# Big Bang Theory - Penny's a Genius? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929 "2019-05-14T01:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/1 "2019-05-14T01:33:49Z")
I’ve already mentioned a couple of times (I’m not searching for when) that I think when Penny’s last name is revealed to be Smith. someone will discover her relationship to [one](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2018/smith/facts/). . . [of. . .](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_O._Smith) [these. . .](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Smith_(chemist)) [guys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._Smith). But why stop there. We know the following about Penny. a) She reads comic books very slowly, compared to Amy and Bernadette b) Leonard taught her to play chess, and she beat him the first time she played c) She spent long hours reading her sales rep materials, and she seems to understand them. So will the final episode feature Penny taking some sort of IQ test designed specifically for illiterates, and it’s revealed that her IQ is actually higher than Sheldon’s, but she never applied herself because an undiagnosed learning disability made her give up on school? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/2 "2019-05-14T01:52:00Z")
We’ve already met her family. If she’s a genius, she sure didn’t get it from any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/3 "2019-05-14T02:42:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > We’ve already met her family. If she’s a genius, she sure didn’t get it from any of them. It’s not like Sheldon comes from a long line of geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/4 "2019-05-14T02:43:12Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I’ve already mentioned a couple of times (I’m not searching for when) that I think when Penny’s last name is revealed to be Smith. someone will discover her relationship to [one](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2018/smith/facts/). . . [of. . .](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_O._Smith) [these. . .](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Smith_(chemist)) [guys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._Smith). > > But why stop there. We know the following about Penny. > > a) She reads comic books very slowly, compared to Amy and Bernadette > > b) Leonard taught her to play chess, and she beat him the first time she played > > c) She spent long hours reading her sales rep materials, and she seems to understand them. > > So will the final episode feature Penny taking some sort of IQ test designed specifically for illiterates, and it’s revealed that her IQ is actually higher than Sheldon’s, but she never applied herself because an undiagnosed learning disability made her give up on school? b) Being better than Leonard (who can be distracted by Penny) is not necessary a sign of high intelligence. c) We don’t know how complicated the sales rep material really is. On the other hand, Penny is clearly reasonably intelligent - just not interested in the kind of things that the other characters are interested in. But a sudden revelation of high intelligence is too big a bombshell for the final episode. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/5 "2019-05-14T06:54:36Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > It’s not like Sheldon comes from a long line of geniuses. I know, I thought of that since I posted. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/6 "2019-05-14T16:16:17Z")
Penny is as intelligent or dumb as the plot or joke needs her to be; it can be a little annoying. I understand the showrunning reasons for it, but a little more consistency would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/7 "2019-05-14T16:26:00Z")
It’s been a long-running joke that Penny, the pretty blonde white girl, has always been the manliest character on the show (of the primary cast). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/8 "2019-05-14T17:21:15Z")
The original idea for the show was the bright ugly nerd falling for the dumb blonde. Indeed, the early reviews did not give it much hope with such a hack worn out premise. And the idea that Penny got smarter from her friendship with the nerds and her love for Leonard is entirely plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/9 "2019-05-14T17:28:26Z")
A long time ago, I read that Cuoco didn’t want Penny’s name to be revealed so I doubt that they will. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/10 "2019-05-14T18:18:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > We’ve already met her family. If she’s a genius, she sure didn’t get it from any of them. But she may have gotten some smarts from her great-great uncle the Nobel laureate. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > b)But a sudden revelation of high intelligence is too big a bombshell for the final episode. It won’t be for anyone here, because I would have called it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/11 "2019-05-14T20:22:02Z")
She’s always been portrayed as above-average in intelligence. She only appears unintelligent by comparison with the other cast members. And she’s much higher than them in Wis and Cha. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/12 "2019-05-14T21:32:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > She’s always been portrayed as above-average in intelligence. She only appears unintelligent by comparison with the other cast members. And she’s much higher than them in Wis and Cha. It took 2 PhD’s to get her a B- on a community college paper. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/13 "2019-05-14T22:11:45Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > It took 2 PhD’s to get her a B- on a community college paper. Didn’t they say they dumbed it down? If they didn’t, she did. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/14 "2019-05-14T22:20:02Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Didn’t they say they dumbed it down? If they didn’t, she did. They did it to make it believable. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/15 "2019-05-14T23:26:26Z")
I like the OP’s idea. Penny having a high IQ would be hilarious, but it shouldn’t be a learning disability that kept it hidden…it should turn out she never applied herself because it was easier to get by on her looks. Think of it this way, high IQ is not a way to manipulate her hayseed hometown boys…but tits work very nicely.:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/16 "2019-05-15T01:32:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And she’s much higher than them in Wis and Cha. I Googled those terms and all I can find are a radio station and tea. Types of intelligence, please? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/17 "2019-05-15T01:43:42Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I Googled those terms and all I can find are a radio station and tea. Types of intelligence, please? D & D terms for WISdom and CHArisma. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/18 "2019-05-15T01:55:00Z")
Yeah, in D&D, there are three statistics to describe how “mentally strong” you are: Intelligence (abbreviated “Int”) measures bookishness, logical ability, and the like, roughly the same stuff that’s on an IQ test. Wisdom (Wis) measures common sense, perceptiveness, intuition, and the like. Charisma (Cha) is “how much the Universe likes you”: Your ability to influence and manipulate people, be perceived the way you want to, and some kinds of magical ability. It’s quite common to have a character who’s very high on one of those stats, but very low on another. So Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj all have very high Int scores, but only middling Wis, and Cha ranging from low to abysmal. Penny, on the other hand, has decent Int and Wis, and high Cha. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/19 "2019-05-15T02:01:45Z")
I recall an article in Dragon magazine about how to treat abnormally high or low CHA ( normal range is 3D6 - or 3 to 18). The Doctor would have CHA \> 18 allowing him to convince people of all sorts of things, while Cthulu would have negative charisma (weaponized ugliness). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929/20 "2019-05-15T13:31:35Z")
I’m pretty sure I heard Sheldon using her last name (and a couple of middle names). Penny Penny Penny Penny… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-pennys-a-genius/833929.md?page=2)