The Woman Who Holds the Highest IQ Record in History

The Monty Hall Problem: Marilyn vos Savant and the Mathematical Controversy

Back in September 1990, Marilyn vos Savant tackled the Monty Hall problem in her column. It sparked quite a debate. The problem seems simple enough.

The Scenario:

• Three doors. One hides a car. Two hide goats.
• You pick a door. The host shows you a goat behind another door.
• Now you get to stick with your choice or switch.

The Question:

Better to switch or stay put?

Marilyn's Answer:

"Yes, you should switch."

People went nuts. Like, really nuts. Over 10,000 letters poured in. About 1,000 from PhDs. Most thought she'd lost her mind. They said things like:

"You completely messed up!"

"You are that goat (fool)!"

One even wrote: "Perhaps women view mathematical problems differently than men."

Was She Wrong?

Nope.

It kind of works like this:

1. Probability stuff:

If you first pick the car (1/3 chance), switching means you lose.

If you first pick a goat (2/3 chance), the host shows you the other goat. Switching gets you the car.

So switching gives you a 2/3 shot at winning. Staying put? Just 1/3.

2. People checked:

MIT ran computer tests. Same answer. MythBusters tried it out. Same result. The academics who attacked her? They eventually apologized.

Why's It So Hard to Get?

People mess up the math. They think it's 50-50 after a door opens. It's not.

Some folks mentally restart the problem halfway through. Can't do that.

And weirdly, having just three doors makes it harder to understand. Strange but true.

The Mind Behind the Answer:

Marilyn's IQ? A mind-blowing 228. Tested at age 10. Way higher than Einstein (160-190), Hawking (160), or Musk (155). It's the highest ever recorded, though Guinness doesn't track that anymore.

At just 10 years old, she:

• Memorized entire books
• Read all 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica

Life wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Public school kid. College dropout. Had to help with the family business.

In '85, she started her "Ask Marilyn" column. Seemed like a good fit for her writing dreams. Then the Monty Hall thing blew up.

Aftermath:

Despite all the mockery, she was right all along. Her clear thinking showed the gap between what feels right and what is right. Now the Monty Hall problem pops up in math classes everywhere.

Marilyn vos Savant's still out there, brilliant as ever. Turns out even geniuses get hate mail when they're right about something that feels wrong.