In your opinion, who was the smartest/most brilliant person in history?

[tnilC]

My professor asked this in class the other day, and pretty much everyone said Einstein with a few DaVinci and George Washington thrown in. Not many could articulate why they thought their given choice was the smartest/brilliant however.

I chose Aristotle and John Milton as a tie. Aristotle because he basically is the father of Logic and Reasoning. Milton because never have I been so amazed at someones complete understanding of how a society functions. Not to mention Paradise Lost is IMO the greatest Poem ever written.

What about you all?

 

[acemcmac]

JLGATSBY

:roll: x infinity

 

[91TTZ]

JLGatsby

 

[JLGatsby]

A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Aristotle, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Wrong. You should have just replied with "Me" and the thread would be over, with everyone in complete agreement.

 

[JS80]

Adam Smith.

 

[IronWing]

The bureaucrat who invented the parking meter. Fuuuking brilliant.

 

[91TTZ]

I would say Einstein, because what he did was actual *thought* that can be tested and proven. Philosophy is an "anything goes" type of thing, where you can't really prove your philosophy.

What he was able to figure out was so out there that common people can't even comprehend it.

 

[touchmyichi]

Leonardo Da Vinci, that guy was a freak at everything.

 

[Baked]

The correct answer is your mom for divorcing your dad and getting alimony for life.

 

[tnilC]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

Yeah it bugs me when people automatically say Einstein when they dont have even the slightest idea of what he did.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I would say Einstein, because what he did was actual *thought* that can be tested and proven. Philosophy is an "anything goes" type of thing, where you can't really prove your philosophy.

Ayn Rand would disagree. So would JLGatsby.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: touchmyichi
Leonardo Da Vinci, that guy was a freak at everything.

He kicked ass in Titanic, too bad he drowned at the end. :brokenheart:

 

[everman]

Whoever invented beer of course.

For all the rest, it's not possible for me to narrow it down to one single person. I'd have to at least narrow it down to scientists, philosophers, writers, etc...

But to name one, how about Leonardo Da Vinci.

 

[kogase]

Bach.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: tnilC

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

Yeah it bugs me when people automatically say Einstein when they dont have even the slightest idea of what he did.

No, the more idiotic answer is to claim some philosopher, who thought up a bunch of self-centered BS which mostly appeals to disenfranchised goths and emos, was more intelligent than a man whose work still stands strong to this day and forms the backbone of modern theoretical physics.

 

[LcarsSystem]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

I agree with this statement, I'm not going to say I am as smart as he was, or even close, but he only had an IQ of 180 I thought. Not to say IQ of 180 isn't impressive or everything, but doesn't Stephen Hawking have like a 250+ IQ? I guess what I am trying to say is that there are people out there capable of better things than what he has done. Besides wasn't there a 9yr old kid several years back on Letterman who was a freshman at Yale and who supposedly has the highest IQ ever recorded, it was like 300+ his name was Greg something.

 

[tfinch2]

Benjamin Franklin, among others.

 

[M00T]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: tnilC

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

Yeah it bugs me when people automatically say Einstein when they dont have even the slightest idea of what he did.

No, the more idiotic answer is to claim some philosopher, who thought up a bunch of self-centered BS which mostly appeals to disenfranchised goths and emos, was more intelligent than a man whose work still stands strong to this day and forms the backbone of modern theoretical physics.

:thumbsup:

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Originally posted by: LcarsSystem

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
A few come close.

Ayn Rand, Thomas Paine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or a few others.

To say Einstein is just a "pop culture" answer.

I find philosophers to be much more intelligent than scientists. Philosophy is a more well rounded sort of intelligence than science.

Edit: For those who said JLGatsy, you are the prophets of our time. :laugh:

I agree with this statement, I'm not going to say I am as smart as he was, or even close, but he only had an IQ of 180 I thought. Not to say IQ of 180 isn't impressive or everything, but doesn't Stephen Hawking have like a 250+ IQ? I guess what I am trying to say is that there are people out there capable of better things than what he has done. Besides wasn't there a 9yr old kid several years back on Letterman who was a freshman at Yale and who supposedly has the highest IQ ever recorded, it was like 300+ his name was Greg something.

While the IQ does have some stake in intelligence, many would argue that there is more to intelligence then just a high IQ.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Hugh Hefner. He built a billion-dollar empire and amassed a 200 million dollar personal fortune in the face of half a country making him out to be the devil and doing everything in their power to stop him. Nobody ever got that successful that quickly in the face of that much opposition. Plus, just look at his lifestyle. He's surrounded by booze, food, celebrities who want to be his friend and naked babes who want to sleep with him. The guy has to be smarter than God.

 

[teddyv]

Leonardo Da Vinci -

 

[mundane]

Newton, maybe. The individuals we'd consider for this all were in the right place, at the right time, with the right resources to make themselves known. I'm sure there are others in history who, due to circumstance never had the opportunity to demonstrate their superior intelligence.

 

[Brackis]

A philosopher simply extracts the feelings and ideas that hide themselves in each human life at birth.

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: touchmyichi
Leonardo Da Vinci, that guy was a freak at everything.

He kicked ass in Titanic, too bad he drowned at the end. :brokenheart:

lol :laugh:

i'd say either da vinci or beethoven.. beethoven rocks