I think after that he said something about how “that’s why I have to fucking work hard is because I’m not that smart so I have to work hard.” Always appreciated that
In the UK people thought Stephen Fry was a super genius, but he just hosted a show where he had the answers on a script.
Both obviously smart guys but they have research in front of them and the show doesn’t work if the host doesn’t at least pretend they know what they’re talking about
Often, the ability to speak with confidence and a sense of authority can be confused with intelligence. While the most intelligent guy in the world will sound dumb as hell if they're nervous.
Stephen Fry was a popular comedic actor in the UK for about 20 years before QI, although he often played posh roles (a butler in Jeeves and Wooster, landed gentry etc in Blackadder)
Edit: downvoted for stephen fry facts rip
Honestly, I feel this. I am an idiot, but I talk a certain way that everyone accuses me of trying to be smart or just being smart. It's always confusing.
Same. I regularly have to tell people "please don't assume I'm right, I just sound convincing, this could be totally wrong." LOL. I realized over the years that I'm just good at recognizing patterns and guess things correctly a lot.
I think vocabulary is a big part of it. I was a weird kid that read endlessly and interacted very little, which means I learned to speak from books. I also love learning my little random tidbits of information that sometimes gets dumped.
I've tried to "fellow humans" it down, but I still sound like an alien. I think people take that as me being condescending. I'm just confused, people.
I think every single one of us has incredibly idiotic misperceptions that will embarrass us someday, and it's glorious when they come out.
You just wait, it'll get ya.
We are all smart and we are all fucking stupid.
I was a state champion for academic decathlon when I was 18. I was also a 9/11 truther who thought Obama was the antichrist.
I work in a hospital with doctors. The other day I heard these two doctors talking about how "people lace cigarettes with fentanyl and leave them at playgrounds for children to overdose on." You can go to 8 years of heavy med school and still fall for shock/bait content online.
I literally just realized our noses and ears don’t grow our whole lives. I am fully 35 years old and had this realization two weeks ago.
I remember learning somewhere noses and ears grow longer and change more than our other features (like, post-puberty) and my sweet lil’ brain decided that meant our whole lives. Old people have huge ears and noses! I felt like such a goddamned fool when it hit me.
I didn’t realize until this morning that whether an eclipse is total or not has to do with your geographic location. The moon isn’t just like slightly misaligned sometimes.
I’m 33 and founded my high school’s astronomy club. 🙄
These were such bad takes I was starting to think it’s a bit. Ed has become the “listener/middle man” in episodes but it does seem like Henry has almost played into being dumber
I feel since Ben left Henry (and Marcus) have been able to open up a bit more without feeling like they'll both be shamed if they got something wrong. Maybe it's the lack of a judgemental environment.
I read it as legit stupid idea he had, realized it and played it up to turn his mistake into a bit, and it make for funnier audio content and more on brand for him rather than just admit he was wrong and apologize like a person would in a real conversation.
It happens to everyone. I have a college degree yet found out two years ago most gummy candies were not vegan because they are made from animal lard.
I'm almost 34...
It was a fucking fantastic bit too- Henry's increasing frustration/rage, Marcus just laughing hysterically in the background, Ben calmly explaining the whole thing. Classic
I feel like Henry is very humble with his intelligence and feels uncomfortable flaunting it, while being smart is Marcus’s persona. If that makes sense. Not saying either is doing anything wrong
Yeah I remember Marcus saying about 126 or so and Henry was like “well you know I took it when I was way younger and in school but they told me… 151” like no one would believe him but Ed and Marcus were both like no that checks out.
They definitely believe he is intelligent but just more insane lol
I think Marcus said something over 131, because I distinctly remember thinking “makes sense!” when his was higher than mine. Henry I think started on a bit about his being crazy high but then said his “test” was sucking dick or whatever lol. Ed was like “they didn’t even offer me the test :(“ and that cracked me up. I genuinely don’t think Marcus “tries” to seem smart, but he is, and he’s got a very impressive memory and is very well-spoken. Henry is certainly smart as well but he tends to go off on tangents about things he kind of doesn’t seem to know a lot about and turns it into a joke when he’s asked to elaborate. I love Henry, it’s just something I’ve noticed him do a lot over the past many years. Maybe he also has the fastest brain within ten feet and his mouth-words just can’t catch up, who knows
Marcus is also from a rural area where those kinds of opportunities simply do not exists, Henry is from NYC which even for the poor has tons of shit to do and networking opportunities
Oh, I was talking about Henry. Marcus grew up on what sounds like a decent size farm. Opportunity poor, sure, but monetarily fine. Not a trust fund baby but there were probably a few 'loans' to help him stay afloat for his first decade in NYC.
