Who do you believe is/was the smartest person of all time?

Question

Explain.

Answer 1

I go with Einstein, of Stephen Hawkings for dazzling intellect. I mean lets face it, there are very few people on the planet who really understand what they are on about.

Edward Jenner, Robert Koch, Alexander Fleming and Louis Pasteur in relation to medical science, who's genius opened the worlds eyes to interactions between the body and invading organisms, and have collectively saved the lives of millions upon millions.

Answer 2

First there are reasons why I made my choice. I decided against Da Vinci simply because many of his "inventions" were never built and were inspired by, or even copied from, the work of Roger Bacon, Konrad Kyeser, Villaired de Honnecourt and a manuscrpit called "The Hussite Wars" completed in 1430.

I uneasily decided against Sir Issac Newton, because Roger Bacon already used the idea of mathmatical modelling, and experimention to find scientific truths way back in the high Middle Ages; if anything Netwon's theory about light was guided, if not in fact stolen, from Bacon's discoveries.

In the end I decided to pick three people, one in athletics, one in the arts and one in science/engineering. I figure that his way the differences in types of intelligence could be better reflected. Afterall is a mechanic who can fix or rebuild anything not as smart as a scientist wo can learn things from nature?

Athletics
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Jim Thorpe

Science/Engineering
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Here there was a bit of a toss-up for me.

Albert Einstein, was unqestioningly the most brilliant physics researcher of his day. Many of his works became the backbone for later research. His ideas revolutionized physics, and paved the way for later researchers like Stephan Hawking; a genius in his own right.

Bede the Venerable, if there can be a number 2 position here. Bede knew the earth was round, toyed with the idea of lattitude, knew the sun's direct rays varyied their position on the earth north or south throughout the year, and even knew that the moon caused tides. He did all this in a life spanning late 7th and early 8th centuries. He is also one of the few historians from this time period whose works are invaluable today. Although I'm a little hesitant due to the possiblity that he was working from greco-roman texts; although admitably not likely since these would be considered pagan reading.

Music/Art
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Was there any real question here? The man wrote his first musical composition at age 5. He had written numerous concertos, sonatas, symphonies, and several operas by age 13. His mastery of music is simply unparraled except perhaps by Beetovan, a musical prodigy in his own right, but who can't really compare to Mozart.

Answer 3

Smart is so relative

in sciences, Tesla, Einstein, Hawking come to mind. and the highly underrated Fineman

But is science the only place to measure "smart"?

Reagan was a master at politics, there was genius there.

Da vinci at discovery, but then again Newton comes in as well.

How about Madam Currie.. medicine counts, or Jonas Salk

no, i don't think a smartest person can be named.

Answer 4

Since you asked who was the smartest not who used their smartness best.....
Marilyn vos Savant (born Marilyn Mach on 11 August 1946) is an American magazine columnist, author, lecturer and playwright who rose to fame through her listing in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Highest IQ." Since 1986 she has written Ask Marilyn, a Sunday column in Parade magazine in which she answers questions from readers on a variety of subjects.

Check out the "Monte Hall Problem" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant

Answer 5

He wasn't scientific as Da Vinci or Einstein. I think Napoleon, for changes he made in France's government, society, public works and his success on the battle field. We more often hear of the war and misery he put Europe through but he also did much to transition France from a monarchy to a republic.

Answer 6

Albert Enstine because i read it in the smartest people book

Answer 7

I don't know--intelligence doesn't mean that you're a genius, necessarily.
If you know a lot of math and can do the square roots of numbers in your head, that's handy, but does it make you a social genius, a creative one, or a "genius" in sports?

Leonardo was good at many things, but his paintings are overrated. He had a lot of ideas that we now use today, but there was no technology to develop his brainchildren.
A lot of geniuses exist in physics, but how much do these people know about art and social life?

Answer 8

Einstein. He pioneerd most of modern physics, as well as cracked many major scientific breakthroughs before he was even 30.

Answer 9

I feel da smartest person of all time is leonardo da vinci who really is one heck of a guy in hiding symbols everywhere

Answer 10

Batman