Marilyn Vos Savant, The Magazine Columnist With The Highest Recorded IQ
Paul Harris/Getty ImagesMarilyn vos Savant allegedly has an IQ of 228.
Before Guinness World Records did away with their category for the highest IQ, that honor belonged to Marilyn vos Savant, who reportedly has an IQ of 228. Unlike many others on this list, though, Savant focused less on scientific or academic ventures, choosing instead to make a name for herself as a magazine columnist giving advice to readers of Parade.
While her remarkable intelligence was apparent from a young age, Savant chose to lead a relatively normal life, attending Washington University for two years before leaving to help with her family’s investment business. She rose to public attention again, however, in 1986 — when she was 40 years old — thanks to her column, “Ask Marilyn.”
Through “Ask Marilyn,” Savant fielded a wide variety of questions from Parade readers, ranging from logical puzzles to philosophical inquiries. It was instantly successful and made Savant a popular and influential person.
One of the most famous, or perhaps infamous, answers she gave during her time writing for Parade was in response to one reader’s question about the “Monty Hall problem,” a probability puzzle on which the game show Deal or No Deal is based.
The reader put forth the following hypothetical situation: A game show host shows a contestant three doors and tells them there is a prize behind one of them. If they open the correct door, they win. After the contestant makes their selection, the host opens one of the other two doors to reveal that there is nothing behind it and gives the contestant the opportunity to change their original decision. Should the contestant switch the door they first chose to have a better chance at winning the prize?
Savant stated that the contestant should switch, sparking massive backlash, as documented by a 1991 article in The New York Times. Angry readers wrote letters back to her — many of which included sexist remarks suggesting that a woman could never be the smartest person in the world.
Her career and influence would also spark further discussion about the merit of IQ tests, a debate which continues to this day.
For her part, Savant had this to say about intelligence: “When we call upon experts we hear them say whatever it is they have to say, but that doesn’t mean they have any analytical ability, that doesn’t mean they have the ability to process the information at hand — that’s really more what intelligence is.”