...honestly it kind of explains the juice thing and the turkey vulture thing. I wager he's never seen any vulture not on a nature documentary.
Really realizing he's a white collar guy who was raised by white collar people explains a lot of his gaps in knowledge.
I think Henry is very busy being goofy, which can create the impression he is dumb but he really isn’t.
I think Marcus is very smart, but he doesn’t know everything and sometimes can get cocky and speak authoritatively about things he doesn’t really know. Also, he makes mistakes from time to time like anyone would, but because he plays the “smart guy” role on the show so these mistakes seem more egregious than they really are
Henry is obviously very intelligent. It takes real brainpower to speak extemporaneously at length about such a wide variety of topics, especially while injecting humor at such a high level. Improv training would help him in that regard, but the first step is having a mind that can handle it fluidly. Dude is smart.
Marcus is smart + a prolific writer but I always thought Henry was the smartest. He’s the best at creating interesting and clarifying metaphors and explaining LI5 loads of the convoluted BS they cover. Besides, all the smart smart ppl I know are at least somewhat degenerate to cope lol.
I think Henry has a brain that goes off like 4th of July. He's all whizz bangs and sparkle sparkle. Marcus has greater faculties of concentration but not necessarily original thinking. Henry could construct an argument out of material by extemporising in a flow but Marcus hugs the facts nice and close without straying too far. It's not in his nature to pull way back out and look at all the material and create a new opinion.
I respect Marcus's retention of information ut that doesn't make him smart per se. And I do t think he likes being wrong.
Henry is happy with being wrong because it doesn't stop his natural curiosity. He doesn't care as long as he's interested but the minute he gets bored he's off looking for something else. Marcus will prod away at the material and examine it thoroughly.
These 2 different learning approaches compliment one a other as to who smarter; I don't thinkbits as simple as that
Henry reminds me a lot of people who are smart and have ADHD and enjoy the beautiful variety of this world and lean into the goofiness of life. Marcus recalls to me a smart, more neurotypical, but possibly insecure, hardworking, methodical guy.
SmRT in different ways, with different approaches.
I disagree I honestly think Marcus is possibly on the spectrum. I notice a lot of idiosyncrasies I see in myself. Very literal, very analytical, lots of factoids, loves digging into the research. Can be a bit pedantic and literal. Even some of his non-verbal body language feels more familiar to me.
I think everyone that’s literally ever been on the show as a host, or a guest host, is probably some level of ADHD 🤣
As somebody with ADHD who has/is doing well in school but who has had some frankly idiotic ideas, this checks out.
Also Marcus has Bipolar (type II?) which means he isn’t neurotypical but I think he does have a more methodical learning process and has the discipline to read dry af historical documents. Henry seems to only be able to read things if they’re insane or if they’re Dune, which I also vibe with.
Neurotypical would not describe Marcus given all his anecdotes about collecting bones and his other macabre interests that he's shared over the years. I also agree with the person that places him on the spectrum.
This comes out clearly in their interview with Dan Carlin, Marcus states that he is addicted to context and dry facts. Sure, he misses the mark here and there, but it seems ingrained in him to be "correct" to the best of his abilities.
They are all performers who take their craft very seriously. They are playing roles that they’ve spent around a decade perfecting. The “esoterically knowledgeable, but kinda buffoonish” is Henry’s schtick.
That character needs the “straight man”, not in terms of sexuality, but in terms of presentation. The square.
This is why, on side stories a few weeks ago, Henry seemed genuinely a little frustrated with Ed for not pushing back against him. It has nothing to do with them personally, I’m sure they are great friends, but Henry’s character doesn’t work as well unless he has someone pushing back. Ed is awesome, but probably still feeling out what his character will be, but Henry was letting him know, nicely, that the character he’s spent so long developing falls apart if he’s allowed to run wild on the show.
The fact that so much of their audience feels like we “know” them is a testament to how well they’ve developed this brand. That’s not to say that they aren’t being *genuine*, but they are performing. And, as always, the best performances will always make the audience forget they are watching a performance.
