Who do you think are the top 5 smartest characters in the lore?
heres my top 5 in my opinion, how about yours?
1. Kagrenac
2. Dagoth Ur
3. Sotha Sil
4. Jagar Tharn
5. Salas Valor

Vivec should be up there on that list ... he did achieve CHIM after all.

Kagrenac, Divayth Fyr, And Sotha Sil make my list, though the rest of the spots are a tossup.

Listing CHIMers and Et'ada feels like cheating.

Here's my list.
1. Augur of Dunlain
2. Jyggalag
3. Tosh Raka - Attaining the form of a dragon is probably pretty hard
4. M'aiq the Liar - for being the ultimate conduit
5. Jagar Tharn

1. Vivec
2. Kragnec
3. Dagoth Ur
4. Sotha Sil
5. Whatever Thalmor found out about what had to be done to achieve "heaven" / Divayth Fyr, and the last one just cause he's cool.

I'm ingoring Talos here because I'm not sure that he knew what he was doing when mantling Shor.

Herma Mora
Dyus
Xarxes
Phynaster
Kagrenac
Sotha Sil
Vivec
Divayth Fyr
Yagrum Bagarn

That's more then five also can you count Daedra?

How did Divayth Fyr not make ur list? He's the most powerful/respected wizard in the East. Hell even Sotha Sil saw him as an equal.

Divayth Fyr needs to be on that list. There really is no question about it.

If Fyr was so smart he should have known parading around in the only full set of Daedric armor was a bad idea.

If we're listing gods
Julianos
Herma Mora
Magnus
Those three kinda rule the roost on smartness.

If people
Kagrenac
Divayth Fyr
Sotha Sil
Galerion
and my dark horse Mankar Camaron

Calipers

Embalming Tools

Bugs in Jars

Blue suede shoes

Muatra

I dispute that list, save for Calipers and Muatra. Instead, the rest should be
crumpled piece of paper
Nirnroot
Tongs



In no particular order, for mortals/mortal gods
Dyviath Fyr
Sotha Sil
Kagrenac
Phynaster and his "Party off the Pounds"
Mannimarco or Zurin Arctus

So true... finding yourself lacking the patience to find a full Daedric armor = Dead Divayth Fyr

MK
Proweler
Adanorcil
Luagar
Word Merchant

...wait...

The term "persons" narrows this down quite a bit. Aedra, daedra, personifications and such don't count, I take it?

1. Kagnerac, pretty much the best ever to craft with his hands and magicka.
2. Vivec, pretty much the best ever to cause mind[censored] with his brain and pen.
3. Sheogorath. Lives an easy eternal life as part of a genius cycle of replacing himself from time to time. Very smart way to live. No stress. Kind of "a person"; worsened Daedra Lord who once was a mortal?
4. Vanus Galerion, a great mystic who seemed to be smart to know the pleasant boundaries of his craft. Didn't die a sudden death while seeking power like Mannimarco, Jagar and some folks mentioned here - they were not as smart!
5. A Guy Who Has Read Most Elder Scrolls, Retained Eyesight, And Interpreted The Scrolls Most Right.


So should have the player character! Maybe Fyr just didn't notice he became older, weaker and more rusty a battler in a flick of an eye few hundred years. Besides, there's always a bigger fish, so watch out, Tharkin-the-Nerevarine-wearing-that-armor!

Hermaeus Mora
Julianos
Magnus
Mephala
Akatosh

That's my list, in no particular order. It's hard to compare the intelligence of entities we know little about.

To those that said Mannimarco/Galerion, why him instead of Galerion/Mannimarco? They seem really switchable to me...

KAGRENAC. IT'S SPELLED "KAGRENAC."


My list is:
1. Vivec
2. The Dwemer
3. The Dwemer
4. The Dwemer
5. The Dwemer

My bad, always spelled it wrong. I'll try to pay attention to it next time.

D'oh, I actually just checked it prior to posting, and still managed to misspell it with how I normally spell it wrong. Once I had no more trouble with "Nerevar(ine)", I began having problems with Kagrenac. Never had a problem with Paarthurnax though, and that I'm proud of!

Well, Auri-El apparently "ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane." so it was sort of passed on from Auri-El rather than theorized by a Thalmor.

Pelinal. x5
He just never showed it....the way he should have.

Well, maybe there is more than 1 spelling jk

Hey you gotta give Mankar some credit, I mean he read the fricken Mysterium Xarxes okay who does that?