramanujan, John Stuart Mill, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Robert J. Fischer and many more. Just consider that according to the current statistics & norms, the top 0.00003% of the unselected population corresponds to a deviation IQ of 180, sd 16 which is statistically equivalent to approximately 1800 individuals in our current population of (roughly) 6.4 billion people.
Many scientific magazines & top scientists around the globe accept Dr. Edward Witten as the most intelligent human alive on earth. Witten works as a professor of physics at Princeton's Institute of Advanced Study and focuses on the laws that govern the Superstring Theory, currently the most realistic and widely accepted theory regarding the beginning and evolution of our universe.
Grail Society (founded by Paul Cooijmans) has been created with a sole purpose of bringing out the most intelligent person who ever lived, that is, 1 in 100 billion people. This corresponds to 6.7 sigma above the average or a deviation IQ of 207, sd 16.
by Alatea on January 12th, 2006
Historically, Jesus Christ by far takes the honours.
------------------------
Smartest man - Stephen Hawkings.
Smartest woman - Marilyn Ann Mach (Marilyn vos Savant) with an IQ of 230 as a child.
Marilyn Ann Mach was born in 1946.
At the other end of the scale
The famous Nobel Prize Winner Francis Crick founded DNA with an IQ of 120.
by Dakini on July 20th, 2005
The question is akin to "How long is a piece of string?" Grammatically correct, but meaningless. Any answers would rely on some kind of relativistic statement, like: Twice as long as from one end to the middle.
In that vein, I think the correct answer to the question is: The smartest man on earth would be the man who makes sure that no one knows he's the smartest man on earth.
So look for some really smart guy, (Hawkings is a reasonable choice), who says "Oh no, I'm certainly not the smartest man on earth"....and you've probably found him.
by spaced4ever on May 5th, 2006
The man who agrees with his wife whether she's right or wrong, then does what is right anyway.
by tOnY mOnTaNa on April 14th, 2004
The smartest man on Earth is said to be Oxford graduate Dr. Stephen Hawking.
by Disturbed in a Jr COAT is so confused on January 24th, 2009
Obama, for saying he has visited 57 of the United States.
by crackerz on January 24th, 2009
Homer Simpson
by Tussen on October 11th, 2007
such a subjective question...but Stephen Hawking is pretty smart imo.
by Jax is missing AB on July 5th, 2007
Stableboy and Tom. Its a dead on tie.
by saratchandra on June 26th, 2005
Yes, Stephen Hawking is the smartest person on the planet. He was effected by ALS(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at the age of 20. The disease confined him to a wheel chair and forced him to use a computer generated voice synthesizer. He still continued his research and provided the mathematical support for the big bang theory. He is regarded as living Einstein, but he is undoubtedly a greater genius than Einstein. For more information about him visit http://www.hawking.org.uk/
by raylrodr on January 24th, 2009
P.T. Barnum
by Anonomous on February 4th, 2008
My husband, he got with me didn't he!
by Elleonora on February 1st, 2008
who said it was a man?
by Sigmex on October 11th, 2007
Well, I for one do not believe there is a single man or woman capable of outdoing all others in every measure of intelligence that would be necessary to claim such a title. Rather, I think it is more likely that there are many individuals out there that are specialized in various forms of intelligence. I don't think the social pressures of growing up today, in any country, are sufficient to "shape" such a prodigy, even though chance dictates one eventually must come about.
Having said that, if such an intelligent being was born, one that obviously stood head and shoulders above all else intellectually, I think there are various situations that are likely to have occurred:
Conspiracy theory - such a person would be extremely valuable. A government body or private company, or even a single man, may have find this person, and force or trick him/her into working for them. Then sell the plans to various other companies secretly, thus making much money and remaining undetected. Would you be surprised to hear tomorrow that the fast pace of the computer business was a result of one person and their ides?
The person/person to be would not live up to their full potential, or concentrate on menial tasks, and therefor remain undetected. Laziness, if you will. Ties in with our society and its values on upbring and such.
Desperation theory - having realized their situation, how completely alone they are (as various media sources portray it), they seek a life of solitude, or even as far as self destruction
I agree with Ender will ninja... . I do not think the smartest man alive would be concerned with petty ratings, unless he had a emotional disorder. I reckon its lonely at the top :)
by Quackers on August 18th, 2007
My Dad. I've believed that since I was 2 years old and I'm sticking to it.
by Nelson - Jetpacking from bed on August 8th, 2007
Not me! The more I learn, I just learn how little I know.
by n_o_u_s on September 28th, 2005
Somewhat off-topic:
James Sidis' parents were the smartest people on earth. The environment they created for him allowed his prodigiousness. I, like most of you, spent a great deal of my childhood in a public school classroom. This is a place where the math taught must be accesible to the student with the least aptitude, the music training catered to the student with the least musical talent. For each student, 50-70% of the time spent in a(n American) school is wasted time. Maybe very few children would do as well as Sidis did, but the vast majority would do very well.