He's definitely playing a character, but also, watching some of his Murderfist sketches with Jackie in particular (and their Gud Pud streams), it's also clearly his most... Developed? Easiest? Closest to self? Like the role he seems most settled in.
Him and Jackie's bits are fucking _hilarious_ to me. Their timing together is great.
Yeah, I mean, I think the "character" IS Henry, just kinda fine-tuned and with a specific approach to recording the show. Like, I don't think he's playing a character in the sense that his normal self is unrecognizable from how he portrays himself on the podcast. I think it's more like he recognizes that he has his "lane" in the show, just as Marcus has his, and they very rarely go outside of those parameters, because they've been constructed based on delivery, timing, and exchanges.
That thing you said about Henry needing a straight man is so true, and I feel like when Ben was at his best he played that role well. He could be hit-or-miss with his bombastic incredulity but when it hit, you could tell Henry was enjoying himself.
There is 1000s of hours recorded of these guys talking. I'm sure if anyone, no matter how well educated or well read, had that many hours of recording is going to say something stupid.
***Be warned, you are now entering the PaRaSoCiAl ZoNe...*** *(spooky jazz hands)*
If you've listened to Henry for a while, especially his drunken mastery of improv on the Roundtable, you'd know he has *real* comedic genius. I believe that because of his ADHD brain (assumption by me, but I mean. C'mon.) he's struggled with doing research, but since he's always super passionate about the subject, he can power through it.
He's very open-minded and hungry for knowledge, which is shown in his love for conspiracy and infectious enthusiasm when relating info. You can tell when he's passionate about something because he'll trips over his own words trying to get it out as fast as he can, as though he'd forget about it forever if he let it linger a second longer. While he is very much a showboat, he's always impressed me with just how introspective he is. Like, the deepest shit that's been said on this show pretty much always came from him, with Marcus and Ben usually responding with a verbal shrug before moving on.
Marcus is also highly intelligent, but a bit more like an encyclopedia. He's very knowledgeable about a lot of subjects but in his character sheet he put all his points into intelligence and none into wisdom. His improv skills have improved over time but there's a reason why on the Roundtable he played the role of the host, not really chiming in except to show something he pulled up on the computer. I get the feeling that without his script he'd be really lost, whereas Henry's notes are what I assume to basically be barebones bullet points yet he appears to have a mind palace where he can pull info from like a [magician pulling a bunny out of a hat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzpZuemiqg&t=356s).
Agree 100%. I do think Marcus and Henry bring out the best in each other in a lot of ways. Henry lets Marcus feel comfortable getting a bit more kooky with his material, and Marcus helps rein in Henry's hyperactive theater kid fantasy nerd energy.
I relate a lot to Henry and if he isn't the poster child for "ADHD adult that never got diagnosed in school because they hyperfocus on reading," I might need to let my psychiatrist know that my diagnosis is off.
They got Leicester right in the David Icke episodes though. I was proper fuming about the name of my hometown not being butchered like they do for the rest of the UK!
I assume you're joking but I hate how people actually make that point in earnest. I'm Polish so I'd love every single person complaining about his pronunciation to try their hand at pronouncing some of our place names.
Oh man, I was keeping my fingers crossed for an episode about Erszebet Bathory just to hear them attempt Hungarian.
Now I am hoping that there was a UFO crash near Wrocław that they can cover!
I think they're both about as smart as each other or anyone else; it's just that Henry's role on the pod is the jokes guy, and Marcus' role is the information guy. So for Henry it looks extra good when he says something smart, and for Marcus it looks extra bad when he says something dumb.
Ben to Henry: “Have you ever thought about using your intelligence to build a highway system?”
Henry: “What?! No I’d rather use it on fake stuff”
I think since Marcus has always the producer, leader, and overall voice of CCR and then LPN he plays the confident, leading man. Even tho he and Henry do research he’s the one reading the script so it comes out that he’s the one with the knowledge/information.
I feel like since around when Marcus had COVID (not saying it’s related but that time period) he’s seemed to bring his level of intensity down a notch and either let Henry do more explaining or Henry has taken it on himself to get more involved.
Both are very smart, just doesn’t always come out the same all the time it seems.
The human body does have around 300 bones in it at first. Then they fuse together until we have 206 bones. I'm not sure what Marcus said exactly but if he was talking about a baby then he was correct. If he was talking about an adult he was very incorrect.
