Trolling hard this morning. Who do you reckon. . .

[Old Dryfoot]

Remember the "IQ" thread? The best indicator on that one was to see which people avoided posting on it.

[lupussonic]

Spiritually advanced? He of the Amish.

[CWSmith]

Been told that I have a smart @ss...

That's my mother's pet name for my wife (truth).

[leikec]

I'm very smart. Last night I had a chess match with my dog, and I beat her two out of three games. (She used that Russian opening in game two--didn't see it coming...).

Jeff C

[J P]

Been told that I have a smart @ss...

That's my mother's pet name for my wife (truth).

I have three of them. They are all out doing lawn and grounds maintenance at the moment while I came in to avoid a thunder storm and grab a bite of lunch. I did however, give each of them some personal attention this morning, with pedicures, hair brushing, ear rubs (they love that). I even applied some insect repellant on them before turning them loose for their lawn work after telling them “you are all getting fat!”. Such sweeties.

[Ted Hoppe]

Boxers or briefs?

The smartest ones ones live outside the bubble.

[oznabrag]

There are a lot of bright people on the forum but this question could well be differently phrased.

The question is "who presents as if they think they are the smartest person on the forum?"

One avitar in particular comes to mind.

THAT guy?

Sheesh!

[ron ll]

A test of intelligence that I’ve found works well, is ask someone, “A sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe or a sock and a shoe and a sock and a shoe?”

[Gib Etheridge]

I strive for mediocrity. I try hard. Can I get an award for that?

[David G]

I strive for mediocrity. I try hard. Can I get an award for that?

Of course you can. But only a medium-sized one...

[Gib Etheridge]

"Of course you can. But only a medium-sized one..."

I don't really feel that I deserve one. I'm a good boy when topside but can be more than a bit rude and insensitive when below decks. Is there a reward for that? Any size would be OK.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

I really don't know who is the smartest but I can tell you a couple that I think are dumber than me and that's going some.

[skuthorp]

Been told that I have a smart @ss...

My @ss is smarter than yours……
My brain not so much…………..

[wizbang 13]

Not really afraid of an I.Q. test.
... drug test scare me.

[Lew Barrett]

you spelled avatar wrong. i didn't even have to google it.

I'm so ashamed!

[Lew Barrett]

Bet that smarts.

Not as much as you might think.

[Lew Barrett]

THAT guy?

Sheesh!

You guessed it!

[Lew Barrett]

Is this a airplane thread?

I already tried to work with that but unless one is prepared to sacrifice another vowel, it only makes matters worse.

[johnw]

Is the smartest person on this forum?

I’m nominating twodot.

Maybe I’ll start a poll later. . .

He's already denied it on this thread, but I'm suspicious that he's hiding something...

I figure smartest is him or Bruce Taylor.

[Garret]

Vanna will sell you one Lew!

[showing off how I watch the highbrow shows..]

@ the OP: There's a long road from being really smart to having a clue and I'm not sure many really smart folks can make the trip. Years ago I went to a Mensa meeting. Holy nerdiness Batman! Those who weren't impressed with their own brilliance were largely incapable of carrying on on a conversation. I beat a hasty retreat & went to a bar. Far better!

[johnw]

A test of intelligence that I’ve found works well, is ask someone, “A sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe or a sock and a shoe and a sock and a shoe?”

The issue comes up in Infinte Jest.

[Robbie 2]

If by smartest you mean intelligence, knowledge and general life experience smart.....
I nominate Paladin as the most fit to match that description of any I have met in this WBF family.

[David G]

Vanna will sell you one Lew!

[showing off how I watch the highbrow shows..]

@ the OP: There's a long road from being really smart to having a clue and I'm not sure many really smart folks can make the trip. Years ago I went to a Mensa meeting. Holy nerdiness Batman! Those who weren't impressed with their own brilliance were largely incapable of carrying on on a conversation. I beat a hasty retreat & went to a bar. Far better!

My darling m-i-l was a Mensa member. It was the organization she stayed with the longest as she aged. Since previous iq tests would suggest that I'd do well on their test, she invited me to be her guest - so I could see what it was like. It was like Garret described. I passed. Yet she loved it.

[CWSmith]

Boxers or briefs?

The smartest ones ones live outside the bubble.

You mean commando?

[skuthorp]

Vanna will sell you one Lew!

[showing off how I watch the highbrow shows..]

