Category

IQ scores of
scientists.

Researchers and theorists whose names have become shorthand for genius — and the numbers that came with them.

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Kim Peek, in large amber-framed glasses, a dark jacket, a white shirt and a patterned tie, speaking indoors in January 2007
Scientists

Kim Peek

87Reported 1988 overall score
Johannes Kepler, with a pointed beard and a wide white ruff collar, in a dark doublet with one hand resting on a globe, in a painted portrait
Scientists

Johannes Kepler

175Circulating estimate
Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, with long brown hair, in a striped red, cream and white top, photographed in July 2017
Scientists

Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski

145–165Our estimate
In this category

42 profiles

Each entry opens onto the full story behind the figure.

Albert Einstein photographed by Ferdinand Schmutzer in 1921
Scientists

Albert Einstein

160Most-cited figure
Nikola Tesla photographed around 1890
Scientists

Nikola Tesla

310Most-cited figure
Richard Feynman’s Los Alamos National Laboratory identification badge photograph, taken during the Second World War
Scientists

Richard Feynman

125Documented school score
Stephen Hawking at a press conference in Paris, 2006
Scientists

Stephen Hawking

160Most-cited figure
Terence Tao photographed at a 2026 IPAM fireside chat
Scientists

Terence Tao

230Most-cited figure
Neil deGrasse Tyson photographed in 2023
Scientists

Neil deGrasse Tyson

123Most-cited figure
J. Robert Oppenheimer photographed in the 1940s
Scientists

J. Robert Oppenheimer

165Most-cited figure
Alan Turing, studio portrait
Scientists

Alan Turing

185Most-cited figure
Michio Kaku, photographed at a public lecture in 2020
Scientists

Michio Kaku

195Most-cited figure
Emmy Noether, undated studio portrait
Scientists

Emmy Noether

170Most-cited figure
Werner Heisenberg, undated studio portrait
Scientists

Werner Heisenberg

180Most-cited figure
Brian Cox photographed in a studio portrait
Scientists

Brian Cox

183Most-cited figure
Jordan Peterson, photographed in 2018
Scientists

Jordan Peterson

150Self-reported
John von Neumann in a Los Alamos identity badge photograph, c. 1940s
Scientists

John von Neumann

300Most-cited figure
Grigori Perelman photographed at Berkeley, California, in September 1993
Scientists

Grigori Perelman

238Most-cited figure
Bill Nye at the 2017 Montclair Film Festival
Scientists

Bill Nye

115–130Circulating range
Mark Rober photographed in 2025
Scientists

Mark Rober

165Unsourced figure
Edward Witten giving a speech at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, April 2008
Scientists

Edward Witten

140–191Circulating estimates
Noam Chomsky speaking in Amherst, Massachusetts, April 13, 2017
Scientists

Noam Chomsky

140Circulating figure
John Forbes Nash Jr. at a game theory symposium at the University of Cologne, November 2, 2006
Scientists

John Nash

150–180Circulating estimates
Carl Gustav Jung, photographed around 1935
Scientists

Carl Jung

165Most-cited figure
Carl Sagan speaking at Cornell University, photographed around 1987
Scientists

Carl Sagan

170Most-cited figure
Katherine Johnson in a NASA portrait taken in 1983
Scientists

Katherine Johnson

135–155Our estimate
Richard Dawkins smiling in a blue jacket, photographed at a dinner in October 2022
Scientists

Richard Dawkins

130–145Our estimate
Niels Bohr in a portrait photograph from about 1922
Scientists

Niels Bohr

160–180Our estimate
Enrico Fermi standing in front of laboratory control equipment in a photograph from the 1940s
Scientists

Enrico Fermi

190Figure on one IQ-list site
Geoffrey Hinton resting his head on his hand, photographed in May 2026
Scientists

Geoffrey Hinton

150–165Our estimate
Portrait of Leonhard Euler painted by Jakob Emanuel Handmann in 1753
Scientists

Leonhard Euler

180–210Circulating estimates
Paul Dirac in a portrait photograph from 1933
Scientists

Paul Dirac

180–200Circulating estimate
Erwin Schrödinger in round glasses and a bow tie in a photograph from 1933
Scientists

Erwin Schrödinger

155–175Our estimate
Roger Penrose at the Festival della Scienza in October 2011
Scientists

Roger Penrose

155–175Our estimate
Michael Faraday seated, in a photograph from the 1850s
Scientists

Michael Faraday

170Circulating list figure
Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, in a gray blazer over a black-and-white checked shirt, smiling slightly against a blurred green and glass background
Scientists

Andrew Huberman

130–145Our estimate
Michael Stevens, creator of the Vsauce channel, bald with a dark beard and black-framed glasses, in a black T-shirt, looking straight at the camera in July 2016
Scientists

Vsauce

125–140Our estimate
Derek Muller, creator of the Veritasium channel, smiling, with short dark hair and a beard, in a dark T-shirt printed with a line drawing of a lunar lander, in a still from a 2016 video
Scientists

Veritasium

134Reported in his own video
Yann LeCun, a computer scientist with short brown-grey hair and thick black-framed glasses, smiling, in a navy blazer over an open-collared grey shirt, photographed in June 2024
Scientists

Yann LeCun

150–165Our estimate
Karl Deisseroth, smiling, with thick dark hair and a short greying beard, in an open-collared white shirt with his arms folded, photographed in December 2025
Scientists