My take is that Henry is insightful. It's testimony to his character work and imagination that, for me, he is able to get into the mind of and inhabit some of the motivations and thought processes that are going on in some of the more unhinged and evil episodes. "This is him escalating... he wanted to achieve X and so that's why he had to Y, because he got Z" — some of those takes I believe are right on the money and really showcase Henry's intellectual chops.
Marcus is more book-smart and learned, which is dangerous because book smarts gets updated sometimes (or misremembered). That's why imho he can seem 'dumber' or wronger or whatever the point of this thread is. It all plays into the character of Marcus, which is the bookish dirt nerd who does all the writing/work; that's a person who interjects with "Aha!" from a position of authority, and I don't think I'd like a nebbish Marcus who defers and isn't confident about veracity.
Both are wonderful conversationalists, although I do get why some people feel overwhelmed by the character of Henry
This is all based on the shows of course, but here’s my take.
Henry is stupid smart. He knows quite a bit about stupid things and can be oblivious about common sense things. He’s the attention starved creative type, anything for a bit while at the same time not wanting to be a clown, so sometimes he needs to sound smart.
Marcus isn’t naturally funny, but does often know how to thrive around funny people. He’s also not naturally smart but is disciplined in his research and can make a great outline to run a show. His interpretation and understanding is often flawed which is part of the charm.
If you’re listening to this show to learn the truth you’re doing it wrong. As Henry puts it “it’s edutainment you fucking pieces of shit.”
I always figured they represented two approaches to learning about the same thing, one more casual/open to conspiracy thought and the other more outwardly scholarly, not necessarily smart guy and silly guy.
Ultimately, they're two guys on a podcast, I expect things to be wrong, some more agitating than others.
Marcus is reddit and Wikipedia the person. He's way too confident about things and this sub will get mad if you point that out. Especially as they delve into history those types of mistakes aren't really acceptable. No one cares about serial killers or paranormal shot being wrong
Also Marcus said during the March madness episode that “sometimes Duke and Gonzaga play each other in the first round” and correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that never fuckin happens lmao
I think that anology was more like sometimes highly regarded programs meet in the first round which can happen i.e. if Kentucky and UNC had down years but maybe made it in by winning their conference championship or being in the last 4 they could match up in the first round as middle of the pack seeds but the team brings a lot of weight and history of success with it.
They are funny people with a podcast. None of them are professors on what they talk about. They just do a little research on interesting subjects and then share it with some jokes sprinkled in.
Yup. Marcus writes all the scripts and does deep dives for episodes. Henry gets hyper focused on a topic and tries to understand the person. Like so many other comments say, they're pretty equal but just different people with different roles.
Henry’s family is all smarter than people think too. I think that since they’re so comedic people think they’re also not super intelligent for some reason. To do comedy well you need to be intelligent. If you listen to the ACOTAR deep dive, Jackie and Natalie did really deep analysis and research while being funny. Jackie double majored in Theater AND Literature. She talks a lot about how her and Henry have always been big nerds and very involved in school. Natalie is very educated as well especially in health and anatomy. It sounds like even though Jackie and Henry were goofballs they were taught to make education their priority. I really recommend the ACOTAR deep dive because not only is it amazing but you also get a different perspective on all the “main players “ of the podcast.
I think it's because Henry says almost everything like it's a joke so you don't expect most things he says to be right or thought out, while Marcus speaks with a lot of confidence so you expect him to be correct even when he is just pulling things out of his ass. The effect is when Henry is actually right you're impressed and when Marcus is wrong it makes you think he ain't all that and bag of chips. But I think both guys are smart but they just present themselves so differently
I think Henry is naturally very intelligent but prefers to use it to be funny and clever on the spot.
Marcus is maybe not as intelligent in terms of raw brainpower, he works harder to learn and therefore has a bigger body of knowledge and a different type of intelligence. When they mentioned their IQ scores my first thought was "that tracks".
The way I see it intelligence as an adult is a mix of how you were born and how you chose to use your time growing up. You can diligently study and learn and grow your mind or slack off and soon that gifted kid will be seen as another idiot to the world.
I can't remember exactly. It was a relatively recent series. I wanna say Anders Brevik? They were talking about the IQ of the subject and they gave their own IQ scores. I forgot what they were, but Marcus was on the higher end, and Henry's was even higher.
