Marilyn vos Savant went to the Meramec Community College (now St. Louis Community College-Meramec).
Gallery of Marilyn vos Savant
1 Brookings Dr, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Marilyn vos Savant studied philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, though she dropped out after two years to help with a family investment business.
Marilyn vos Savant studied philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, though she dropped out after two years to help with a family investment business.
Ask Marilyn: Answers to America's Most Frequently Asked Questions
("Parade" magazine's resident genius compiles the best of ...)
"Parade" magazine's resident genius compiles the best of her question-and-answer column that logically tackles the mysteries of the universe, in a volume that includes "did you ever wonder why. . ." questions, brainteasers, and unique insights.
The World's Most Famous Math Problem: The Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and Other Mathematical Mysteries
(In this book Marilyn vos Savant explains the mathematical...)
In this book Marilyn vos Savant explains the mathematical underpinnings of Wiles's solution, discusses the history of Fermat's Last Theorem and other great math problems, and provides colorful stories of the great thinkers and amateurs who attempted to solve Fermat's puzzle.
I've Forgotten Everything I Learned in School: A Refresher Course to Help You Reclaim Your Education
(Created by the popular Parade columnist, this dual-purpos...)
Created by the popular Parade columnist, this dual-purpose program combines essential information with all the classic learning skills, and includes dozens of useful quizzes to help readers reassemble the missing fragments of their education in such areas as vocabulary, economics, reasoning, writing, and math.
("Parade" magazine's resident genius compiles the best of ...)
"Parade" magazine's resident genius compiles the best of her recent question-and-answer columns, logically tackling the mysteries of the universe, and offering brainteasers and unique insights.
Of Course I'm for Monogamy: I'm Also for Everlasting Peace and an End to Taxes
(A collection of "Ask Marilyn" columns provides the author...)
A collection of "Ask Marilyn" columns provides the author's views on transforming the Ten Commandments through positive psychology, how electric fans actually increase indoor temperatures slightly, and the false illusion of condom effectiveness
(Drawing on the thousands of reponses to the "Ask Marilyn"...)
Drawing on the thousands of reponses to the "Ask Marilyn" spelling survey, the Parade magazine columnist examines what spelling reveals about an individual's personalitiy, native intelligence, education, and desire; traces the history of English spelling; and discusses ways to improve one's own spelling ability.
(A guide based on the author's popular "Parade" column sug...)
A guide based on the author's popular "Parade" column suggests hundreds of activities, skills, and experiences that parents can apply to help their children experience classic upbringings.
Marilyn vos Savant is one of the most celebrated American writer, lecturer, playwright, and journalist. She gained popularity after having recorded the highest IQ of 228, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Since 1986, she has written "Ask Marilyn", a Parade magazine Sunday column where she solves puzzles and answers questions on various subjects.
Background
Ethnicity:
Marilyn vos Savant is of an Italian, Czechoslovak, German, and Austrian ancestry.
Marilyn vos Savant was born on August 11, 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, to parents Joseph Mach, a merchant and son of a coal miner, and Marina vos Savant, a daughter of a coal miner.
Although vos Savant's family was aware of her exceptionally high I.Q. scores on the Stanford-Benet test when she was 10 years old (she is also recognized as having the highest I.Q. score ever recorded by a child), her parents decided to withhold the information from the public in order to avoid commercial exploitation and assure her a normal childhood.
Education
Despite her unprecedented IQ, Marilyn vos Savant had as normal education as anyone. She went to her local high school and worked at her father’s general store after school. She then went to the Meramec Community College (now St. Louis Community College-Meramec), then moved on to study philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, though she dropped out after two years to help with a family investment business.
In 2003 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from The College of New Jersey.
Marilyn vos Savant launched a career in stocks, real estate, and investment. Her real interest had always been in becoming a writer, but she realized that she first needed to establish a financial base with which to support herself. Within five years her personal investments afforded her the financial independence to become a full-time writer. Vos Savant wrote novels, short stories, and magazine and newspaper pieces, mostly political satire, under a pseudonym.
In 1985 when The Guinness Book of World Records obtained her I. Q. test scores from the Mega Society, a group whose membership is restricted to those with only the highest of the high-I. Q. scores. As members' I. Q. scores must be higher than 99. 999 percent of the general population, membership has been limited to as few as 30.
Most people's intelligence scores fall within a narrow range on either side of the "normal" score of 100; by contrast, vos Savant's I. Q. score is more than double that of a person with normal intellect and 88 points higher than the genius level.
With the publication of her I. Q. scores in Guinness, vos Savant became the focus of media attention. Hardly the stereotypical stuffy supergenius, the outgoing, fun-loving vos Savant became a favorite on the talk-show circuit.
