21st Century Geniuses: Modern Thinkers Quiz

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When you think of geniuses, your mind might immediately go to Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, or writers like Shakespeare. But you don't have to travel back in time to find true genius. The 21st century is full of great minds who wear the mantle of "genius," like Paul Allen, Bill Gates and chess master Magnus Carlsen. 

In this quiz, we'll test your knowledge of these 21st century intellectual giants to see if your smarts match theirs. Time to put on your thinking cap and nail these questions about great modern thinkers. 


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21st Century Genius Quiz Questions

15 Questions · 52 Plays · No comments

Question 1

Like many intellectual duos, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are geniuses in their field. What company did these two wunderkinds co-found just two years before the new millennium?

  • A
    Google
  • B
    eBay
  • C
    Yahoo!
  • D
    Snapchat

Question 2

The most accomplished genius always hopes someone will make film about him. What film was based on the work of brilliant statistician Bill James?

  • A
    Moneyball
  • B
    Minority Report
  • C
    Ex-Machina
  • D
    The Bank

Question 3

Wikipedia refers to Noam Chomsky as a "philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist." They left out genius. Historians often refer to Chomsky as the "father of modern" what?

  • A
    Linguistics
  • B
    Conservatism
  • C
    Sign language
  • D
    Journalism

Question 4

When he passed away in 2013, Frederick Sanger left behind a legacy, one of only four people with two Nobel Prizes. What discipline earned this genius his two Nobels?

  • A
    Chemistry
  • B
    Literature
  • C
    Mathematics
  • D
    Peace

Question 5

Microsoft found Bill Gates was so smart, he didn't need college. So he dropped out. Where did he study for only 2 years before leaving?

  • A
    Harvard University
  • B
    Stanford University
  • C
    Yale University
  • D
    University of Washington

Question 6

Despite having autism, Temple Grandin is a living genius, with a PhD from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In what field is she an expert?

  • A
    Animal sciences
  • B
    Chemistry
  • C
    Computer science
  • D
    Aerospace Engineering

Question 7

The computer scientist genius best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web is known as Tim BL for short. What does the BL stand for?

  • A
    Berners-Lee
  • B
    Bertram-Long
  • C
    Bernard-Lowell
  • D
    Berkamp-Lawson

Question 8

Paul McCartney should be included on any list of 21st century geniuses, though most of his work was written during the 20th century. In case you didn't know, Sir Paul's real first name is what?

  • A
    James
  • B
    William
  • C
    John
  • D
    Stephen

Question 9

Love him or hate him, Elon Musk is a genius entrepreneur. Before Tesla and SpaceX, what was the name of Musk's early company that became PayPal?

  • A
    X.com
  • B
    Dollars.com
  • C
    CashKing.com
  • D
    BucksBuddy.com

Question 10

Only a genius could pull off the anonymous and unpredictable art installations of the artist known as Banksy. The critically-acclaimed 2010 film he directed was called Exit Through the what?

  • A
    Gift shop
  • B
    Back door
  • C
    Museum
  • D
    Turnstile

Question 11

Google "modern genius" and Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist George Soros is sure to pop up. What foundation did Soros start to support progressive causes around the world?

  • A
    Open Society Foundation
  • B
    Blue Skies Foundation
  • C
    Clear Vision Foundation
  • D
    Forward Progress Foundation

Question 12

It takes a sharp mind to become the Dalai Lama. A spiritual and intellectual giant, the real name of the 14th Dalai Lama is Tenzin what?

  • A
    Gyatso
  • B
    Gyoza
  • C
    Gyaru
  • D
    Gyada

Question 13

In the first decade of the 21st century, Nate Silver became known as a genius in the business of predicting elections. What website did he launch in 2008 to showcase his prognostications?

  • A
    FiveThirtyEight.com
  • B
    Politico.com
  • C
    PredictIt.org
  • D
    Glassbooth.org

Question 14

Terence Tao is considered one of the geniuses of our age. A professor at UCLA, he researches topics like differential equations and algebraic combinatorics. Stuff like that. In what country was Tao born?

  • A
    Australia
  • B
    United Kingdom
  • C
    China
  • D
    Japan

Question 15

In the world of filmmaking, the Coen brothers are bona fide geniuses. What was their first movie, released in 1984?

  • A
    Blood Simple
  • B
    Hudsucker Proxy
  • C
    The Big Lebowski
  • D
    Raising Arizona

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