# Who's smarter? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974 "2000-07-26T23:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlockHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@BlockHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlockHead)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/1 "2000-07-26T23:03:17Z")
Cecil or Ben Stein? He’ll have to take the best of ten test of knowledge I reckon. > **[Comedy Central Official Site - TV Show Full Episodes & Funny Video Clips](https://www.cc.com/)** > > Get the latest Comedy Central shows, The Daily Show, South Park, Crank Yankers and Comedy Central classics like Chappelle's Show, Key & Peele and Strangers with Candy. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/2 "2000-07-26T23:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BlockHead \* > \*\*Cecil or Ben Stein? > \*\* Cecil, of course. You don’t see him giving away **his** money on a game show 😉 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/3 "2000-07-26T23:10:15Z")
Well, I guess the smartest one would be whichever one first figures out this should be in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/4 "2000-07-26T23:11:50Z")
I’ll take “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Wrong Forum”, Ben. \ ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/5 "2000-07-26T23:12:51Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Guess that’s my cue… Off ta IMHO. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/6 "2000-07-26T23:14:54Z")
Didn’t even finish opening the darn pretzel bag. _Grumble…_ ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/7 "2000-07-26T23:22:07Z")
Well, I just beat the virtual Ben Stein easily…I think virtual Cecil would kick my ass. So there’s my $.02… ---
**Author:** ![Mu\_Mu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Mu\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mu_Mu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/8 "2000-07-28T02:46:22Z")
Ben Stein is such a zero. Why pick HIM to compare to? ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/9 "2000-07-28T14:45:10Z")
Oh please, what a pointless comparison. Stein can’t answer simplest science question. Plus, if Cecil ever got something wrong (which he wouldn’t) he’d NEVER put on that silly aghast-mouth-hanging-open-bulging-eyes-look. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/10 "2000-07-28T23:03:24Z")
All I know is **I** regularly beat Ben Stein. Yet I never know the answers in Cecil’s columns. ---
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/11 "2000-07-28T23:53:19Z")
What some are failing to take into account is that Cecil can take all the time and research he needs to come up with his answers, whereas Ben has to have them all at the top of his head. Can’t compare oranges and taxicabs. Some one would need to line them up and throw questions at them until someone stumbles. Besides,it’s a moot point anyway, since Madonna is obviously the smartest person in the world. Anyone who can make so much out of so little for so long has got to be a genius. ---
**Author:** ![BlockHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@BlockHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlockHead)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/12 "2000-07-29T16:25:16Z")
But I would love to see Cecil go on the show and win Ben’s money. My money is on Cecil. However, I would venture to say that Cecil would trade bank accounts with Ben anytime. Ben is a brilliant and funny man (accept to you anal retentives who find humor appaling). Cecil is the man! IMHO! ---
**Author:** ![AETBOND417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@AETBOND417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AETBOND417)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/13 "2000-07-29T17:29:39Z")
Thank God somebody pointed out the difference in time given to answer the questions. Cecil has as long as he wants, Ben gets mere seconds. The questions are also very different. One to Cecil asked him to compare the riches of Bill Gates with the Riches of Scrooge McDuck. All things considered, I think that in a Jeopardy-style game show contest, Al Frankin would beat both Stein and Cecil. Frankin has speed, smarts, and humor. ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/14 "2000-07-29T17:35:36Z")
Oh c’mon. Y’all know Cecil ignores the column until right up to deadline, then sits down with a bottle o rum and cranks out those paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-smarter/26974/15 "2000-07-29T23:08:18Z")
I thought Cecil WAS Ben Stein.