Karl Deisseroth

150–165Our estimate
William Shockley in a black-and-white 1956 portrait, with short swept-back hair and thick dark-rimmed glasses, in a dark suit, white shirt and patterned tie
Scientists

William Shockley

125–129Reported childhood scores
Jane Goodall, with long grey hair pulled back, in a tan roll-neck sweater under a teal jacket, photographed in Washington in October 2015
Scientists

Jane Goodall

135–150Our estimate
Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, with long brown hair, in a striped red, cream and white top, photographed in July 2017
Scientists

Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski

145–165Our estimate
Johannes Kepler, with a pointed beard and a wide white ruff collar, in a dark doublet with one hand resting on a globe, in a painted portrait
Scientists

Johannes Kepler

175Circulating estimate
Kim Peek, in large amber-framed glasses, a dark jacket, a white shirt and a patterned tie, speaking indoors in January 2007
Scientists

Kim Peek

87Reported 1988 overall score

Portrait by Ferdinand Schmutzer (1921), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Napoleon Sarony (c. 1890), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Los Alamos National Laboratory badge photograph, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by ²°¹°°, Paris, 2006, public domain. Cropped from the original. · Photograph by the Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (2026), CC BY 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph from the US National Archives (catalog 558579), public domain. · Photograph by Elliott & Fry, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Jay Murdock, CC BY-SA 4.0. · Photograph, publisher Mathematical Association of America, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photographer unknown, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Duncan.Hull, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Los Alamos National Laboratory badge photograph, c. 1940s, public domain (PD-LosAlamos). Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by George Bergman (Berkeley, September 1993; re-scanned), CC BY-SA 4.0. · Photograph by Montclair Film Festival (photo by Neil Grabowsky, May 2017), CC BY 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Newhcrossaint (2025), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Ojan (Chalmers University of Technology, April 2008), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Σ (Amherst, Massachusetts, April 13, 2017), retouched by Wugapodes and Jonnmann, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Elke Wetzig (University of Cologne, November 2, 2006), CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by an unknown photographer (c. 1935) from the ETH-Bibliothek image archive (Portr_14163), released with a Public Domain Mark. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Kenneth C. Zirkel (Cornell University, c. 1987), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait by NASA (NASA Langley Research Center, 1983, image 1983-L-04373), public domain (U.S. federal government work). Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Steve Jurvetson (Flickr; taken October 28, 2022), CC BY 2.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait, about 1922, credited by the American Institute of Physics to AB Lagrelius & Westphal (Stockholm), as reproduced in Niels Bohr’s Nobel Prize biography (Commons file); public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Public Affairs (1943–1949), restored by Yann (Commons file), public domain (U.S. federal government work), cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Christopher Michel (Cmichel67) (May 13, 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait of Leonhard Euler by Jakob Emanuel Handmann (1753; Kunstmuseum Basel), public domain (the painter died in 1781). · Portrait, 1933, from the Nobel Foundation (Commons file); public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph, 1933, photographer not recorded, from the Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe (National Digital Archives of Poland, signature 1-E-939; Commons file); public domain. · Photograph by Cirone-Musi, Festival della Scienza (October 29, 2011), CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped from a larger picture. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph, about the 1850s, photographer not recorded (Commons file); public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Andrew Huberman by Jamesbrianbounds (2016), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Michael Stevens by Wikimedia Commons user 阿謙 (July 17, 2016), CC BY 3.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Still of Derek Muller of Veritasium from the vlogbrothers video “Loving Loving Things in Los Angeles” by Hank Green (vlogbrothers) (March 2016, published April 1, 2016), CC BY 3.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Yann LeCun by Jérémy Barande / École polytechnique (June 24, 2024), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Karl Deisseroth by Christopher Michel (December 2025), CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait of William Shockley, 1956, from the Nobel Foundation (Commons file); public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Jane Goodall by the U.S. Department of State (Washington, October 27, 2015), public domain as a work of the U.S. federal government. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph of Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski by Cambridge02138 (July 31, 2017), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait of Johannes Kepler, credited on Commons to August Köhler and dated there to 1910, from the Kepler Museum in Weil der Stadt (Commons file). Public domain. Cropped for the portrait above. · Photograph of Kim Peek by Dmadeo (January 16, 2007), CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above.

More profiles are on the way. A name joins this category once its figure has been traced and a properly licensed portrait is cleared.

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Scientists IQ, asked and answered

How are IQ scores for scientists estimated?

Not by testing anyone. Each figure on this page is inferred from the documented record — published work, contemporary accounts, verified qualifications — using a named method set out under how we read a number. Every profile shows its own workings.

Which of these scientists has the highest IQ?

Terence Tao holds the highest estimate in this category at 170–190. That ordering comes from the midpoint of each range and it re-sorts itself as profiles are added, so treat it as a convenience rather than a verdict. The full leaderboard ranks every category together.

How many scientists profiles are there?

42 so far, and the list grows as figures are traced and portraits licensed. Browse the rest of the section from all categories, or start at the Celebrity IQ hub.

How do I compare my own IQ with these scientists?

Get a measured number first. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions and reports on the same 100-mean scale used on every profile here, with a percentile and an ability breakdown. How we score and norm it explains the benchmarking, and average IQ by country shows how the same scale looks across populations.

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