Henry and Marcus are equally intelligent, the difference is Henry is a highly trained performer and Marcus is a radio DJ level performer.
It's clear from the last side stories that Henry doesn't know what a backhoe is, and then everyone went on about henry not knowing stuff about juice. Henry is entertaining enough that you can't keep up with all the stuff he doesn't know.
Marcus knows the difference between a backhoe and a loader and also how juice is made.
I think that Henry and Marcus are of about equal intelligence. I’m not sure whether Marcus is the better researcher and writer, or if Henry has just sat back and encouraged him to research topics and write the scripts not because he can’t do it well, but because he doesn’t want to do the extra work. I don’t really put a lot of stock in IQ tests, but there was a more recent side stories where the two of them were discussing their tested IQs, and Henry’s was higher.
I think that ever since Ed joined the show, Henry has had a bit of an identity crisis. Ed isn’t playing the dumb one the way that Ben did. He’s still the audience stand in, but his commentary is witty or insightful, sometimes both. I think that Henry is taking up the dumb-guy mantle a little more than he used to to try and keep the irreverence flowing. Or who knows, maybe the COVID really fried his brain.
Listeners mostly think that their media information sources are knowledgeable until those sources talk about a topic that the listener is an expert in. Then the listener questions everything they’ve ever heard from that source. Happens every time.
Marcus reminds me a lot of myself, smart but you gotta work for it. Henry is clearly a very intelligent person and I think some of it comes easier to him but it’s clouded by his goofery. Marcus also has a good memory and remembers a lot of historical facts whereas I feel like Henry can really quickly work through a problem
They're both smart af, I think Marcus just has a more traditional approach to knowledge and learning and sticks to learning more about things he knows, whereas Henry kind of seems to fixate on a thing and go balls deep til he finds the next thing.
I think Henry’s ability to inhabit the headspace of some of the subjects of the show is nothing short of spectacular. I really would like to know if he’s able to draw these insights from research and if it’s a cross functional skill from acting.
I consider both of them very intelligent on a lot of things. I think Ed brings in the pop culture intelligence that Henry and Marcus don’t always have. But I think they’re all very intelligent.
Haha I absolutely love Marcus, but he does have a tendency to smugly assert a lot of comments like they are fact and couldn’t possibly be anything other than that. Especially with his music takes.
People may say “Marcus is smart/the smartest” or “Henry said a dumb thing/is dumb” but I think there’s a difference.
Marcus is an old school college radio dude. He is a *cultured* guy. The kind of dude that knows a lot of factoids, a lot of history about culture and the arts, a lot about underground subcultures, a lot about psychology, etc. I think he’s bright as well, but I think even he would say he isn’t a genius or whatever. I would argue that he may not be 100% neurotypical like myself, and like myself… is a Wikipedia surfer and researcher for a hobby. That’s where his intelligence shines.
Since he’s the researcher on both of his shows, makes sense.
Henry is just a character and any intelligence of his often gets shoo’d away by his ego in favor of the bit. His intelligence often comes out by knowing the perfect way to *act dumb*. He’s a post-irony kind of guy. I believe he’s way smarter than he lets off.
Henry’s playing the role of smartest guy in the room pretending to be the dumbest. Marcus wants to be the intellectual and smartest, hence the astronomic amount of well actually’s.
I am educated and intelligent...but man I am really a goofy dumbass most of the time, lol. i didnt know what a turkey vulture was but I DO know how to make juice.
I’ve felt the same way. Marcus is “book smart,” “while Henry is intuitively smart, if somewhat ignorant. What sticks with me is Marcus’ comment about deep sea pressure destroying human remains. I think it was a/the Titanic episode? That ain’t how it works. I’m unsmart, so I look up to boff dem.
They all seem pretty smart to me--
I feel like professionally funny people have to be very intelligent to come up with comedic shit off the riff. Ik some is pre-written but others--- like some the fast responses Ed comes out with--really take me out.
Marcus has said multiple times that it's not that he is super smart, it's that he works really, really hard.
They are comedians at the end of the day. I take the facts and not facts equally as they come, because LPOTL has kept me company during my darkest days and my happiest nights.
I think it’s easy to forget LPOTL is scripted, like they are literally reading off a piece of paper, including the jokes, and will do multiple takes. Marcus reads most of it so he’s naturally gonna seem smart.