This in no way blames teachers. Most teachers I have had did their jobs very well, and went beyond what was required of them. It is the school system that causes the limitations described above. Maybe there is no economically feasible way around it. There are programs in public schools commonly called things like Gifted and Talented, but the sizes of the programs are probably limited by a lack of money, not of bright children - though I have no statistical evidence to back this up.
by agnostic on May 28th, 2004
William James Sidis is arguably the brightest human who ever existed on our planet Earth.
Here is a partial list of William James Sidis' extraordinary capabilities and accomplishments:
1.) Given IQ is a purely anthropocentric means of assessing intelligence, Sidis' IQ is crudely estimated at 250-300.
2.) Infant Billy listened to Greek myths read to him by Sarah as bedtime stories.
3.) Started feeding himself with a spoon at eight months (after two months of trial and error).
4.) Cajoled by her Mom, Billy learned to pronounce alphabetic syllables from blocks hanging in his crib.
5.) At six months, Billy said, "Door." A couple months later he told Mom he liked things, doors and people, that move.
6.) At seven months he pointed to Earth's moon and called it, "moon." He wanted a 'moon' of his own.
7.) Mastered higher mathematics and planetary revolutions by age 11.
8.) Learned to spell efficiently by one year old.
9.) Started reading The New York Times at 18 months.
10.) Started typing at three. Used his high chair to reach a typewriter. First composed letter was an order for toys from Macy's.
11.) Read Caesar's Gallic Wars, in Latin (self-taught), as a birthday present to his Father in Billy's fourth year.
12.) Learned Greek alphabet and read Homer in Greek in his fourth year.
13.) Learned Aristotelian logic in his sixth year.
14.) At six, Billy learned Russian, French, German, and Hebrew, and soon after, Turkish and Armenian.
15.) Calculated mentally a day any date in history would fall at age six. Absolutely fascinated by calendars.
16.) Learned Gray's Anatomy at six. Could pass a student medical examination.
17.) Billy started grammar school at six, in 3 days 3rd grade, graduated grammar school in 7 months.
18.) At age 8, Billy surpassed his father (a genius) in mathematics.
19.) Corrected E. V. Huntington's mathematics text galleys at age of eight.
20.) Total recall of everything he read.
21.) Wrote four books between ages of four and eight. Two on anatomy and astronomy, lost.
22.) Passed Harvard Medical School anatomy exam at age seven.
23.) Passed MIT entrance exam at age eight.
24.) Intellect surpassed best secondary school teachers.
25.) At age 10, in one evening, corrected Harvard logic professor Josiah Royce's book manuscript: citing, "wrong paragraphs."
26.) Attempted to enroll in Harvard at nine.
27.) In 1909, became youngest student to ever enroll at Harvard at age 11.
28.) In 1910, at age 11, lectured Harvard Mathematical Club on 'Four-Dimensional Bodies.'
29.) Billy graduated from Harvard, cum laude, on June 24, 1914, at age 16.
30.) Billy entered Harvard Law School in 1916.
31.) Billy could learn a whole language in one day!
32.) Billy knew all the languages (approximately 200) of the world, and could translate among them instantly!
by Weylon on June 11th, 2011
Not sure but he must be insane.
by Over and Out on January 24th, 2009
Any man who realizes there is always more to learn and pursues that.
by rolenjo on January 24th, 2009
Stephen Hawkins
by Domari Pride on December 16th, 2008
Stephen Hawkins.... or ME.. oh wait... *looks down* I lack the parts to be the ssmartest man on earth... guess I got promoted to smartest woman on earth... JUST KIDDING!
by cheatah on November 28th, 2008
DR.Aldaffa in king fahad university of petroleum and minerals in Saudi Arabia because he is the king of integration
by - Katelyn is a party animal - on October 20th, 2008
Bill gates all that money :)
by Ec-nal Licensed Bootie Inspector on October 9th, 2008
We'll never know, because if he's that smart he'll stay 'under the radar' yo...
by adp123 on April 30th, 2008
I am definitely not the smartest man on earth. Witten is a possibility, so too is Chris Langan, a virtual nobody, but remarkable in a number of ways. He easily could take the role of any one of these great geniuses, and make an impact on in virtually any field. He really fits the mold of a reclusive genius. IQ measured circa 195(a real freak). Mathematical: Gauss. Integral/abstract but physical: Einstein perhaps. these are just known names, however, as there are so many great thinkers out there. And let us not forget that there are thinkers out there today who may be working on ideas that the great minds of today are not capable of proving just yet, for lack of time or resources. So there could be great thinkers of the present era or of the last 50 years whose genius and brilliant theories may not be revealed to the world for some time, and may not even be well understood by many for even longer, if ever at all.
by Anonymous on November 8th, 2005
There a very easy answer to this question......one season of the year, this man has everyone's attention. from retailers, to adults, the weather people as well as all the children on planet earth. its of course, santa claus. if you disagree with my answer, just ask any child!!
by Mike Doucette on August 31st, 2005
Without a doubt, the smartest man in the world is Dr. Brian Kidd.
