Roger Penrose has been my scientific hero for a very long time.  He might not be the smartest, for 47-year old Terence Tao, the   Mozart of Maths,   at 230, has a higher IQ.  Setting aside intelligence quotients,   one list  early this year has Stephen Hawking ( IQ only 160-170 ), who passed away five years ago, as the smartest ever.  In this ranking, Tao only comes in at #27, with Benjamin Netanyahu   (the leader of Israel, 180 ) #12, James Woods ( 180, the actor ) #18 and Marilyn Vos Savant (w ho Guinness had in 1986 as possessing the highest IQ in the world at 186 ) #20.  No sign of Penrose. Who is Roger Penrose ?  From  Wikipedia : Was born in England and is now 91 years old. Is an emeritus professor of math at Oxford. Won a Nobel Prize in 2020 for "discovering" the concept of the Black Hole. In his twenties communicated with MC Escher to create the  Penrose Triangle .  Simple, yet impossible. His 1974  Penrose ti...