Who would you consider to be smarter?

<p>A brilliant mathematician, or a revolutionary writer such as Fitzgerald, the Bronte sisters, etc? </p>

<p>Or how about...
A brilliant mathematician/scientist, or an amazing historian/linguist?</p>

<p>Why do people generally think that mathematicians/scientists are smarter than people who flourish in the humanities?</p>

<p>I'd like to hear some insight from you guys. Thanks.</p>

<p>Bump…</p>

<p>Man lol no one likes to answer my questions</p>

<p>mathematician
how is this even a question</p>

<p>One who keens on computer.</p>

<p>@MIT, Well I personally believe a writer could be considered smarter. In math, everything is just set; there’s always an answer and there’s always certain steps to be followed by to get the answer. But in writing… it’s a way to express feelings. One has to know how to connect words together in a way that will connect with other people. And face it, without writing/reading, math wouldn’t matter.</p>

<p>That’s just my personal opinion. Anyone else like to share their opinions?</p>

<p>"And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes—a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an </p>

<p>If your a math science person, your going to think theyre smarter, if your a literature person, they will be smarter. Homer was great, and so was Newton…both were geniuses in opposite ends of the spectrum.</p>

<p>agree with ATP!</p>

<p>Yeah, I tend to agree with you, ATP. Anyone else?</p>

<p>Well I’m having two conflicting thoughts. The first is agreeing with ATP & the second is the mathematician. When you think about it, everything is math. I’ll start out with science: you can’t have biology without chemistry, and you can’t have chemistry without physics, and physics is basically applied mathematics; therefore, all science is math. Now let’s look at writing/linguistics. Sure the ideas aren’t (typically) based on math, but they’re formed in the human brain, formed by chemical reactions which can be mathematically computed. When language is broken down into it’s basic forms, math can be used to explain the dynamics of sentence structure & language in general. Music is fundamentally math too. So in my mind, a writer may seem smarter because they can essentially humanize what some may consider the callous, yet eloquent properties that govern the universe, but the mathematician can actually understand the most esoteric concepts & ultimately understand the world we all inhabit. Just my thoughts though :p. </p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>

<p>Wow!!! @Beatles11…I love your thoughts!!</p>

<p>Bump! 10char</p>

<p>Is understanding the math actually understanding the most esoteric concepts and the world as we know it, or just understanding the math behind those concepts and the world as we know it? Is there a difference? Do mathematically computed chemical reactions in the brain tell us anything predictive about the content of thought or expression?</p>

<p>Actually, math / science brains impress me more because I can kind of understand great writing whereas I have no understanding of the advanced mathematics behind the sciences. That is probably why quantitative thinkers are more impressive than qualitative thinkers -more people can do the latter with some degree of competency than the former.</p>

<p>It’s really a left-brained , right-brained thing. Depending which one is stronger makes you smarter in either the math/science realm or in the art/literature side. However, we wouldn’t be riding in cars, have computers or build bridges if we depended on artists. So while we may love artists and writers for their emotional side, the majority depend on scientists for daily comforts.</p>

<p>We depend on artists and writers for entertainment content, and scientists for delivering it to us. We depend on businesses, workers, and scientists for the energy providing our daily comfort.</p>

<p>there is no such thing as universal intelligence. however, there is specialized intelligence, where someone is smart in a particular field or able to do something well. you can’t say that someone is just smarter than someone else per se. </p>

<p>As Einstein said, “you can’t judge a fish for it’s ability to climb a tree”</p>

<p>While there is relativism concerning intelligence, there are also levels of intelligence. The poster above me touts Einstein, but Swedenborg, Goethe, and Da Vinci were all “smarter”. As far as any one field being smart in and of itself, the idea is ludicrous.</p>

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<p>The world is better place today than it was 50, 500, or 2000 years ago. Notice that the “quality” of writing and liberal arts hasn’t much improved in this much time. Rather, scientific reasoning has become more prevalent.</p>

<p>Of course it has improved. But nowadays, I think the quality of writing is declining.</p>

<p>Artists, writers , musicians, filmmakers, and their compatriots surely have contributed great deal to the improvement of society as well as scientists and engineers. For that matter, civil rights actinides and political theorists are responsible for much of the improvement in modern life. We might still have a king but for the constitution.</p>