This is a well known fact! Ask Prof. Hawkings himself.
by ilikejuice on January 22nd, 2010
bob
by adp123 on April 30th, 2008
I am definitely not the smartest man on earth. Witten is a possibility, so too is Chris Langan, a virtual nobody, but remarkable in a number of ways. He easily could take the role of any one of these great geniuses, and make an impact on in virtually any field. He really fits the mold of a reclusive genius. IQ measured circa 195(a real freak). Mathematical: Gauss. Integral/abstract but physical: Einstein perhaps. these are just known names, however, as there are so many great thinkers out there. And let us not forget that there are thinkers out there today who may be working on ideas that the great minds of today are not capable of proving just yet, for lack of time or resources. So there could be great thinkers of the present era or of the last 50 years whose genius and brilliant theories may not be revealed to the world for some time, and may not even be well understood by many for even longer, if ever at all.
by mrc on February 4th, 2008
Jesus
by kirklin11 on February 4th, 2008
I feel before asking the question "Who is the smartest man on earth?" one needs to answer the question "What determins the smartest man on earth?" How does one seperate memory from well educated. For example, if I read a 1000 page book and be able to recite it back to you word for word, I feel that I would be considered a very smart person. Now after that I was asked to anwser the math problem of 2+2=? and I couldent, than I would be considered dumb.
Even if I cant do simple problems like 2+2=? but I remember words and such does this mean i am not in the catigory of some of the smartest men on earth. Peoples perseption of being smart is missed directed. I feel the person who can remember the most is the smartest persone on earth. Now if the person with the best memory can be well educated this persone will be divine.
by Anonymous on February 1st, 2008
Some of you guys are idiots! you should only answer questions that with references or really know what you are talking about...for instance: superstring theory is NOT the "most" accepted theory in physics....it is still very controversial. IQ tests are dumb. It's valid, but culturally bias! But if you ask me, I think Brian from Family Guy is the smartest person/dog ever!
by LANGIE on December 16th, 2007
the guy in the pin stripped suit dead smart tie aswell and trouser and shiny shoes wow
by Sugarpuff_Mandy on December 16th, 2007
ECHELON
by ED ED Binks on October 30th, 2007
God.
by Anonymous on October 30th, 2007
Complicated question. Simple answer. Me.
by Jack wears love COAT on October 11th, 2007
Don't tell this to any body. You know, its a great secret i've been protecting for years and I reveal it to you for you are a great person.
The smartest person on earth is.....
me!
by Crazy is looking 4 Imperfections. on September 21st, 2007
Joe Francis or Hugh Heffner..
by sloroller on September 21st, 2007
OJ Simpson....look what he got away with! (OK maybe the luckiest on earth)
by peterpam on September 21st, 2007
Bildad in the Bible he is a Shuhite!
by Karen99 on September 25th, 2006
Alex Trebek is the smartest man on earth. Tom Cruise knows psychiatry. HA!
Confucius would say that the smartest man on earth is the one who realizes how little he still knows.
by hansin on May 20th, 2006
The smartest man is the man who challenges himself with smarter other men.
by perceptdoctor on May 8th, 2006
The smartest man is obvious to have the biggest brain. or at least one that is the most used in terms of nuero activity and higher brain functioning. That person would beKim peeks(Rain Man). who possesses the strange anomally of having 1 brain hemisphere instead of 2. But the guy can't even tie his shoe. Ironic paradox.
by lostjuggernaut on March 6th, 2006
I think this question is relative, because different people are more intelligent than others in different fields. Do you think Stephen Hawking is an expert dancer/ballet artist, and knows the history of the dances as well as the proper steps to perform them? I think not.
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Comments
Good Answer! It's all relative. (Hey! Almost a Pun! I amuse me!!)
by redpen on May 11th, 2004
Great attempt, but fails to offer any definitive answer.
by Answers101 on March 19th, 2006
This is not an easy answer to question! Answers101: there IS no definitive answer to this question. There are only opinions.
by Nulinvoid on September 25th, 2006
I feel one can answer this question that person is yourself watch this please! than make your own opinion its a little long but it could be the best thing i have ever seen. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4913196365903075662
by kirklin11 on February 10th, 2008
I concur that there is no definitive answer, but Nobel Laureate Physics professor Ed Witten of The Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University who has been called the most brilliant physicist of his generation is widely considered the smartest person in the world.
by stevlich on January 12th, 2010
I am!!!! sry I saw this and i thought I would give myself some self-confidence (by the way I had 4.0 all the way through school!)
by the_sissy on March 16th, 2010
Well at least I/Q test's give people and idea how smart thier are, of cource you dont need to remmeber the answers when you see the question on them. generaly thats how school systems work anyways.
by Kabita on April 27th, 2010