"For something ubiquitous that we don't notice, yet 'indispensable' and with huge recent improvements, I'd nominate 'intentional genetics' [the altering of genetic information to produce a desired effect—ed.]. This invention dates back 9,000 years and affects essentially all of our food, pets, children and medical practice. It is beginning to impact our energy and materials. It is quite likely that millions would die if we removed this invention (or even the past few years of improvements) from the earth—probably more impact than if we removed all iPhones."
George Church
Director, Center for Computational Genetics
Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
"I could not survive without a ballpoint pen in my back pocket. It's invaluable for scribbling notes on the front of my hand (my version of the PalmPilot...) to remind me to do things I used to be able to remember unaided before my age converged with my IQ while traveling in opposite directions."
John P. Moore
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City
"Indoor plumbing! It's the most important gadget we've got—everything else is child's play."
Michael E. Webber
Associate Director, Center for International Energy & Environmental Policy
University of Texas at Austin
"The three higher-tech things that I most depend on are my couple-year-old MacBook Pro, my couple-year-old 32 gigabyte iPhone, and my several-year-old Bose wave radio. My wife's Volvo XC70 is also pretty nice."
M. Granger Morgan
Professor and Head of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
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19 Comments
Add CommentWell, this article was a waste of time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy feelings exactly. Compounded by the title of "the world's smartest people" I'm doubly disappointed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisQuite so. In fact, I would challenge the description "world's smartest people." If by that they mean "world's most chic people," then that's the only area of 'smartness' where this group can compete. [I suspect they don't win there, either]
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI thought it was really telling. There are multitudes of high tech gadgets claiming to bring information closer and closer expanding the mind and its possibilities. But it seems this article implies that the formula is hard work, natural ability, and basic tools to capture the mind's vision.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYep, barring the bike, Volvo, and indoor plumbing, information tech is the common element. But we're talking the World's Smartest People (by what metric BTW?); they don't just use their "gadgets" to retrieve content but to generate their own.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf generating ideas is your passion then tech that gives you the ..."ability to communicate and 'archive' thought" is indeed indispensable.
Einstein kept a pad and pencil in his hat.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGadgets don't make us smart.
I think "language" should be at the top of the list and "print" as the second on the list. Without those, there is no sharing of ideas, no learning, no way to pass on knowledge. We would still be grunting in caves or swinging through the trees. The pen mentioned about is about the closest any of them came to these basic technologies we (civilized man) could not live without.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThese are smart people? This article was a waste of time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith two votes for the iPhone and one for the pen, te following may interest all three respondents:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.deeppocketseries.com/Better_Letters.php
Nice write up. One guy even tries pumping his own device, very disingenuous.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRe the description of these as the gadgets of the world's smartest people, my friend Maxwell -- who is 86 -- suggests that there are TWO possibilities: 1) these people get smart 2) smart gets things.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDang, my shoe phone is ringing again....
The smart move would be to change your advisory board members to people with IQ's above 80, please!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistouche'
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEssential technology? Easy. Toilet Paper.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFollowed by the flush toilet.
Followed by the recall petition.
I can't believe how many responders felt these people were not intelligent just because they aren't addicted to their electronics. The ballpoint pen is a tool and the iPad I am writing this on is a tool. If we ever have a massive outage, the pen will still work.....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was also disappointed by this article. There are many things that are, or were at the time of their invention, fairly low tech that have nevertheless transformed the way we live. Among them are the light bulb, polyphase electric power that drives industry, transportation (auto & airplane) among many others that didn't even come close to appearing on the list.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon't blame the poor advisers, who I suspect are just as chagrined by the "world's smartest" label as many of us are. Boo to the lazy editor who came up with the lame label.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat is a VC, who appears to view SciAm solely as a vehicle for the promotion of whatever snake oil he happens to be pushing this week, doing on the Board of Advisers? Shouldn't those occupying these responsible positions be - I dunno - scientists?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFunny how all the negative comments on the intellect of the people cited comes from the "Peanut Gallery". Don't see any professors listed there. Of course, no one seems to understand the meaning of the word "gadget". By definition a gadget is a novelty, something small and new, toilets and the transportation industry hardly fit that definition. And based on the title, what did the "Peanut Gallery" really expect to read? Some great dissertation on the "MEANING OF IT ALL" or a mildly entertaining read on the personal choices of some very smart people...this Peanut would like to know.
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