# Heroes who are intellectuals **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995 "2009-05-11T04:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/41 "2009-05-11T22:50:51Z")
The “cozy” style of mystery positively thrives on intellectual detectives who love learning and books. Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn, Martha Grimes’s Richard Jury & Melrose Plant, Ellery Queen’s uh Ellery Queen, and Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael are all pretty hooked on the pursuit of knowledge (or at least trivia). P.D. James’s Inspector Dalgliesh was a freakin’ poet. Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion adored books as well, although he feigned being a whimsical, ignorant ass as part of his masquerade. So did Edmund Crispin’s Gervase Fen, although the “whimsical ass” thing wasn’t always feigned. And God knows Dorothy Sayers’s Peter Wimsey and his dull-ass girlfriend Harriet Vane were intellectual and nauseatingly proud of it, with their Greek-quoting and epigram-spouting ways. (Sorry, I hate Sayers.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/42 "2009-05-11T22:52:23Z")
> [@](#): > > **Ducktail** > The Doctor pretty much qualifies as an intellectual (interested in knowledge for its own sake), although he might object to being labeled a hero. Doctor who? ```auto [QUOTE] **Lamia** How about Agatha Christie's Inspector Poirot? He solves most of his cases by using his "little grey cells", as he puts it. [/QUOTE] First of all, Poirot is not an Inspector, he is a private eye. (He may have been a police detective when he was a young man in Belgium, but none of the stories deal with that part of his life.) Apart from that, I do not think Poirot meets the OP's criteria. Yes, he is supposedly very intelligent, and uses that intelligence to solve his cases, but there is no evidence, so far as I am aware, of any particular interest in stereotypically intellectual matters. ``` I would like to nominate Jeeves, who reads Spinoza for pleasure, and is clearly very well read in general. Also, P.D. James’ detective hero, Adam Dalgliesh, who has published several volumes of poetry. I am a bit surprised that no-one has yet mentioned Indiana Jones (although perhaps the only real evidence for his intellectuality is that he is an archaeology professor). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/43 "2009-05-11T23:08:39Z")
Darn, **choie** beat me to Dalgliesh. As to Poirot, I don’t see anything intellectual about an interest in gardening, and puzzle solving is, in my opinion, almost anti-intellectual. It is a way of playing with your intelligence without actually engaging with ideas. Writing literary criticism probably does qualify him as an intellectual though. I did not know about that. Wimsey and Vane are just showing of their upperclass educations, I think (and the fact that, unlike most of their class, they are not so dumb that they have forgotten it all). They are meant to be clever and very upper class and snobbish, and all the quotations show that off. I am not convinced that it amounts to (or is even intended to amount to) intellectuality, however. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/44 "2009-05-12T21:37:08Z")
Again, there are all sorts of TV, movie and literary characters who are SUPPOSEd to be intellectuals, but don’t come across as very bright- probably because the writers know little or nothing about the subjects their characters are SUPPOSED to be experts in. Ross on “Friends” is supposed to hold a Ph. D in Palentology. Did he EVER seem even brighter than average, let alone cerebral? His dissertation probably read, “The brontosaurus was thin at each end and thick in the middle.” Charlie Eppes, crime-solver extraordinaire on “Numb3rs,” is supposed to be a world-class mathematician… but while I’m NOT a mathematician, I know just enough math to understand how bad a lot of his reasoning frequently is. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/45 "2009-05-12T22:00:32Z")
I think you could make an argument for Captain Olimar. We know from the second game that he is a scientist, at least to some extent, because he’s the one writing the Piklopedia, which is very much a scientific act. And his other notes indicate that he is interested in studying the flora and fauna (and the in-between) of the Distant Planet simply to learn, and not to conquer or become rich. Note that he only went back in order to collect Louie, and the President and the Ship were the ones talking about money. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/46 "2009-05-12T22:09:02Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > As to Poirot, I don’t see anything intellectual about an interest in gardening His interest isn’t merely gardening though, it’s selectively breeding improved vegetables. That’s a bit more intellectual than just puttering around in the garden. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/47 "2009-05-12T22:36:25Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Again, there are all sorts of TV, movie and literary characters who are SUPPOSEd to be intellectuals, but don’t come across as very bright- probably because the writers know little or nothing about the subjects their characters are SUPPOSED to be experts in. > > Ross on “Friends” is supposed to hold a Ph. D in Palentology. Did he EVER seem even brighter than average, let alone cerebral? His dissertation probably read, “The brontosaurus was thin at each end and thick in the middle.” > > Charlie Eppes, crime-solver extraordinaire on “Numb3rs,” is supposed to be a world-class mathematician… but while I’m NOT a mathematician, I know just enough math to understand how bad a lot of his reasoning frequently is. I think this is the real problem. It is very hard to write ‘intellectual dialogue’ that sounds like actuals ‘intellectuals’ talking. I am frequently gobsmacked by movie and TV portrayals of college (or of intelligent people in general!) by how phony and wrong they come across. Insane Walter Bishop on ‘Fringe’ is the most authentic