Who is the smartest person in the world. The smartest people of our time

There are many miracles in the world, one of these mysteries that scientists cannot solve, for many decades now, has been the question of the genius of some people, whose mental abilities are simply amazing. To say unmistakably who is worthy of the title of the most clever man in the world or in Russia, it is quite difficult, because each of the applicants has some of his own individual abilities.

Very often, after solving some life task we can hear the statement addressed to us: "You are the smartest person on earth." We are glad that we noticed our efforts, but at the same time we don’t think about what kind of smartest person he really is on the planet, what talents does he have and what can he do with the power of his mind? The only thing that can be said is that all brilliant people throughout history have been united.

How to measure intelligence

AT modern world identifying people with high scores and a mindset is very simple - an IQ test was invented for this. Initially, this test was invented by the English psychologist Hans Eysenck in order to determine unmistakably the smartest person in history.


Now the test has become widespread and everyone can try their hand. At the development stage, the test was used only on children, but in 1905 it was finalized by the psychologist Alfred Binet and became suitable for use on adults. The test was first used in 1916, but even according to its results, it was not possible to determine the special talents of a person. The opinion that the most smart people who ever lived on the planet, achieved success in life by constant work, is relevant in our time.

To make it clear to most readers, the average IQ for average people is 90-110 units, for people with weak mental faculties the coefficient is less than 70%, for those who can develop their abilities and achieve something - 125-135%, and only 0.5% of all people on the planet have an IQ above 135 - they are usually called geniuses.

All Nobel laureates take an IQ test, and most of them have an IQ score of 160. Unfortunately, there are people with high mental abilities who have not managed to distinguish themselves in any way and have not found a use for their talent. Such people in most cases go crazy or commit suicide.

by the most high rate the mind that ever was possessed by a ten-year-old girl born in 1946. A girl named Marilyn Vos Savant scored 228 on the entire test. So far, no one has managed to score more than this baby, and she is considered to this day the smartest person in history. According to the owner of this unusual title, only such disciplines as mathematics and nuclear physics can display high human abilities. Marilyn married the same gifted person as herself - her husband Robert Jarvik (his IQ is 180 units) invented an artificial heart. Marilyn also claims that with the help of proper nutrition everything that is inherited by a person can be increased by 20%.

Our country also has something to be proud of, since our compatriot is listed in the Guinness Book as the first person who managed to prove the Poincaré theorem. He is Grigory Perelman, born in 1966, he is considered the smartest person in Russia.


Now, many people consider Anatoly Wasserman to be the smartest person in the country, he often won various TV shows.

Top smartest on Earth

If we consider the issue of genius more globally, then we can surely notice that in every corner of the world there are special and unusual people. Now we will try to recreate the top of the smartest people, based on their IQ results and the success that they were able to achieve in their lives.

So, in the first place, as mentioned above, is Marilyn Savant.


The Chinese genius Kim Peak, who has a phenomenal memory, is inferior to her only 10 units.


He is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records, as he can remember 98% of all the information he read. Throughout his life, Kim Peak kept in his memory more than 12 thousand books that he could recite by heart in a different order.

Daniel Tammet from UK, born in 1979, can calculate and solve in his mind challenging tasks from the field of mathematics.


Daniel also managed to master in a week new language. He knows 11 languages ​​in total. At 4 years old, he could easily multiply and divide multi-digit numbers. As he himself claims, such abilities appeared in him after suffering an epileptic attack in childhood.

Albert Einstein is also on the list of the greatest people.


The German physicist became known to modern times thanks to the theory of relativity. Much to our surprise, we can say that as a child, Einstein was not very active child- spoke poorly, he was considered at all underdeveloped and mentally retarded.

The name of the next genius is probably known to all modern people - Stephen Hawking, an outstanding theoretical physicist, is one of those few people who know about the structure of the Cosmos.


cripple, in wheelchair, who does not control his body, lives incredibly rich life: he teaches, starred in, publishes scientific papers and travels. His IQ is much lower than most of the inhabitants of this list, but nevertheless he managed to change his life and most modern people his lectures and scientific treatises.

Arran Fernandez is the first person to receive a high school certificate at age 5. At the age of 14, he became a student at the University of Cambridge and is the most talented and youngest mathematician in the world.


Paul Allen is the man who co-founded Microsoft. His IQ is only 170 units, but this did not stop him from becoming big man and put your skills into practice.


Manahel Thabet is a Yemeni woman economist and the youngest Arab woman to receive a PhD in financial engineering. Her IQ is 168.


Another woman who impressed with her talent as a strategist is Judit Polgar, a chess grandmaster originally from Hungary. Her IQ is 170.