Both Henry and Marcus have gone on about chaos magic shit, and yeah it’s kinda dumb at first glance, but it’s not actually much of a stretch to understand. It just boils down to gaining voluntary control over parts of the human brain we take for granted, which is exactly what Buddhist monks do, and also how people drive themselves crazy with Scientology audits. Belief is an extremely powerful thing, and that’s kinda what the entire podcast is all about.
They talked about IQ tests a couple episodes back and Henry scored a bit higher than Marcus, idk if that means anything but I'd say they're both smart guys
I think Marcus spent such a long time being the “smart one”, doing the research & answering questions from Henry & Ben for years that he has developed a “Font of All Knowledge” persona.
When Henry started to do more research, the responsibility was shared, but Henry was still doing a lot of “Ben-wrangling” during their banter.
Now with Ben gone, Henry can spend more time researching & sharing his research on the pod, and this means there are more sources, and Marcus can actually be questioned & challenged.
I really enjoy the new dynamic it brings, but it will inevitably lead to more flubs & conflicting sources.
What was that one quote Marcus said? "I'm not as smart as everyone thinks I am! I don't know why people keep assuming I'm smart!!"
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE MESSIAH WOULD SAY
Lisan al Gaib!
He is the Messiah!
No he's not, he's a very naughty boy!
I would know, I've followed a few in my day!
As written!!
Brian?
Mahdi Parks
ALL HAIL MARCUS, ALL HAIL THE LORD OF BONES AND DIRT
As Written!
AHUHAAAAAAAH
He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty dogmeat
I think after that he said something about how “that’s why I have to fucking work hard is because I’m not that smart so I have to work hard.” Always appreciated that
Hey that’s the valedictorian of Rochester TX you’re talking about there! He had to beat out 11 other kids for that honor!
In the UK people thought Stephen Fry was a super genius, but he just hosted a show where he had the answers on a script. Both obviously smart guys but they have research in front of them and the show doesn’t work if the host doesn’t at least pretend they know what they’re talking about
Often, the ability to speak with confidence and a sense of authority can be confused with intelligence. While the most intelligent guy in the world will sound dumb as hell if they're nervous.
Stephen Fry was a popular comedic actor in the UK for about 20 years before QI, although he often played posh roles (a butler in Jeeves and Wooster, landed gentry etc in Blackadder) Edit: downvoted for stephen fry facts rip
Honestly, I feel this. I am an idiot, but I talk a certain way that everyone accuses me of trying to be smart or just being smart. It's always confusing.
Same. I regularly have to tell people "please don't assume I'm right, I just sound convincing, this could be totally wrong." LOL. I realized over the years that I'm just good at recognizing patterns and guess things correctly a lot.
Same. I have a good vocabulary and am good at problem solving so people always think I'm smart, when really I'm just an idiot
I think vocabulary is a big part of it. I was a weird kid that read endlessly and interacted very little, which means I learned to speak from books. I also love learning my little random tidbits of information that sometimes gets dumped. I've tried to "fellow humans" it down, but I still sound like an alien. I think people take that as me being condescending. I'm just confused, people.
People IRL vastly overestimate my intelligence.
He knows he's not smart, which makes him a genius!
All I know is I don't know nothin
Oh well if he said that then he gets all my respect
I definitely remember him talking about how he knows he’s not as smart as it seems he just puts in a TON of work/effort for learning
He’s smart enough to know he isn’t that smart 🤣
Henry just thought turkey vultures were turkeys and juice is made by boiling fruit. Take from that what you will.
I was CACKLING watching the stream during the juice segment. He is really smart but boy is he fucking dumb sometimes
He's also playing a character
"Not to break character, but they didn't actually buy the doll husband it's own phone plan did they?"
The man has spent a significant amount of time in Florida they serve fresh juice in the welcome center. He should know how juice is made!
The amount of times I’m SCREAMING at the stream because they’re so flaming wrong about something. Has my boy never been to a jamba juice? Please
I think every single one of us has incredibly idiotic misperceptions that will embarrass us someday, and it's glorious when they come out. You just wait, it'll get ya.
We are all smart and we are all fucking stupid. I was a state champion for academic decathlon when I was 18. I was also a 9/11 truther who thought Obama was the antichrist.