intellectual I’ve seen on TV in years! OTOH, I disagree that puzzle-solving is ‘anti-intellectual’ or doesn’t involve engaging with ideas. It’s awfully hard to make it work on screen, or even in a book, though. Inspector Morse was a puzzle-solver, both police work-wise, and for a pastime, and a pretty decent ‘intellectual’, despite his failed degree. Dalgleish gets there too (though I find the books boring). Dorothy Sayers was certainly an intellectual, but I think Harriet Vane comes across pretty badly. I can’t say for sure, as I loathe the series for other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/48 "2009-05-12T22:44:35Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > I think this is the real problem. It is very hard to write ‘intellectual dialogue’ that sounds like actuals ‘intellectuals’ talking. And when you do manage to pull it off, you get something ubertalky like [_Mindwalk_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindwalk) – a fine thing of its kind, but not the kind of thing to appeal to the non-intellectual majority, and with no character that can fairly be called a “hero.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/49 "2009-05-12T23:22:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Again, there are all sorts of TV, movie and literary characters who are SUPPOSEd to be intellectuals, but don’t come across as very bright- probably because the writers know little or nothing about the subjects their characters are SUPPOSED to be experts in. > > Ross on “Friends” is supposed to hold a Ph. D in Palentology. Did he EVER seem even brighter than average, let alone cerebral? His dissertation probably read, “The brontosaurus was thin at each end and thick in the middle.” > > Charlie Eppes, crime-solver extraordinaire on “Numb3rs,” is supposed to be a world-class mathematician… but while I’m NOT a mathematician, I know just enough math to understand how bad a lot of his reasoning frequently is. An intellectual isn’t just an advanced degree holder or someone who has gone far down a very specialized learning path; he (or she) is someone who is familiar with ideas in a number of disciplines in addition to his own, someone who is cultured , conversant in many arts and sciences. That’s not Ross or Charlie. In popular culture, think of Andre in **My Dinner with Andre**. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/50 "2009-05-12T23:40:14Z")
Jeremy Hilary Boob PhD is an eminent physicist, polyglot classicist, prize-winning botanist, hard-biting satirist, talented pianist, good dentist too. “Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo. So little time, so much to know” ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/51 "2009-05-12T23:46:40Z")
One of my literary heroes, George Smiley, definitely qualifies. He’s into researching medieval German literature, and probably would have wound up doing so had he not been drawn into the Circus. He never quite gives up his love for German lit, either. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/52 "2009-05-13T03:34:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > A curious thing about [The Librarian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarian_franchise) is that he is a genius but not an intellectual. My first response to this was [OOOK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarian_(Discworld))? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/53 "2009-05-13T03:47:36Z")
Not merely Doc Savage, but also his team. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/54 "2009-05-13T03:51:34Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > An intellectual isn’t just an advanced degree holder or someone who has gone far down a very specialized learning path; he (or she) is someone who is familiar with ideas in a number of disciplines in addition to his own, someone who is cultured , conversant in many arts and sciences. That’s not Ross or Charlie. > > In popular culture, think of Andre in **My Dinner with Andre**. I thought Andre was a pompous dweeb, and that Wallace Shawn (who was SUPPOSED to be the inferior intellect) regularly got the better of him. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/55 "2009-05-13T03:54:26Z")
I should probably toss in [a link](http://www.shadowsanctum.com/doc.html) for the unfamiliar. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/56 "2009-05-13T03:55:48Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I thought Andre was a pompous dweeb, and that Wallace Shawn (who was SUPPOSED to be the inferior intellect) regularly got the better of him. Yeah, but that’s why it was FUNNY. You don’t hire Wallace Shawn to be serious. Or you didn’t after “My Dinner With Andre.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/57 "2009-05-13T04:06:41Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > My first response to this was [OOOK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarian_(Discworld))? Librarians rule ook! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/58 "2009-05-13T04:22:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I thought Andre was a pompous dweeb, and that Wallace Shawn (who was SUPPOSED to be the inferior intellect) regularly got the better of him. That’s what I get for skimming through the thread: I was trying to make sense of this sentence while thinking of [a different Andre](http://l.yimg.com/eb/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/mgm/the_princess_bride/_group_photos/andre_the_giant6.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/59 "2009-05-13T05:24:51Z")
About half of Lovecraft’s protagonists(the other half being curious youths). Which is what usally gets them invovles in the mythos…and either kills them or shatters their sanity. Maybe a bad example. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995/60 "2009-05-13T05:27:57Z")
What about the Beast from X-Men. He seemed to be fairly intellectual. More Star Trek: Commander Data [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-who-are-intellectuals/495995.md?page=4)