Who's the wisest Simpson?

Seeing as Election Day was coming up, I watched the Simpsons episode “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish” today. And I noticed something that I never noticed before. Marge set up Mr. Burns’ downfall. She intentionally prepared the dinner that night: three-eyed fish. Mr. Burns’ campaign fell on the floor the same time the piece of Blinky did-and it was all Marge’s idea.

So this brings up the question-who is the wisest member of the Simpson family? Not the smartest-that could easily be determined by an IQ test. I mean who is the wisest in the ways of life or getting around. Is it Marge, who set up Mr. Burns political downfall? Homer, who’s successes through bumbling have put his name in the dictionary? Or could it be Bart? Lisa? Maggie?

Well, I’d vote for Grampa, but his wisdom is inextricably mixed up with his coot-ness.

‘I first met Homer in a bar in manhatten in 1929, little did i know he was about to become the next Mrs Joe Di Maggio’ - Grandpa Simpson

Homer’s half-brother, Herb. He built a giant industrial empire, and only lost it when emotions overruled his judgement and he trusted Homer. He clawed his way back from skid-row status with sheer strength will and determination. Thru suffering and sorrow, he has achieved wisdom.

What about Doctor Simpson, head of Complicated Surgery at the Invasi-care Clinic? She was the one who knew about that faulty Y-chromosome that limited all Simpson males to lives of mediocrity (except Herb, apparantly).

Ralph Wiggum. He’s on a whole 'nother plane of being, and we’re all just too shallow to realize it.

“My cat’s breath smells like cat food.” It’s a riddle buried in an enigma wrapped in a mystery. It’s deep, man. Can you dig it?

:slight_smile:

Dewey, are you claiming that Ralph’s father really isn’t Chief Wiggum?

I hear his mom’s name is Shmi Wiggum. Let’s just leave it at that. :slight_smile:

So you thought she just happened to prepare the blinky dinner? I thought it was pretty well telegraphed with her conversation with Lisa just before.

Lisa is the one I would consider the smartest. She’s brought down her fair share of politicians. Although I do really appreciate Marge’s style. In fact make Marge and Lisa the same age and I couldn’t say who would come out ahead.

Just wait for the E! Real Hollywood story on the Be Sharps. Did you really think they kicked Wiggum out of the group because of the ‘official’ reasons? How naive can you be?

I didn’t connect the conversation with the dinner before.

“Never give your mother the benefit of the doubt.”

Bart’s evil twin that lives in the attic. From the Halloween episode.

After all, he has lived locked in an attic, rather than associating with the twerps in Springfield. No wisdom, due to sensory deprivation, is better than negative wisdom, due to exposure to the good citizens of Springfield.

I vote for Bart. He’s not so smart, but he has a wisdom about him. He knows his limitations, and he knows how to expoit other people’s strengths to make up for his weaknesses. He’s charismatic, and it’s easy for him to persuade people to do things for him (usually Milhouse). I love Bart. We used to be the same age, but somehow, I passed him up. . .

Marge used to be the voice of reason, but over the years her character has changed (for instance, the road rage episode). Making her as “quirky” as the rest of the family (and town) is one of the mistakes the writers have made, and one of the reasons why the last few seasons’ episodes haven’t been as good as the ones in the mid-90s.

Personally, I’m going to go out on a limb her and say it’s Maggie. Or maybe Santa’s Little Helper. Ya gotta know when to keep your mouth shut.

My pick is for Homer’s mother. Only a wise person could elude law enforcement for 3 decades.

My pick is for Homer’s mother. Only a wise person could elude law enforcement for 3 decades.

I would naturally say marge or lisa (since we don’t see enough of maggie, herb, etc, to decide). Lisa seems most intellegent, but (probably as she’s too young) that makes her rather too arrogant sometimes.

But:

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Homer does this sort of thing a lot. Is he just very lucky, or a lot cleverer than he thinks?

The late, great Troy McClure.

After appearing in all of those instructional films (my favorite: “Alice, Through the Windshield Glass”) you know he’s picked up some smarts.

I guess I’ll be the first to say Lisa.

The OP asked who the WISEST Simpson was, not the smartest. The smartest is obviously the geeky professor whose name escapes me at the moment, but Lisa is the wisest. More often than any other character, she is the person who can see the truth behind things without being clouded by her own interests. That’s wisdom.