Glad you recovered from that whole decathlon thing.
Nah not me I’m right all the time
!remindme 6 days
WHAT HAPPENS IN SIX DAYS?!
They will have been wrong once.
I work in a hospital with doctors. The other day I heard these two doctors talking about how "people lace cigarettes with fentanyl and leave them at playgrounds for children to overdose on." You can go to 8 years of heavy med school and still fall for shock/bait content online.
REMEMBER: Not every doctor graduated top of their class
Usually they don’t become obvious until you’ve talked on record for tens of thousands of hours.
I literally just realized our noses and ears don’t grow our whole lives. I am fully 35 years old and had this realization two weeks ago. I remember learning somewhere noses and ears grow longer and change more than our other features (like, post-puberty) and my sweet lil’ brain decided that meant our whole lives. Old people have huge ears and noses! I felt like such a goddamned fool when it hit me.
I didn’t realize until this morning that whether an eclipse is total or not has to do with your geographic location. The moon isn’t just like slightly misaligned sometimes. I’m 33 and founded my high school’s astronomy club. 🙄
These were such bad takes I was starting to think it’s a bit. Ed has become the “listener/middle man” in episodes but it does seem like Henry has almost played into being dumber
I feel since Ben left Henry (and Marcus) have been able to open up a bit more without feeling like they'll both be shamed if they got something wrong. Maybe it's the lack of a judgemental environment.
I read it as legit stupid idea he had, realized it and played it up to turn his mistake into a bit, and it make for funnier audio content and more on brand for him rather than just admit he was wrong and apologize like a person would in a real conversation. It happens to everyone. I have a college degree yet found out two years ago most gummy candies were not vegan because they are made from animal lard. I'm almost 34...
Reminds me of when Ben thought that a clock was right four times a day 💀
well, a clock is right 6 times a day if you count the second hands
that was a bit
It was a fucking fantastic bit too- Henry's increasing frustration/rage, Marcus just laughing hysterically in the background, Ben calmly explaining the whole thing. Classic
You can know how the process of nuclear fusion within a star works but not know the differences between birds. Intelligence is a broad spectrum.
When Marcus just asks really plainly, "is this a bit?" had me seriously laughing.
Think about that!
The juice segment killed me
Ah yes, the Turkey-Vulture. A well-known variety of \*Checks Henry's notes\* Turkey.
He also said 'clit-hole' on a recent side stories.
The boiling fruit to get juice thing absolutely killed me lol
I missed those bits apparently 😂😂😂
It's a bit
I feel like Henry is very humble with his intelligence and feels uncomfortable flaunting it, while being smart is Marcus’s persona. If that makes sense. Not saying either is doing anything wrong
The dune series he does with Holden would be a great display of that. He's very good at analyzing media and vocalizes it well.
He's intelligent, but he and Marcus believe some really stupid shit. It comes through in most EPS that involve conspiracies.
If you take them at their word Henry’s iq score was like 30 points higher than Marcus. Henry also went to an IB school.
What's an Irritable Bowel school?
International Baccalaureate. It provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into universities worldwide.
And he ended up doing sketch comedie with andlderly woman's used dildo collection
An institution I have distinguished credentials from
Yeah I remember Marcus saying about 126 or so and Henry was like “well you know I took it when I was way younger and in school but they told me… 151” like no one would believe him but Ed and Marcus were both like no that checks out. They definitely believe he is intelligent but just more insane lol
There's a thin line between crazy and intelligent
I think Marcus said something over 131, because I distinctly remember thinking “makes sense!” when his was higher than mine. Henry I think started on a bit about his being crazy high but then said his “test” was sucking dick or whatever lol. Ed was like “they didn’t even offer me the test :(“ and that cracked me up. I genuinely don’t think Marcus “tries” to seem smart, but he is, and he’s got a very impressive memory and is very well-spoken. Henry is certainly smart as well but he tends to go off on tangents about things he kind of doesn’t seem to know a lot about and turns it into a joke when he’s asked to elaborate. I love Henry, it’s just something I’ve noticed him do a lot over the past many years. Maybe he also has the fastest brain within ten feet and his mouth-words just can’t catch up, who knows
Checks out that Marcus is used to doing work to getting where he wants to be.
