Smartest People In The World: Intelligence plays a significant role in assessing someone’s performance in various aspects of life. It can be measured through IQ tests or the ability to consistently achieve success. Intelligence greatly impacts professional accomplishments.
Intelligence is not only evaluated in academic settings but also in other areas of life. While it is not the sole determinant of success, it holds significant importance. According to scientists, even the smartest individuals only utilize a fraction, around 15%, of their brain’s capacity.
These exceptionally intelligent individuals are admired by the world for their extraordinary abilities. However, the question arises: What if someone could utilize a greater portion, say 30%, of their brain? Some of these highly intelligent people are viewed as eccentric by others, while some consider their intelligence a natural gift. Unfortunately, many smart individuals do not reach their full potential.
Prejudice and lack of opportunities have undoubtedly hindered some talented individuals from fully realizing their capabilities and receiving recognition. Nevertheless, for the purpose of discussion, let’s consider all available criteria to compile a list of the world’s smartest people.
World’s Smartest People In History
Great individuals throughout history are often renowned for their remarkable achievements, groundbreaking ideas, and forward-thinking vision. Their brilliance may have been misunderstood or seen as eccentric at times, but it is often these unconventional concepts that have the potential to transform the world positively.
The genius of these individuals extends beyond a singular accomplishment. It lies in their ability to continuously learn and grow as individuals throughout their lives. Many of them showed exceptional talent in fields such as mathematics, science, and literature from a young age, and some were even considered prodigies.
1. William James Sidis:
This American child prodigy, born in 1898, is believed to have achieved the world’s highest IQ score, although specific data regarding his IQ assessment is now lost. By the age of 11, Sidis had a remarkable ability to speak approximately 40 languages and went on to study at Harvard University.
It is claimed that he could read the New York Times at just 18 months old. In 1925, at the age of 26, Sidis authored a book titled “The Animate and the Inanimate,” which explored the counter-directional operations of the second law of thermodynamics in certain areas of space.
Moreover, at the age of eight, he created his own language called Vandergood, which incorporated elements of Greek and Latin, along with a mix of French and German.
2. Nikola Tesla:
In addition to being an electrical engineer, physicist, and mechanical engineer, the Serbian-born American inventor was also an electrical engineer, physicist, and mechanical engineer.
He was most renowned, though, for inventing a way to control the flow of electricity. Tesla’s brilliance and contributions to civilization are often overlooked, especially when compared to the other names on this list. Tesla’s memory and insight were far ahead of his time.
3. Albert Einstein:
The creator of the theory of relativity, generally known as the E=MC2 equation, is without a doubt one of history’s brightest geniuses. Many people thought Einstein was defective because he lacked other abilities, and he was frequently mistaken for a lunatic because his ideas were so radical. There is no doubt that Einstein aided the human race by changing the complexity of human intellect
There is little doubt that Einstein aided humanity by changing the complexity of human cognition. Einstein won the Barnard Medal, the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Matteucci Medal, the For MemRS Medal, and the Copley Medal, among other honors and awards, and was named Person of the Century by Time magazine in 1999.
While his socialist ideals may have been seen as radical by some, they were just one of the many reasons that contributed to Albert Einstein’s status as one of the world’s most interesting figures. Einstein’s brain was even said to operate 3% quicker than the average person’s.
4. Leonardo Da Vinci:
Da Vinci used the aliases Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, and simply Leonardo. Painting, science, music, architecture, and arithmetic were among the many hobbies of this multi-talented guy. While some persons are seen as forerunners, Da Vinci was regarded as centuries ahead of his time. He was also the first to demonstrate the mechanical exploration of human anatomy.
Da Vinci’s knowledge was so advanced that the technology he imagined had not yet been invented, therefore his complete genius was never fully acknowledged. Da Vinci was able to hypothesize time, a subject that no one else in his day had studied. It’s also worth noting that Da Vinci lacked the finances, education, and technology that others throughout history did. All of the things he was able to do were simply astounding.
5. Stephen Hawkins:
Hawking is a theoretical physicist, author, and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in Cambridge, England. Many people like and respect him, and his work on relativity in the 1970s is maybe his most well-known contribution.
What’s noteworthy is that Stephan Hawking tweaked Einstein’s findings (which you can read about below) to show that arithmetic artifacts aren’t just one-of-a-kind, but actual representations.
Hawkins discovered black hole radiation, which is still regarded as his best discovery by many. The findings of this study demonstrated to the human race that general relativity and quantum theory were becoming more compatible, despite the fact that they had previously appeared incompatible.
The course of theoretical physics has also been altered as a result of this finding. Hawking is still capable of deciphering scientific data and formulating improved rationales for his judgments. His vision seemed to have no limits.