@ the OP: There's a long road from being really smart to having a clue and I'm not sure many really smart folks can make the trip. Years ago I went to a Mensa meeting. Holy nerdiness Batman! Those who weren't impressed with their own brilliance were largely incapable of carrying on on a conversation. I beat a hasty retreat & went to a bar. Far better!

I have a nephew whose virtually a mathematical savant, but give him a hammer………….. as grandma said about someones sewing "Like a cow with a musket". Interesting analogy, I wonder how far back that goes in the family?

[CWSmith]

I really don't know who is the smartest but I can tell you a couple that I think are dumber than me and that's going some.

I honestly believe that a few pretend to be stupid. If prompted correctly, they suddenly become surprisingly clearheaded.

[LeeG]

my mom said you have to be smart enough to know how smart some people can be. I’m not that smart but appreciate good people. There are a lot of good people here.

[johnw]

As I pondered, I realized it would be good - if you do such a poll - to define what you mean by 'smart'...

This might be a fruitful direction in which to hijack the thread. I've know people with pretty good brains who don't bother to think much. Darwin is supposed to have had an IQ of around 130, well below genius level, but he created works of genius in The Descent of Man and On the Origin of Species. He was willing to do the work and think through the implications of the evidence.

Thomas Hobbes, sometimes called the Beast of Malmesbury because he was willing to think the unthinkable, thought of the social contract as a new justification for the legitimacy of rulers, but was unwilling to think it through to the logical conclusion that the people should be able to remove a ruler if he sucks at his job. Hobbes was more of a polymath than John Locke, but Locke was willing to think social contract theory through to the logical conclusion that the people have a right to revolution when a horrible ruler can be removed by no other means.

But then, we know Hobbes was in danger of losing his life at least twice because of his writings, and that he burned some material for fear of what might happen if it were read by the wrong people. I like the idea that to be regarded as a genius, you have to do the work to produce a work of genius, that's one way of defining 'smart,' but circumstances can prevent a person from doing that.

I do like this idea:

@ the OP: There's a long road from being really smart to having a clue...

Think of a pickup baseball game. Some folks are just there to enjoy the company and the sunny day, but only a few know the score. Knowing the score shows you have the focus to apply your intelligence, which makes intelligence a much more useful thing to have.

Are these aspects of intelligence, or just demonstrations that intelligence without the willingness to do hard intellectual work is about as useful as nipples on a man?

[David G]

Ayup... there's smart, and then there's smart.

It's an interesting discussion - but we can't really answer the question from the OP until a definition is assigned, or agreed upon.

My darling m-i-l from above was unquestionably a genius. And she had a curious mind - reading widely in a variety of fields. And offering intriguing thoughts and asking fascinating questions. It made dinner-table conversation marvelous.

But her social skills were 'stunted' by the lifelong failure to grasp that not everyone could keep up with her intellectual horsepower. And that the world did not function solely on a rational basis.

She never did understand why the campaign to make Esperanto the international language, to serve as the one universal alongside all the native languages, wasn't enacted without question. And the QWERTY keyboard? She couldn't fathom how it wasn't instantly replaced by the far-more-efficient DVORAK version. Clueless, in her own way, to the end. But angelically sweet in her acceptance of the 'failings' of her fellow humans.

[amish rob]

I have suggested most polymathic as a metric for the “smartest”, the logic being a mastery of many things would seem to indicate an intellect and that is variable and adaptable, and one based on a mind that is nigh encyclopedic.

Peace,
Emperor For Life (Still, For 9 Hours Per Week)

[Glen Longino]

What I lack in IQ points I make up for with hostility, ignorance, and honesty.

[CWSmith]

Ayup... there's smart, and then there's smart...

I used to enjoy watching "Win Ben Stein's Money". He has (had?) a remarkable memory.

But is that what runs to the core of intelligence? If I needed a lawyer, I'd want one with a good memory. Ditto a doctor. But a detective? A scientist? An engineer? A writer? Some tasks require insight and the ability to see through concepts to a solution.

I was never any good at memorization and I never knew a doctor or a lawyer who could do math.

[skuthorp]

And he writes songs, there's gotta be points there.

[ron ll]

Even though AndyG puts Coca-Cola in Laphroig, for some reason I suspect he is smarter than the average bear.

[johnw]

I have suggested most polymathic as a metric for the “smartest”, the logic being a mastery of many things would seem to indicate an intellect and that is variable and adaptable, and one based on a mind that is nigh encyclopedic.

Peace,
Emperor For Life (Still, For 9 Hours Per Week)

It seems like some people define intelligence in terms of what they personally are good at, others at what some people can do that they can't.