John Sununu, who has an IQ of 180, holds three degrees from MIT, has made a name for himself in politics.


In addition to his unprecedented success in science, he worked in the administration of President George H. W. Bush.

It can take a very long time to count talented people, because there are many of them. Using the example of several of the above personalities, we have shown that there are people today who can better side with your mind and wisdom.

Most of these people with ingenious abilities today lead an unpretentious lifestyle. According to almost every one of them, he does not consider himself special, because an unusual mindset is a gift of nature with which they were endowed.

Video about the five great minds of mankind:

There are many factors to consider when talking about something or someone. For example, who can be said to be the smartest person in the world? The tallest can be measured, the heaviest can be weighed. And how to determine the degree of intelligence? Many are guided by IQ.

The smartest people in the world


However, many believe that assessing a person's mind by IQ is the wrong tactic. Perhaps the title of a real intellectual deserves the one who made a revolutionary discovery in the field of science? Or the one who solved the problem that haunted the great minds of the whole world for a whole century? If so, then perhaps the smartest person in the world is our compatriot, Grigory Perelman.

Many tried to solve it, but only Perelman could do it, who posted materials on the Internet in 2003 that are right decision. However, this fact is not at all interesting, although it also chills attention. Absolutely everyone was amazed by the fact that he refused a well-deserved award - one million dollars (this money was allocated by the Clay Institute of Mathematics). And this despite the fact that Perelman lives in an apartment in which, according to the neighbors, there is nothing more than a table, a chair, an old mattress and crowds of cockroaches. But what to do, they are the smartest people!

There are no indicators of reasonableness and measurers of the human mind. But how to determine who is the smartest person in the world on this moment? Let's start from the level of IQ. The higher this indicator, the smarter the person.

The smartest people in the world:

  1. The highest IQ - 230 - belongs to the Australian citizen Terence Tao. This smartest man in the world first showed his erudition in two years old. Young Terence was able to solve a simple arithmetic problem and even tried to teach his peer friend how to count.

By the age of five, Terence (Chinese) was fluent in English and was solving complex math problems from the graduate program. elementary school. With early age the genius fell in love with higher mathematics and often attended lectures. From the age of 12 he participated in international mathematical Olympiads.

In his youth, he expanded his specialization to the solution of differential equations of increased complexity. Started studying analytical theory numbers. At the age of 20 he became a professor at the University of California, received a doctorate.

Subsequently, he moved to Los Angeles, where he now teaches. By the age of 40 he became the author of 250 scientific publications.

  1. Marilyn Vos Savant almost caught up with Terence Tao in terms of IQ. She has it equal to 228. She found her vocation in creativity. Marilyn is a popular American writer and journalist. In addition, she is known as a record holder in the Guinness rating for IQ.

Her journalistic activity sometimes discourages readers. She writes her column Ask Marilyn in Parade magazine, and also publishes puzzles and charades there.

Sometimes readers perceive her answers with surprise, since they do not always correspond common sense. Therefore, there are both admirers of her mind and opponents who consider her intuitive answers unintelligent.

  1. Another smartest person is the third person in our ranking. This is Christopher Hirata. His IQ is 225. Like most geniuses, his exclusivity was noticed from childhood. He always won school competitions, and at the age of 14 he became a student.

At 16, Christopher began working for NASA. He was engaged in the study of Mars and developed programs for the study of distant planets.

On his 22nd birthday, he received his PhD in astrophysics. Interested in the issues of energy conversion, gravity.

  1. Kim Ung-Yong with an indicator of 210 is a real genius, and not just a smart person. At the age of four, he not only mastered four languages, but also learned to read them. Then he became famous thanks to television, when in front of the audience he solved the most difficult mathematical problem.

At the age of 8, Kim entered the University of Colorado on the recommendation of NASA. After graduating, he stayed to work there, and at the age of 18 he returned to Korea and became a teacher.

  1. The Greek Evangelos Katsiulis, with an IQ ranging from 198 to 205, became famous in psychiatry. He leads a medical practice and conducts unique medical research according to their specialization.

Interested in questions of genius, Evangelos founded several associations that brought together the smartest people on the planet. The psychiatrist excelled in philosophy - he received a doctorate in psychopharmacology.

  1. American Christopher Langan is known to the world as a weight lifting champion. But he also boasts of his intelligence. His IQ is 195. However, to develop his intellectual ability since childhood, Christopher could not, because after the departure of his father, his family experienced financial difficulties. In addition, no one worked with the boy, and he comprehended all the secrets of science and sports on his own.

