Rank the top 5 geniuses of all time.

Shakespeare is the only genius that appears to me superhuman in depth of knowledge of history religion culture combined with wit a stupendous flair for language/poetry and an unparalleled ability to understand and express the human condition.  I simply don’t know how he was possible 

I'd say Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy. 

Einstein, Leibniz, Newton. Not sure who gets it for quantum mechanics. 

Keynes, Russell, Chomsky.

Assorted mathmos. 

 

1. Newton

2. Mozart

3. Aristotle

4. Shakespeare

5. Darwin

Honourable mentions

Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Voltaire, Bertrand Russell, Einstein. 

 

After careful deliberation and consideration, it was not possible to accommodate any of the OP’s nominations in the top 5 billion candidates. 

Trouble is that any women geniuses would have gone unnoticed because society would not have enabled them to express that genius. I am sure a list made 1000 years from now would look more equal. 

I'm genuinely of the view that, had women been more easily afforded the opportunity to attain positions of power and influence for the last two millennia, society would be better for it. 

Not committing to this as an order but a working too five would be:

- Lenin (the all time political genius IMO)

- Messi 

- Da Vinci

- Newton

- Me

certainly a genius at getting investors, the initial lots of whom didn’t make money, to bankroll a long term loss making business to the point where it crushes the competition. Amazon is a well designed business structurally but it’s commercial success was just brute force.

I don’t tend to be in awe of business people but Bill Gates is probably the most heroic figure of the postwar business world. In the west anyway.

Marvin Bower, the bloke who made McKinsey, also a bit of a legend. 

"I'm genuinely of the view that, had women been more easily afforded the opportunity to attain positions of power and influence for the last two millennia, society would be better for it."

 

I love how this was stated as if it is some kind of profound or controversial opinion.

Really? So, what youre saying is that if, over the last 2000 years, women had had more influence society would be better?

Put down the placards ladies. I guess feminism has finally won!

Someone’s listed Messi above. He’s probably not as clever as Richard Feynman or Crick and Watson.

Why do you assume, Crypto, that genius is only about right brain science skills?

Diceman - genius is normally evidenced by the beautiful simplicity of the insight or idea, rather than how complex or convoluted it is. Natural selection is a good example. 

Sir Woke XR Remainer FBPE MBE16 Sep 21 09:24

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“Impossible in any event to rank geniuses. A silly exercise.”

Pointless non-contribution of the week.
 

 

Why thank you, sir. Coming from you that means a lot. 

Although I feel I should point out that, strictly speaking, it was a contribution in the week before last.

Depending on one’s view, it was perhaps the only contribution that matters, objectively speaking.