Shouldn't L and Light Be Extraordinary Geniuses?

[YungManzi]

I've always thought this, but just never bothered to actually discuss it here.

Based on the definitions given on the Intelligence page, Light and L far surpass genius, even using the information given on their pages.

"Genius: Individuals with an exceptional capacity for knowledge and intelligence, generally in one area of varying depth, often possessed by fictional scientists and strategists. This level of intelligence is the level of actual geniuses and famous intellectuals in the real world and, in lieu of better feats,"

Now let's have a look at their pages.

Light-"engineering a complex scheme in which he would give up the Death Note and his memories, only to reclaim them once suspicion was diverted."

This was a plan which spanned months and couldn't have been adjusted by light himself because he didn't even remember it, yet it all worked out with him retaining his memories without anyone suspecting anything.

And I ask myself if this is something someone could come up with irl in such a short amount of time.

L-"He is the true identity of the three most famous and influential detectives in the world [Erald Coyle, Deneuve, and himself], and can easily get top marks in all subjects in the prestigious university of Todai.)"

Being the true identity of the three most famous and influential detectives in the world is already quite unbelievable but there's also "can easily get top marks in all subjects in the prestigious university of Todai." which directly conflicts with the intelligence page's classification of genius which says "generally in one area of varying depth"

Near probably also scales to them, but who like Near?

 

[Eficiente]

No, normal humans could do the same. Please read what it takes to be an Extraordinary Genius, they are not in that level.

 

[ElixirBlue]

Like Junko Enoshima is an Extraordinary Genius.

 

[YungManzi]

No, normal humans could do the same. Please read what it takes to be an Extraordinary Genius, they are not in that level.

I had to read it before making this thread to make sure I wasn't missing something.

"Extraordinary Genius: Individuals whose knowledge spreads over many fields of science and who vastly surpass the intellects of the smartest humans on Earth. At this level, many are capable of creating futuristic technology, executing complex strategies even under high pressure, and potentially even accurately predicting the future through sheer mental calculations, or outperforming supercomputers."

It just doesn't at all seem far out from what Light and L have displayed. Easily getting top marks in all subjects of a prestigious university doesn't count as "knowledge spreads over many fields of science"?

"executing complex strategies even under high pressure"-Is Light through and through.

I need an example of someone irl successfully coming up with a plan which manipulates the actions of dozens of people in order to clear their name, coming up with this plan within a few days to a week, and not being able to at all change or alter it for the entire period it lasted (Which was months).

 

[ApiesDeathbyLazors]

An example of an Extraordinary Genius would be Katerina Donla. She created an anti-gravity device for use in a school project about the growth of protein crystals in zero gravity, instinctively understands both robotics and mechanical engineering, and is currently in the process of creating organic, robotic bodies that, once it possesses a conscious mind, are considered living beings by both the scientific and supernatural communities.

I don't think L and Light are quite up there yet.

 

[Bonus_Person]

Honestly Light is pretty dumb, he changed the Time of the Deaths only so L can deduce he was acess to police information and then they stopped publishing useful things there, he killed the FBI agents even through they were never a trouble, and anyone would have taken the Shinigami Eyes by the moment L said he suspects him.

Also in the last episode what was he going to do after killing matsuda and the others? Go to the task force and say "hey Kira killed everyone except me, let's continue the imvestigation anyways"?.

 

[YungManzi]

An example of an Extraordinary Genius would be Katerina Donla. She created an anti-gravity device for use in a school project about the growth of protein crystals in zero gravity, instinctively understands both robotics and mechanical engineering, and is currently in the process of creating organic, robotic bodies that, once it possesses a conscious mind, are considered living beings by both the scientific and supernatural communities.
I don't think L and Light are quite up there yet.

That's an example of scientific EG, which Light and L are not. they fall much more into the analytical category. More known for ingenious plans than outlandish creations.

Even if they don't fit into Exraordinary genius (Even though they certainly do, as per definition given on the page), they are far above genius, which is only on the level of real-world geniuses.

Also, @Bonus

Light is not stupid, most of the mistakes he made has to do with getting caught in a trap set by L, someone who's just as intelligent, or his god complex taking over...which led to him making some weird decisions.

 

[YungManzi]

Also, keep in mind, there are different tiers in Extraordinary genius. I'm not saying they're as intelligent as Batman or any other character (So please don't bring up other characters)

I'm saying that based on the definition, they fit into this category.

 

[ElixirBlue]

In terms of planning things out, Junko Enoshima is far superior to Light, as she outsmart other amazing Geniuses in her verse to destroy the world.

She would've never lost, much to her own disappointment, if Makoto didn't have broken Luck Hax and on par Empathetic Manipulation.

 

[YungManzi]

@Elixir Blue

Me:>" Please don't bring up other characters in comparison. I'm merely talking about the definition given on the intelligence page. Based on that definition, they both fit the bill."

You:> "Well they're not as smart as Junko Enoshima!"


.....bump btw.

 

[Antvasima]

They are not far more intelligent than Stephen Hawkings, Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci, and similar, so they do not qualify. Sorry.

 

[YungManzi]

They are not far more intelligent than Stephen Hawkings, Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci, and similar, so they do not qualify. Sorry.

I simply don't agree.

Sure, they don't measure up when it comes to science (which isn't what I'm arguing), but I would say they far outclass all of our real world geniuses with their analytical abilities.

For the reasons I've already given.

Edit:

I've never heard of real world people pulling off what L and Light could pull off.

 

[Ricsi-viragosi]

Not really, no. Nothing done in death note is that incredible.

Impressive, but not superhuman.

 

[Antvasima]

Yes, it takes considerably superhuman intelligence to qualify. They simply haven't gone that far. I think that you underestimate the capabilities of the most extremely intelligent real world humans.