At the age of one, Christopher has already learned to speak, and at the age of 4 - to read. While studying at the university, he was on an equal footing in knowledge with professors.

But the need to provide for his family made him fall out of the intellectual milieu for 20 years. However, after the personal life of the genius improved, he plunged headlong into science. A great stir was caused by his scientific work devoted to the theory of the cognitive model of the Universe.

  1. Film actor and producer Rick Rosner has a high intellect (IQ - 192), but he already learned about his genius at a fairly early age. adulthood. All his life he strove for universal recognition and found peace only when he became the producer of his own television show.

Only after that he began to devote more time to science. On the way to fame, he had to work in many places. He was a waiter and a stripper, a model.

Having known fame, Rick does not stop working hard on his body - every day he trains and eats only healthy food. Him main fear- this is old age and decay.

  1. The Croatian scientist Mislav Predavech can boast of the same intellectual indicator (192). But the professor does not often use his intellect in everyday life. So, he does not want to think about how to replenish a mobile phone account or how to insert a SIM card into it. He entrusts these matters to his wife.

Intellectually, Mislav is only interested in how to pass difficult levels in computer games. He likes to solve puzzles and play Mafia.

  1. Grandmaster Garry Kasparov has an IQ of 190. He is one of the ten smartest people on the planet. Glory came to Kasparov when he beat Anatoly Karpov and received the champion title. In 1997 he played several games with artificial intelligence draw.

Judging by smart parents, we can say that Harry received a gene for high intelligence by inheritance. Both mom and dad were engineers, they played chess well and loved to solve puzzles. So the future chess champion from childhood was surrounded by the right environment for the development of the mind.

  1. Handsome film actor James Woods closes this rating with an IQ of 180. He has starred in more than 50 films, including the films Justice League, Superheroes, Once Upon a Time in America.

James's high IQ was discovered during his university years. Studying the future "superhero" was easy.

But he was prevented from achieving recognition in the scientific community. complex nature. Professors refused to work with him due to the fact that James argued with them and did not care about their opinion.

As can be seen from this rating, a genius can be born, but not use his gift to study high matters or develop the most complex theories. Many of the smartest people with the highest IQs on the planet did not devote themselves to science, but used their minds to achieve mundane goals.

Grigory Perelman

Grigory Perelman solved the first of the seven mathematical “millennium problems”, and when the scientific community finally read his work (Perelman himself did not make any attempts to publish), he twice wanted to give “Grisha Perelman” money.

But Perelman refused the money, saying that the American scientist Hamilton also contributed to the solution of this problem, so he considers the decision of the mathematical community to be incorrect.

In December 2006, Perelman's proof of Poincaré's theory was named the top scientific breakthrough of the year by Science magazine. In April 2011, in the first interview after a long lull, Grigory Perelman explained his refusal of a million dollars by the fact that this money is nothing for "the person who controls the Universe."

Stephen Hawking (IQ 160)

Stephen Hawking can be called the most famous scientist and popularizer of science today.

Films are made according to his biography, he plays a cameo in popular TV shows and is a cartoon character.

Hawking is a specialist in black holes and cosmology, from 1979 to 2009 he served as the Lucas Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University: this prestigious post was held in the 18th century by Isaac Newton. In 2009, Hawking became an honorary Lukasian professor at Cambridge.

Hawking is often referred to as the scientist who made the biggest contribution to astronomy, cosmology, black hole theory, and the understanding of gravity since Einstein.

Kim Ung-Yong (IQ 210)

Kim Ung-Yong was born in Korea in 1963. At the age of two, he knew five languages, then taught the language for a month.

At the age of three, the child knew algebra, at five he solved the most complex differential equations.

From the age of 4 to 7, Kim Ung-Yong attended the Department of Physics at Hanyang University, and in 1970 he received an invitation and a scholarship from NASA (NASA, USA). Also University of Colorado (Colorado State University) received a Ph.D. in physics at the age of 15 years.

Returning to his homeland in 1978 after working for NASA, Kim received another degree, this time in civil engineering, and began to work in this area. Kim has published almost a hundred scientific papers on hydraulics.
As of 2007, Ung-Yong was a professor at Chungbuk National University.
In September 2012, Kim Ung-Yong was officially listed as one of the "10 smartest people in the world".

Bill Gates (IQ 160)

We could not ignore the pioneers of the computer age and not mention Bill Gates.
In 1973, Bill Gates entered his freshman year at Harvard University, but left in his third year to devote himself to Microsoft, the company he founded in 1975 with Paul Allen.

Firmly convinced that the PC would become indispensable in every workplace and in every home, they began to develop software for personal computers.

Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world. He is actively involved in charity work, writes articles and books. Bill Gates was one of the first people in history to show that with the mind you can earn not just big, but very big money, very, very much.

Terence Tao (IQ 230)

Terence Tao knew the basics of algebra at the age of two, attended university mathematics courses at nine, received a doctorate in mathematics from Princeton at 20, and at 24 became the youngest professor at the University of California. Posted more than 250 scientific works.

In 2006, the young scientist received the Fields Prize, a year later he became a member of the Royal Society of London, a year later a member of two US Academies, and in 2010 he became a laureate of the King Faisal International Prize for Science.

Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet is one of the most famous savants - the owners of the "island of genius" in any area that contrasts with the limitations of the individual. Tammet was not always a savant.

He grew up an ordinary child, but then he began to have epileptic seizures, after which he discovered superpowers in himself.

Tammet is able to perform the most complex calculations in his head, in March 2004 he broke the world record by reproducing the number P to 22,514 decimal places in five hours and nine minutes. At the same time, Daniel does not count the numbers, but feels them. He admitted: “I represent numbers in the form of visual images. They have color, texture, shape. Numerical sequences appear in my mind as landscapes. Like pictures. It’s as if the universe with its fourth dimension is emerging in my head.” Daniel also knows 11 languages, he is able to learn a new language in just a week. Tammet also invented his own language, which he called mänt

Zhores Alferov

Zhores Alferov was one of the creators of the electronic reality that we face every day. At the same time, he began work on it at a time when this was not talked about not only here, but also in the West.

The discoveries that led to qualitative changes in the development of all electronic technology, Alferov did back in 1962-1974.

Today in all mobile phones there are heterostructural semiconductors created by Alferov. All fiber-optic communication runs on its semiconductors and the Alferov laser. Without the "Alferov laser" CD players and disk drives of modern computers would be impossible. The scientist's discoveries are used in car headlights, traffic lights, and supermarket equipment - product label decoders.

The IQ test is often criticized by serious researchers. And yet, it is IQ that remains the most popular measure of intellectual power.

Our ten included 10 smartest people on the planet with an IQ of 160 or higher. By the way, about 50% of the world's population have an IQ of 85 to 110 points.


The ingenious theoretical physicist is known for his work on unraveling the mysteries of the universe. In spite of severe form amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which deprived the scientist of the ability to walk and speak, Hawking's intellect remains one of the strongest on the planet.

9. Paul Allen (170 points)


The co-founder of Microsoft managed, as they say, to turn his mind into wealth. Allen is one of the most famous entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists on the planet. Allen actively invests in the development of sports teams and space exploration programs.

8. Sir Andrew Wiles (170 points)


In 1995, a British mathematician shocked the entire scientific world by proving Fermat's theorem, which was considered unsolvable. Wiles has 15 prestigious awards in mathematics and related sciences.

7. Judit Polgar (170 points)


The only woman in the top ten smartest is a Hungarian chess player who became a grandmaster at the age of 15. Judit and her sisters were taught chess by their father, who thus proved the effectiveness of homework with young children.

6. James Woods (180 points)


This American actor brilliantly completed a course in linear algebra at the University of California and was enrolled in the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, science was abandoned for the sake of acting. Woods has three Emmy awards and a couple of Oscar nominations.

5. Garry Kasparov (190 points)


Kasparov became the world chess champion at the age of 22, thus setting a world record. Today, the famous chess player devotes his time to politics, literature and public life. Kasparov is considered one of the informal leaders of the political opposition in Russia.

4. Rick Rosner (192 points)


So high intelligence TV producer Rick Rosner is all the more surprised that the American's track record includes work as a stripper, waiter and model. Today Rosner works in TV, producing and writing scripts for series, talk shows and cartoons.

3. Kim Ung-Yong (210 points)


This Korean prodigy for his high intelligence was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. At the age of two, he easily read, wrote and spoke two languages, by the age of four he was solving complex problems. math problems, and by eight he left to study in the USA at the invitation of NASA.

2. Christopher Hirata (225 points)


American Hirata entered the prestigious California Institute of Technology at the age of 14, and at 16 he was already working at NASA. Hirata specializes in projects related to the colonization of Mars. At 22, the young man received the title of Doctor of Science in astrophysics.

1. Terence Tao (230 points)


Owner highest IQ in the world mastered school mathematics at the age of two. By nine, he completed university mathematics courses, and at 20, he taught at Princeton University with a Ph.D. At 24, Tao became the youngest professor at the University of California. Peru Terence Tao owns more than 250 scientific papers. This is the smartest person in the world today.


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