The Top 10 Smartest People In The World
The human brain is a mysterious and powerful part of a human’s body. Everything else cannot function without the brain; nothing will ever make sense without the human mind. It has always been a wonder how the brain functions and why humans have varying levels of intelligence. Some are just more intelligent than the others, and some just have IQ levels that the simple mind cannot fathom. One cannot help but be in awe with the top 10 people with the highest IQ’s.
10. Stephen Hawking
A man of Science, a cosmologist, and a theoretically physicist, Stephen Hawking has never failed to amaze everyone with his impressive IQ of 160. He was born in Oxford, England in 1942. In spite of having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he has proven how his mind can overpower his condition. His notable IQ has made him go bigger than his paralysis. His contribution to Science and Cosmology is unparalleled as he used quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity in introducing cosmology to everyone. In 2009, Hawking was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest award that can be granted to an American civilian.
9. Judith Polgar
A child prodigy with a whopping IQ level of 170, Judit Polar is the youngest grand chess champion who has taken over Bobby Fischcer’s record in just a month. Touted as the strongest woman chess player of all time, included in the list of his defeated chess opponents include only the best and current world champions in the field of chess. Name it—Garry Kasparov, Boris Spassky, and Anatoly Karpov—Polgar has used her extensive chess training during her childhood to give them run for their titles.
8. Sir Andrew Wiles
Famous for proving the Fermat’s Last Theorem, which is deemed to be the world’s most difficult problem, Sir Andrew John Wiles has created waves and made history with his significant contributions to mathematics. A mathematician with an impressive IQ level of 170, Sir Andrew Wiles has received 15 prizes in Math and Science. He is also a Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University, with specialization in number theory.
7. Paul Gardner Allen
Co-founder of one of the biggest corporations in the world, Microsoft, Paul Gardner Allen sits on his throne as the 48th richest person in the world. Being successful in using his impressive IQ level of 170 to turn them into riches, Allen has also become known for being an inventor, investor, and philanthropist. He scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and his net worth amounts to a whopping $14.2 Billion. He is also known to create world-class projects that aim to improve people’s lifestyle.
6. James Howard Woods
Beyond James Woods’ acting skills is an exceptional IQ level of 180. He is an film, stage and television actor who has already received a Golden Globe nomination. He scored a perfect 800 on his verbal and got a 799 in Math for his SAT exams. He went to UCLA in highschool, studying Linear Algebra and got a full scholarship at MIT. However, he did not pursue his career in the academe as he dropped out of college and chose celebrity-hood. Most of his awards can be attributed to his acting prowess-three Emmy Awards and two Academy Award nominations, Woods is really impressive.
5. Garry Kasparov
Touted as the greatest chess player of all time, Garry Kasparov has amazed the world with his exceptional IQ level of 190. Displaying his intuition and intelligence, Kasparov holds the record of being the youngest undisputed world chess champion. He won his title at the age of 22. In May 1997, he was defeated by a computer opponent that was programmed to calculate 200 million moves per second. Nevertheless, Kasparov still holds the record for the longest stretch as the no. 1 chess player. Apart from this achievements in chess, he also ran for presidency in Russia and is the founder of the United Civil Front.
4. Rick Rosner
Known for being an American TV writer, Rick Rosner is popular for his outstanding intelligence level—an exceptional IQ level of 192. Other reports say that he was able to garner the highest scores recorded on IQ tests. Another interesting fact about Rosner is that he claimed that he worked as a stripper, bouncer, nude model, and a roller-skating model. Imagine just how impressive his resume is!
3. Kim Ung-Yong
The term child prodigy is clearly an understatement to describe Ung-Yong. He displayed his potential of becoming a genius at 6 months old when he was already able to speak and read in Korean and in other languages. At 4, he took an IQ test that was usually given to 7-year old children and he got an outstanding score of more than 200. At the age of 8, he was already invited by no less than NASA to study in United States. At 14, he was already able to solve complex calculus problems as shown live on Japanese TV. He got a Guinness Book of World Record in its “Highest IQ” category, with a confirmed IQ level of 210.
2. Christopher Hirata
Christopher Hirata’s IQ level is phenomenal at 225. At the age of 4, he already became part of Caltech. At 12, he was already taking up college-level courses in physics and calculus. At 13, he already won the gold medal during the International Physics Olympiad in 1996, making him the youngest American to have won the award. At 16, he was already working with NASA in its plans of conquering Mars. At 22, he already got his Ph.D. Hirata is a certified child prodigy and is currently teaching astrophysics in the California Institute of Technology.
1. Terence Tao
Terence Tao, a gifted guy with an outstanding IQ level of 230, has truly amazed people with his toddler days when he would solve arithmetic questions at the age of 2. At 9, he was already at college level and he was already able to obtain a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees at the age of 16. He got his Ph. D. from Princeton at a very young age of 20. Tao has received impressive awards under his belt—2000 Salem Prize and the 2003 Clay Research Award are just some of them. He is also the youngest full professor of UCLA.
