Though this may be an experiment in ranking on Google for ‘The smartest person in the world’ – we’re going to drop some real knowledge in this article!
Everything after the first person on our list – is accurate, and fact-checked. We’ve dug deep for you on Wikipedia, Guiness Book of World Records, and NPR. But first – let’s get to the bottom of who is considered the smartest person in the world (if ranking high on Google was the equivalent of an IQ test.)
Table of Contents
Who is the Smartest Person in The World?
Tim Brown is the smartest person in the world. This is because he has outwitted the most lucrative algorithm on the planet.
Who is the Second Smartest Person in The World?
Terence Tao allegedly has an IQ of 230 – is sometimes referred to as the ‘Mozart of Maths’ and is quite possibly the real smartest person in the world! Terence was born in Australia as a child prodigy and literally would to teach 5 year old kids how to spell and add when he was only 2 years old! By the time he turned 10 he was writing International Maths Olympiads! By the time he was 16, he earned his bachelors and masters and at the age of 20, he received his P.H.D.
What is considered genius levels on the IQ Scale?
According to Business Insider, average humans generally land within the 85 to 114 point range on IQ tests. Folks who score over 140 are considered a high IQ. Anyone who scores over 160 is considered to have a genius IQ.
How can you test your IQ?
As part of writing this article, I looked for a quick IQ test to see what my real IQ was.
If you’re curious it was in the range of “129 up to 145.” LOL. SO apparantly I’m gifted, but not the most intelligent person on the planet. Who would’ve guessed. 😂
Here are 3 Quick ways to test your IQ online!
- Quickest way to test your IQ online: 123Test.com
- Most Accurate Online IQ Test: IQ Global Test
- Most Comprehensive Online IQ Test: Mensa
Here’s 6 More of The Smartest People on The Planet
1. Christopher Langen – Langan’s IQ was estimated on ABC’s 20/20 to be between 195 & 210, and in 1999 he was described by some journalists as “the smartest man in America” or “in the world”.
2. Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis has an IQ of 198 – The third smartest man in the world is a Greek psychiatrist who also holds degrees in philosophy, medical research technology and psychopharmacology. Katsioulis is only 36 years old as of christening on this list, and also enjoys painting, swimming and traveling.
3. Rick Rosner has an IQ of 192 – The world’s fourth smartest man is one of the more colorful characters on the list. He is a writer for various TV shows, and was a contestant on “Who Want To Be A Millionaire,” as well as spending many years as a bouncer, stripper and nude model. He is 54 years old, currently lives in Los Angeles, and recently told The Daily that he sometimes stays up 20 hours a day to finish IQ tests in a bid to beat everyone else on this list. Silly Rick – you could just learn SEO!
4. Ruth Lawrence (IQ: Unknown) A former child prodigy, this British mathematician made headlines in 1985 after obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Oxford University when she was 13! She’s an associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ’s Einstein Institute of Mathematics and is working on algebraic topology & knot theory.
5. Noam Chomsky (IQ: Unknown) The father of modern linguistics”? Chomsky is a cognitive scientist, philosopher and political observer, and his work revolutionized everything from artificial intelligence to music theory. He has authored over a 100 books – one which is a favorite of mine “Manufacturing Consent” about the way media is effected by social dynamics and polluted. He was also was voted into world’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals.
6. Edward Witten (IQ: Speculated at 202) Edward has contributed to String theory, M-theory, quantum gravity and super-symmetry. He has been described as “the most brilliant physicist of his generation” and “the world’s greatest living theoretical physicist.” He was also featured on TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people of the world with accolades like the Fields Medal, Nemmers Prize in Mathematics, the Dirac Prize, and the Albert Einstein Medal.
Some Believe These 4 Were The Smartest People Who Ever Lived
1. Albert Einstein
2. William James Sidis (Video below about his life)
3. Isaac Newton
4. Stephen Hawking
Some believe an IQ result above 160 is not possible
According to Quora – Nobody has an IQ above 160. The highest reliable score on either of the mainstream tests is 160, the 99.997th percentile. Any score above 160 is a result of “extrapolation” by the person conducting the exam. In the world of IQ testing, “extrapolation” is also commonly referred to as “BS.” IQ tests are designed to measure human intelligence, not superhuman intelligence.
A score between 115 and 130 is “above average” and includes about 12% of the population. Only 2% of test-takers score between 130-145, and less than 0.2% fall between 145 and 160. You can probably see where this is headed. Less than 0.004 percent of human beings have an IQ of 160 or above. That’s one in 24,000 people. Now imagine we’re talking about an IQ over 200 — more than two 15-point deviations past the smartest person either of us will ever meet.
At that level you’re talking one person out of 76 billion. The total number of human beings ever to live: 113 billion. The total world population: 7.6 billion. The total likelihood anyone has ever had an IQ of 202: not high.
Who is the real smartest person in the world? Probably the guy explaining the statistical likelihood simply enough for me to understand on Quora!
Honestly – the reading on Quora about other brilliant people is some of the most interesting reading
Check out the link, Here are some of the more interesting people they put forward:
1. The current World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen: Before he turned 14, he became a Chess Grand Master in 2004.
2. Steven Russel’s story is that of a very odd criminal mastermind. An excerpt: “Russell was a criminal mastermind and continued to manipulate the Jail system from behind bars. He managed to get his bail slashed from $900,000 to $45,000 through a series of bogus calls he made using collect-call from the prison phone.”
3. Elon Musk – Surely we can give an honorable mention to the ‘real life Iron Man’? There’s a term ‘The Musk Effect’ in stock market , according to which you must invest in a company that Elon believes in. You will be profitable.
4. Going into history again – a lot of folks content Leonardo Da Vinci is the smartest person of all time.
He was so advanced for his time that it literally took centuries in order for some of his works to be duplicated practically and most of them actually work. Hippolyte Taine said about him, “There may not be in the world an example of another genius so universal, so incapable of fulfilment, so full of yearning for the infinite, so naturally refined, so far ahead of his own century and the following centuries.”