In the early 1980s, vos Savant moved to New York City and enjoyed her newfound celebrity. She began pursuing a career in writing, starting small and writing IQ quizzes for Omni magazine before landing a job at Parade as a contributing editor. There, she began a column, to which people could submit their questions, and she would answer them.
Additionally, Marilyn vos Savant became the vice president at Jarvik Research, Inc. in 1988.
In 1994 vos Savant published her book "I've Forgotten Everything I Learned in School! A Refresher Course to Help You Reclaim Your Education". Despite the catchy title, the volume, according to Booklist reviewer Denise Perry Donavin, is not a piece of "pop psychology or mnemonics", but a series of exercises designed to help readers strengthen their mental focus. Two years later vos Savant released "The Power of Logical Thinking: Easy Lessons in the Art of Reasoning...and Hard Facts about Its Absence in Our Lives". Besides, since 1996 Marilyn vos Savant was an editor and publisher of The Thinking American, Inc.
Her other publications include "The Art of Spelling: The Madness and the Method" (2000) and "Growing Up: A Classic American Childhood" (2002).
Savant was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Highest IQ" from 1986 to 1989. She entered the Guinness Book of World Records Hall of Fame in 1988.
Additionally, the Toastmasters International, an educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication and public speaking skills, named her one of "Five Outstanding Speakers of 1999".
Marilyn vos Savant was born Marilyn Mach, but she didn’t keep her father’s last name for long. Early on, she developed the belief that one should keep premarital surnames, and that sons should take the paternal name, and daughters, the maternal one.
Moreover, there has been some dispute over the years as to the authenticity of the tests given to Marilyn vos Savant, as the current versions do not allow anyone to exceed 170 for their IQ. Indeed, Marilyn vos Savant has also claimed that the measurement of IQ is a wooly subject, as intelligence is no longer so easily measured.
Quotations:
"The length of your education is less important than its breadth, and the length of your life is less important than its depth."
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."
"So how much of a role is motivation playing day-to-day, when we are talking about much smaller differences? And is it measuring, perhaps - this is just a wild, out-of-the-blue kind of a guess - does it measure one person using 17. 7 percent of their brain versus some one person who uses 17. 8 percent? Is that what I. Q. does? I doubt it. But it's one of those things where personality - or whatever you might call it - plays a great role, and I happen to have it."
"I think it would be totally wrong of me to just reap the benefits of society while other people are out there digging the roads and building the schools and all of that. I wouldn't dream of it. However, I feel that we all have this responsibility and not just those of us who happen to be able to score well on intelligence tests. I think we all bear a great responsibility to give back to society. We can not give as much as we can gain. There's no way. Society is offering us so much. I don't think we could do enough to give it back, but I think we all bear a social responsibility and I think I bear one too. And I rather think that writing is an excellent way to give back to people what they have given to me."
"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
"I believe that love - not imitation - is the sincerest form of flattery. Your imitator thinks that you can be duplicated; your lover knows you can't."
"At first, I only laughed at myself. Then I noticed that life itself is amusing. I've been in a generally good mood ever since."
"If your head tells you one thing and your heart tells you another ,before you do anything,you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart."
"Avoid using cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs as alternatives to being an interesting person."
"Be able to go shopping for a bathing suit and not become depressed afterward."
"Skill is successfully walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Intelligence is not trying."
"Think of a hypothesis as a card. A theory is a house made of hypotheses."
"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
"A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night."
"A fool is someone whose pencil wears out before its eraser does."
"What women want is what men want. They want respect."
"What is the essence of America? The essence of America is finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom 'to' and freedom 'from'."
Membership
Marilyn vos Savant has been a member of high-IQ societies Mensa International and the Mega Society. She has also been a member of board of directors of the National Council on Economic Education and a member of national advisory board of the National Association for Gifted Children.
Personality
Though undoubtedly one of, if not the, smartest human on the planet, Marilyn vos Savant has managed to stay almost completely out of the spotlight. Aside from some debate over a few of the questions posed in her column and publishing a few books, the world’s smartest human has managed to maintain a decent level of anonymity. Her parents protected her from the spotlight when they discovered they had a child prodigy on their hands and she remains free from the pressures of fame even today.
Connections
Marilyn vos Savant married at 16 and divorced ten years later. She has two children from the first marriage: Mary and Denny.
Her second marriage ended when she was 35.
On August 23, 1987 she married Robert K. Jarvik, the surgeon who developed the mechanical artificial human heart that bears his name. Together they follow pursuits both intellectual and jovial - the latter of which including ballroom dancing lessons.
Father:
Joseph Mach
Mother:
Marina vos Savant
Spouse:
Robert K. Jarvik
Robert K. Jarvik is an American scientist, researcher and entrepreneur known for his role in developing the Jarvik-7 artificial heart.
Besides, together, Marilyn vos Savant and Robert K. Jarvik became known as the smartest couple in New York City.
