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28 Very Smart People Who Believe Very Dumb Things

They can’t all be winners

28 Very Smart People Who Believe Very Dumb Things

December 02, 2023

There are few things more prestigious than a Nobel Prize. And while many great minds have been honored with this distinction, there are some who feel that the Nobel committee has gotten it wrong on more than a few occasions. After all, people who should know better than to believe in stupid things definitely have been known to still fall for them. Along those lines, here are some examples of otherwise smart people believing in dumb things…

28

Tom Cruise on antidepressants: 2005 THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE CRACKED.COM The guy who believes that our bodies are riddled with ancient alien ghosts would have us believe that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in a body. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

27

Bill Gates on SPAM: 2004 CRACKED.COM Gates had some high hopes for spam filters back in 2004: Two years from now, spam will be solved. Не envisioned a system where users would charge spammers a small fee for every email. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

26

Pythagoras

Pythagoras' weird religion: 6TH CENTURY BC CRACKED.COM The mathematician (and bane of seventh graders in perpetuity) actually started up a weird little cult-like religion. Among his commandments were to eat a vegan diet, but do NOT eat beans, and NEVER let a swallow nest under your roof! — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

25

Believe it or not, Socrates had a marked distrust of writing, fearing it would cause forgetfulness and only a semblance of wisdom. According to him, readers would have learned nothing and they will be tiresome company. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

24

After electric lights were installed in the White House for the first time, President Benjamin Harrison was afraid of getting shocked by the light switches. Refusing to touch them, Harrison left the White House staff in charge of turning the lights on and off. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

23

CRACKED.COM Werner Heisenberg, father of quantum mechanics, nearly failed his PhD thesis defense because he couldn't explain how a battery worked. — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

22

Mayim Bialik on placenta eating: 2012 CRACKED.COM The PhD-holding actress, who is often cited as evidence that The Big Bang Theory is a smart show for smart people, didn't research camels or a single aquatic mammal before writing human beings are the only mammals that have chosen not to ingest their placenta... end of story. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

21

Michelangelo's bathing habits: 16TH CENTURY CRACKED COM The brilliant painter reportedly slept in his clothes so frequently that the skin came away, like a snake's when his boots were removed. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

20

Empedocles' bathing habits: 400 BC CRACKED.COM Не was a prolific scientist, philosopher - and blasphemer. Не proposed that light had a speed limit, the earth was spherical, and that, being a god, he could take a dip in a volcano. (Не could not). — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

19

Tycho Brahe's dinner entertainment: 16TH CENTURY CRACKED.COM The groundbreaking Danish astronomer hired a dwarf to dress like a clown and just kind of hang out under his dining table. This was a full-time staff position. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

18

Lord Byron's dorm room loophole: 1805 CRACKED.COM The acclaimed poet tried to bring his dog to Trinity College with him, but was told it was against the rules. Не found an Air Bud-style loophole and insisted bears weren't not allowed. Не bought a bear to live in his dorm with him. Не took him on walks and everything. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

17

David Bowie on the future of copyright: 2002 CRACKED.COM Bowie predicted some major changes to the music industry. While he didn't see Songs of Innocence being force fed to every iPhone user, he did say I'm fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

16

Atari to Jobs and Wozniak: 1976 ATARI® CRACKED.COM When Jobs offered to sell him the rights to his personal computer, Atari president Joe Keenan said get out of here, you stink, and we're not going to buy your product. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

15

Jane Austen may have been a good writer, but she was really bad at, um... writing. When literature expert Kathryn Sutherland examined her handwritten manuscripts and letters from her publisher, it was found that Austen's writing was riddled with spelling errors and bad grammar. Austen relied a lot on her publisher's editing, and her earlier works that were untouched by the publisher were more inconsistent in terms of grammar, punctuation and spelling. GRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

14

Famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell was weak at math because he found it boring and saw no point in studying it. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

13

Jeopardy!

Kevin O'Leary has a great nose for business. Luckily for him, general knowledge isn't a category for investments. $12,800 -$2,800 KEVIN AARON Celebrity ty Mr.Wonserfull In 2015, he was a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy! and bombed, correctly answering only a few (music) questions. CRACKED.CON — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

12

Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov promotes a controversial version of world history called the New Chronology, according to which... CRACKED.COM - All classical and medieval literature is a forgery produced after the Renaissance. - Troy, Jerusalem, Constantinople and London were originally one and the same. - The Old and New Testaments describe the same events. - Jesus did exist but was also the Prophet Elijah and Pope Gregory VII, and lived in the 11th century in what is now Istanbul. — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

11

Famous chemist, two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, had an optimistic idea that vitamin с cures terminal cancer. Pauling promoted vitamin с as a cure for cancer until his death. Не died from prostate cancer. GRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

10

GRACKED.COM Bill Maher has a Cornell University degree in English and History. He's also an anti-vaxxer and germ theory denialist. When Robert Kennedy Jr. was on Real Time to spread the vaccines cause autism myth, Bill said he applauds Kennedy for championing this. Of germ theory, Bill said it's not the invading germs, it's the terrain. (Ie. Lifestyle.) — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

9

Elizabeth Fleischmann's marketing prowess: 1905 CRACKED.COM The self-taught radiophotographer opened California's first X-ray lab. People already knew that prolonged exposure was unhealthy, but she insisted on not wearing protective gear, so she wouldn't freak out her clients. She died at 46 from a bear attack. Just kidding, it was radiation poisoning. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

8

Yukio Mishima's attempted coup: 1970 CRACKED.COM The young, wildly successful Japanese author spent two years recruiting a cult of 4 extremely fit teens to restore power to the Japanese Emperor. Unfortunately, the Emperor was a) not consulted, re: the coup, and b) super not interested in regaining any sort of political power. — Source: 14 Smart People Who Said And Did Utterly Dumb Things

7

Elon Musk has plenty of genius ideas ...but nuking Mars isn't one of them In 2015 Musk proposed that we should nuke Mars to make it warm up faster. Nuking a planet is NEVER a good idea! CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

6

Patron saint of science nerds NIKOLA TESLA thought eugenics would be the wave of the future. In a 1935 magazine article Tesla wrote: The year 2100 will see eugenics universally established. Не went on to say A century from now it will no more occur to a normal person to mate with a person eugenically unfit than to marry a habitual criminal. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

5

Beethoven was so bad at math, he couldn't track his spending and income. Не left school early, and never learned how to multiply and divide. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

4

Mark Twain kept making risky business investments, even after they ruined him over and over. Не said his nature was to speculate in something. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

3

Henry Ford couldn't read blueprints. Не built machines by hand, without a design. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

2

ARISTOTLE BELIEVED WOMEN HAD LESS TEETH THAN MEN. Не was married twice, but it never occurred to him to check that fact by himself by simply asking either of them to open their mouths. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

1

General Patton was a genius when it came to war but dumb in his belief that shell shock wasn't a legitimate condition. Не was even reprimanded for slapping two shell shocked soldiers. CRACKED.COM — Source: 17 Geniuses Who Are Surprisingly Stupid (In One, Glaring Way)

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