
In your opinion who is the smartest person that ever lived? What are you using as your basis for your opinion?
Depends on what benchmark is used.
For raw intellect, that would probably be a fellow named William Siddis, a child prodigy. His intelligence quotient was claimed to be over 250, though no official record remains. He knew dozens of languages, invented one of his own, and predicted several things about the nature of the universe later proven true. Of course, he's also an example of why raw intellect isn't enough. For all he did as a child, he flopped as an adult, disappearing into obscurity.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Stephen Hawking, and Sir Isaac Newton probably claim my top three slots in regards to geniuses who made excellent use of their gifts. Edited: daishain on 20th Feb, 2018 - 2:49am