Do you think you are smarter than the gedolim?

Well, I think I am smarter than Dr. YoungHoon Kim

Have you ever been challenged by someone, who, after you provided them with actual evidence, retorted “well do you think you are smarter than the Gedolim/R Chaim Kanievsky/R Akiva Eiger/etc”?

Well, show him this news article from Human Events:

Man with world's highest IQ declares 'Jesus Christ is God'

Dr. YoungHoon Kim, recognized as the individual with the highest recorded IQ in history, has publicly affirmed his belief in Jesus Christ, stating that Christ is “God, the way and the truth and the life.”

The declaration, posted to Kim’s official X account, comes shortly after his confirmation as the current holder of the world’s highest IQ.

“As the world’s highest IQ record holder, I believe that Jesus Christ is God, the way and the truth and the life,” Kim wrote.

Kim’s IQ has been independently verified at 276 by multiple international organizations, including the Official World Record, the World Memory Championships, and the World Memory Sports Council (WMSC)—all of which maintain official partnerships with Guinness World Records, a press release stated.

In a prior post, Kim shared his official IQ certification, writing: “My World's Highest IQ certificate by Official World Record® and World Memory Championships & World Memory Sports Council, which is in official partnership with Guinness World Records. Thank you everyone for your trust in me.”

Do you think you are smarter than Younghoon Kim?¹ Well, then, why don’t you too believe in JC?

(And if you think that Kim is smart, wait til you see the second smartest man in the world!).

Obviously, being smart is not all there is to knowledge.

Sometimes you can know more than the Gedolim. You may not be smarter than R Akiva Eiger, but you can certainly have more knowledge about things that he never heard of. You can also possibly think differently as well in ways he would never have thought of.

That’s why “Do you think you are smarter than gadolx” is a meaningless question. One should deal with evidence and not ignore it based on intelligence. A far better question would be “How did gadol x deal with said evidence” and usually the answer is he didn’t know it or that his biases overpowered the weight of the evidence. A gadol does not a Bayesian make.

1. I personally think I am, Obligatory Reddit Thread.