6. Galileo Galilei:
Galilei was a scientist, engineer, and astronomer who played an important part in the Renaissance scientific revolution. He’s been dubbed the “Father of Observational Astronomy,” which is fitting given that he created the telescope. Galilei spent his entire life attempting to make money by selling telescopes. After discovering a significant discovery, he decided to explore science, but due to his efforts to verify his findings, he was rejected by the church and compelled to forsake them.
The finding in question was the nature of comets, which ran counter to Father Grassi’s ideas, to whose church Galileo joined. Kinematics, Telescopic Observational Astronomy, Heliocentrism, and dynamics were among his many interests. Galileo’s legacy continues on, and his accomplishments will be remembered for a long time by everybody who has ever heard of him.
World’s Smartest Living People Right Now
7. Terence Tao:
The Green-Tao theorem is nearly synonymous with this Australian-American mathematician and UCLA professor. His Green-Tao hypothesis was developed in collaboration with Ben J. Green.
According to the idea, the prime number series featured relatively random arithmetic progressions. This indicates that there is a sequence of prime numbers for each natural integer. Partially differential equations, algebraic combinatorics, arithmetic, and geometry are among Tao’s research interests.
He was doing university-level mathematics at the age of ten, and he is one of just a few persons in history to score 760 on the SAT math exam (which he received when he was still under 10 years old). Still not convinced? Terence Tao began learning calculus at the age of seven, and the next year, he began teaching it to high school pupils. He is still the youngest medalist and participant in the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad.
8. Andrew Wiles:
Andrew Wiles may seem familiar from the Guinness Book of World Records, and we know what you’re thinking, but he doesn’t hold the record for the most weight bench pressed. Instead, Wiles solved Fermat’s Last Theorem in 1995, a famously unsolvable mathematical issue that has “bedeviled mathematicians for generations” since it was given in 1630. So, indeed, he is the individual who has ever solved the longest-standing arithmetic issue.
It was also a tremendous personal success for Wiles, who first learned about the theorem while perusing his neighborhood library as a ten-year-old youngster. He didn’t go all Beautiful Mind on mankind, thankfully.
The achievement helped him become a “living legend” in mathematics, earning him the Abel Prize and a generous payment of 6 million Norwegian kroner (about $715,000 USD). According to Famous Mathematicians, he is now a Royal Society research professor at Oxford University.
9. Garry Kasparov:
Garry Kasparov was a slim, mean chess champion with an IQ of 190, according to some reports. Furthermore, the guy rose to popularity as the world’s youngest-ever outright champion at the time, a title he maintained for three times longer than anybody else.
But it was in 1996, when Kasparov defeated IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer 4-2, that he truly became the king of chess, bringing both artificial intelligence and chess into the public.
Not to be outdone, IBM rebuilt Deep Blue the following year, and Kasparov lost, albeit he stated that one of the computer’s moves “wasn’t at all machine-like, but seemed as though it had human help,” according to Interesting Engineering. Kasparov’s pleas for a rematch were subsequently rebuffed by IBM, leaving him unsatisfied in his struggle against artificial intelligence’s inevitable rise.
He was certainly onto something with his charges, given that he later played to a tie against a machine that could calculate 3 million positions per second. Nonetheless, his achievements made him a sort of human representative, and he now campaigns for democracy, human rights, and civil freedoms in keeping with that position.
10. Chris Hirata:
As an inquisitive toddler, according to the article, As they made their way around the store, Chris amused himself by estimating the amount of the food bill. We’re not talking about a jumbled bunch of digits and a blank stare. Price each item by weight, quantity, and any discount that could be granted, this bright young boy would say.
He was even taking into account the sales tax. He was ready for algebra by the first school, and by sixth grade, he was doing college-level physics and calculus. He was assisting NASA in the development of a Mars colonization strategy.
Now, he’s Ph. D-holding astrophysicist with a certified IQ of 225 and a Ph.D. from Princeton. He has just received the 2018 New Horizons in Mechanics Prize for “fundamental contributions to understanding the physics of early galaxy formation as well as honing and deploying the most powerful instruments of precision cosmology.” He’s also a regular person with a family.
11. Judit Polgar:
Judit Polgar, who has an IQ of 170, was homeschooled by her father in an experimental program that included chess as a prominent component. That doesn’t seem so horrible when compared to learning about Christopher Columbus, and it worked out well for Judit, who became the youngest Grandmaster in history at the age of 15. She was the top female player for 25 years before retiring, and she defeated many of the finest players in contemporary chess, including fellow genius Garry Kasparov when she was just 24 years old.
According to the Guardian, Kasparov reportedly referred to her as a “circus puppet” and said that “women chess players should stick to producing children.” Her illustrious career, without a doubt, contributed to the dismantling of age and gender prejudices. She is now widely regarded as the best female chess player of all time, and she coaches Hungary’s men’s national team.