Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Geniuses Alive Today Would Qualify As A Modern-Day Einstein

People Explain Which Geniuses Alive Today Would Qualify As A Modern-Day Einstein
Photo by rosario janza on Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the smartest of them all?

Who is today's best and brightest?

Are they in charge of Mensa?

There are a lot of brilliant people in the world.

But if we can compare; who measures up to the greats?

Two words: Albert Einstein.

The new generation.


Redditor jumpjoom wanted to hear some thoughts on who everyone thought might be today's greatest smarty pants.

So they asked:

"Who is the closest person alive to a modern-day Einstein?"

I know I'm not on this list. So easy place to start.

The Unknown

excited genius GIFGiphy

"We probably don't know about them. They're probably buried in some pharma, rocket science, technology company and are content to do their thing."

believeTheError

"I know this absolute child prodigy genius of a mathematician that went to Harvard and was easily one of the best there. He’s currently a professor of a 3rd tier state college."

gigawort

Just as good...

"Even at the time Einstein was alive, it wasn't that he had the most powerful brain or best math ability (many surpassed him here). He worked on and solved some of the most outstanding problems in physics at the time. The late 19th/early 20th century was a special time for physics; classical physics was failing apart but how to fix it wasn't known - Einstein (amongst others) offered some ways to fix things."

"Tons and tons of people are just as 'bright' as Einstein by almost any metric but their work essentially can't as impactful. We're too many decimals deep into measurements now."

Jorrissss

"Emmy Noether comes to mind as a contemporary of Einstein who was easily a better mathematician than he was."

CoastingUphill

Impossible

"I’m going to give a weird answer: John Carmack."

"Just go read some of the things he has done and is doing. From inventing some of the math and programming that gave us the modern computer gaming revolution (this is the guy behind the original doom), to running a rocket company trying to achieve orbit and complete propulsive landings similar to what Space X does today, to dropping everything to create the future of VR."

"Now he’s immersed in AI research on top of everything else. The guy is a walking talking genius who sees things on a whole different level. He spent his whole career doing 'impossible' things in software and hardware. Whether you know his name or not, his work has had a real effect on all of our lives, and likely will be even more impactful in the future as we move toward a more virtually-centered life."

Exodi

Advanced Study in Princeton...

"Ed Witten..."

"American mathematician and theoretical physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He received his Ph.D. in physics in 1976 from Princeton University. He has made landmark contributions to string theory from the 1980's to the present day, most notably the development of M-theory in 1995. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1990 for his contributions to mathematics and mathematical physics"

Heap_Good_Firewater

It's all Relative

Good Witch Smile GIF by Hallmark ChannelGiphy

"Thomas Einstein, Albert Einsteins great grandson."

XRomaniaIsInSomaliaX

"That dude is a doctor. Imagine living your life having people refer to you as 'Dr. Einstein.' I'd develop a superiority complex."

blue4029

Those Einsteins. They should do a sitcom.

Math Guy

Confused Thinking GIF by JKGiphy

"Grigori Perelman the Russian mathematician?"

OverLurking

"My man solved the Poincaré Conjecture and just dipped. I love math and I tried to read his paper and I did not understand a single word. The surgery thing seems like magic to me."

Lufernaal

Tao

"Terrence Tao."

david_rohan

"Apparently a strategy, if you're stuck on a problem at higher level maths is to get Tao interested in what you're working on."

JVM_

"From his Wiki. His research topics include 'harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, algebraic combinatorics, arithmetic combinatorics, geometric combinatorics, probability theory, compressed sensing and analytic number theory.' Just look down the rabbit hole of any one of those theories or topics and your mind will explode."

KardelSharpeyes

And the family...

"All of the Tao siblings are terrifyingly intelligent. I had the pleasure of playing a concert alongside Terence's brother, Trevor. I perform my set and am feeling pretty good about myself, and then Trevor gets up and performs gymnopedie no 1, which is a pretty difficult piece, but the dude did it while solving a Rubik's cube. Needless i say, I, and all the other performers that day, felt quite upstaged."

Haverwolf

"Trevor Tao is also an international chess master and is one of Australia’s top players."

Askyourdaughter

Thought

"Miguel Nicolelis. He created the theory and proofs of the brain net, basically telepathy. Thanks to this he managed to create a machine that a quadriplegic could walk using the power of thought. And it worked. The power of thought From someone else for this quadriplegic to relearn how to think about walking."

DELAIZ

The One and Only

albert einstein GIF by US National ArchivesGiphy

"In some fields, science can be so complex and multi-disciplinary that 100s of people have contributed to e.g. gene therapy, CO2 capture or other major contributions to society. So major discoveries can't be attributed to a single person. And most of this science, if published, generally needs affiliations to academia to be taken seriously."

"Einstein was truly one-of-a-kind from his multitude of publications in 1905. I'm 90 percent sure that he wasn't even affiliated with any university at the time. He did it solo, out of nowhere. This makes his discoveries even more impressive! Einstein experts, please confirm that he did in fact not work at a university in 1905. I believe he worked at a patent office."

TheGhettoKidd

I'm not smart enough for this thread but we applaud this next generation of geniuses!

Do you have anyone you'd like to add? Let us know in the comments below.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Alex Call; Sydney Sweeney; Megan Fox
Megan Briggs/Getty Images; XNY/Star Max/GC Images; Presley Ann/Getty Images for GQ)

Dodgers Player Blasts MLB Over Provocative Ads Featuring Sydney Sweeney And Megan Fox

Los Angeles Dodgers player Alex Call has called out Major League Baseball and all its broadcasters for a series of ads featuring actors Sydney Sweeney and Megan Fox.

Call called the provocative ads "soft-core porn" and said they're making it impossible for him to watch baseball with his young son. Call's post was in response to one by X creator Taylor Murphy, owner of a security company based in Utah.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD Vance

JD Vance Dragged After Awkwardly Stumbling Over The Phrase 'English Proficiency'—And It's Irony At Its Finest

In April 2025, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to step up enforcement of stricter English language requirements for commercial truck drivers.

It came on the heels of Trump's largely unenforceable executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States—another part of Project 2025's White nationalist agenda.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Scott
Fox News

Republican Sen. Tim Scott's Bizarre Remark About Wanting Kids To Grow Up In Poverty Sparks Backlash

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina raised eyebrows this week for saying during a Fox News interview that he hopes the next generation can grow up in poverty "like I did."

Scott has previously spoken about his childhood, notably his childhood and adolescent experiences in working-class poverty with his mother and siblings, so you'd think he'd be much more sympathetic to Americans feeling the crunch of a nationwide affordability crisis that has provoked public discontent with the Republican Party.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump speaking to reporters
Fox News

Trump Does Complete 180 After Discovering Female Reporter He Just Blasted As 'Fake News' Works For Right-Wing Outlet

President Donald Trump was criticized after doing a complete 180 after discovering that a reporter who'd asked a question about ongoing demonstrations in France works for The Daily Wire, a far-right publication.

Students and others around France have been protesting for weeks over high living costs and declining public services. French authorities have announced plans to deploy troops amid scenes of violence as demonstrators clash with riot police.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Comer; Donald Trump
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Eric Lee/Getty Images

MAGA Rep. James Comer's Warning About Democrats Investigating Trump Has Everyone Thinking The Same Thing​

In a visit to Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy on Fox News, Kentucky MAGA Republican Representative James Comer warned the right-wing media audience that should Democrats win in the midterms, they would recklessly spend taxpayer dollars and turn a blind eye to rampant fraud.

Comer also told Gowdy:

Keep ReadingShow less