Who remembers Monty Hall on television’s ‘Let’s Make a Deal’?

How about this woman, who holds the highest recorded IQ ever: an astonishing 228?

Far surpassing Einstein (160-190), Hawking (160), and Musk (155). Yet, despite her brilliance, she faced ridicule for her response to a seemingly simple problem.

But she saw what no one else could.

Marilyn Vos Savant was far from an ordinary child.

She was born to Joseph March and Marina vos Savant, but rather than keeping to the European/Western tradition of using her father’s name as a surname or, later, her husband’s surname, she has used her mother’s surname professionally for as long as she’s been publicly known.

By the age of 10, she had:

• Memorized entire books
• Read all 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica
• Achieved the highest recorded IQ of 228

She seemed destined for a life of genius.

But reality took a different turn.

“No one paid much attention to me—mostly because I was a girl. And I accepted that,” Marilyn Vos Savant once said.

She attended a regular public school, left Washington University after two years to help run her parents’ business, and seemed destined for an ordinary life.

But in 1985, everything changed.

The Guinness Book of World Records listed her as having the “Highest IQ” ever recorded: 228.

Suddenly, Marilyn was thrust into the spotlight:

• Featured on the covers of New York Magazine and Parade Magazine
• Guest on Late Night with David Letterman

On August 23, 1987, vos Savant married Robert Jarvik, co-inventor of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. But she couldn’t have anticipated what lay ahead.

The Rise and the Question

Marilyn joined Parade Magazine to write the iconic “Ask Marilyn” column—a dream for someone with a passion for writing.

Yet, this dream turned into a nightmare with a single question in September 1990.

The Monty Hall Problem

Named after Monty Hall, the host of Let’s Make a Deal, the question went like this:

You’re on a game show.
There are 3 doors.

• 1 door hides a car.
• The other 2 hide goats.

You choose a door. The host opens another door, revealing a goat.

Should you switch doors?

Marilyn’s answer: “Yes, you should switch.”

The backlash was overwhelming. She received over 10,000 letters, including nearly 1,000 from PhDs, insisting she was wrong:

• “You are the goat!”
• “You blew it, and you blew it big!”
• “Maybe women look at math problems differently than men.”

But was she wrong?

The Math Behind the Answer

Consider the two possible scenarios:

You pick the car (1/3 chance):

• If you switch, you lose.

You pick a goat (2/3 chance):

• Monty reveals the other goat.
• If you switch, you win.

Switching gives you a 2/3 chance of winning.

Eventually, her answer was proven correct.

Vindication
MIT ran computer simulations confirming her logic.
MythBusters tested it and reached the same conclusion.
Some academics even apologized.

So why did so many fail to see the truth?

Reasons People Got It Wrong

• They “reset” the scenario instead of recognizing the shifting probabilities.
• The simplicity of 3 doors obscured the underlying math.
• Many assumed each remaining door had a 50% chance.

Marilyn’s View

Marilyn blamed the compulsory schooling system for discouraging independent thinking. She argued that it:

• Creates passive learners
• Stifles exploration
• Hinders critical thinking

A blessing and a burden,
Marilyn admits that her intellect often feels isolating—there’s no one to turn to when she needs answers.

Still, she sees her intelligence as a gift, not a curse.

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IN GOD WE TRUST

Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack

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Dodie & Jack Dennis are regular customers of Green Pasture. Highly recommended.

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