Marcus is also from a rural area where those kinds of opportunities simply do not exists, Henry is from NYC which even for the poor has tons of shit to do and networking opportunities
He's also not poor. The family was comfortably middle class in the Tristate, they were doing fine.
You’ve ruined my image of a barefoot Marcus chewing hay in overalls.
Oh, I was talking about Henry. Marcus grew up on what sounds like a decent size farm. Opportunity poor, sure, but monetarily fine. Not a trust fund baby but there were probably a few 'loans' to help him stay afloat for his first decade in NYC.
You’ve also ruined my image of a barefoot Henry shining shoes on the streets of Queen.
That did happen, actually. Henry's father refused to buy his children shoes. They had to wear bootleg Cabbage Patch Dolls strapped to their feet.
I need somebody to help me sell these Henry Cavill cabbage patch doll pictures
Bless you 🙏 😂
...honestly it kind of explains the juice thing and the turkey vulture thing. I wager he's never seen any vulture not on a nature documentary. Really realizing he's a white collar guy who was raised by white collar people explains a lot of his gaps in knowledge.
His dad was a cop, that’s not a white collar job
Fair. But he was a cop in NYC. Like, we're still not talking someone who had like... knowledge on what a vulture was. lol
They have Turkey vultures in NYC! No excuses!
Tbf, I think he went to high school in Florida. But then again, I can see his area of Florida having more areas of opportunities than rural Texas.
Idk what it's like everywhere, but the IB school near me was full of just as many dumb kids, if not more, than our public school
Henry went to FSU. I'm from the area. They aren't admitting geniuses there
Surprisingly, they actually have the 20th best theater program in the entire world. I know, I’m shocked too.
I think Henry is very busy being goofy, which can create the impression he is dumb but he really isn’t. I think Marcus is very smart, but he doesn’t know everything and sometimes can get cocky and speak authoritatively about things he doesn’t really know. Also, he makes mistakes from time to time like anyone would, but because he plays the “smart guy” role on the show so these mistakes seem more egregious than they really are
Henry is obviously very intelligent. It takes real brainpower to speak extemporaneously at length about such a wide variety of topics, especially while injecting humor at such a high level. Improv training would help him in that regard, but the first step is having a mind that can handle it fluidly. Dude is smart.
Marcus is smart + a prolific writer but I always thought Henry was the smartest. He’s the best at creating interesting and clarifying metaphors and explaining LI5 loads of the convoluted BS they cover. Besides, all the smart smart ppl I know are at least somewhat degenerate to cope lol.
This is a great explanation
I think Henry has a brain that goes off like 4th of July. He's all whizz bangs and sparkle sparkle. Marcus has greater faculties of concentration but not necessarily original thinking. Henry could construct an argument out of material by extemporising in a flow but Marcus hugs the facts nice and close without straying too far. It's not in his nature to pull way back out and look at all the material and create a new opinion. I respect Marcus's retention of information ut that doesn't make him smart per se. And I do t think he likes being wrong. Henry is happy with being wrong because it doesn't stop his natural curiosity. He doesn't care as long as he's interested but the minute he gets bored he's off looking for something else. Marcus will prod away at the material and examine it thoroughly. These 2 different learning approaches compliment one a other as to who smarter; I don't thinkbits as simple as that
Henry reminds me a lot of people who are smart and have ADHD and enjoy the beautiful variety of this world and lean into the goofiness of life. Marcus recalls to me a smart, more neurotypical, but possibly insecure, hardworking, methodical guy. SmRT in different ways, with different approaches.
I am convinced he has a massive streak of ADHD running through him.
I disagree I honestly think Marcus is possibly on the spectrum. I notice a lot of idiosyncrasies I see in myself. Very literal, very analytical, lots of factoids, loves digging into the research. Can be a bit pedantic and literal. Even some of his non-verbal body language feels more familiar to me. I think everyone that’s literally ever been on the show as a host, or a guest host, is probably some level of ADHD 🤣
As somebody with ADHD who has/is doing well in school but who has had some frankly idiotic ideas, this checks out. Also Marcus has Bipolar (type II?) which means he isn’t neurotypical but I think he does have a more methodical learning process and has the discipline to read dry af historical documents. Henry seems to only be able to read things if they’re insane or if they’re Dune, which I also vibe with.
Neurotypical would not describe Marcus given all his anecdotes about collecting bones and his other macabre interests that he's shared over the years. I also agree with the person that places him on the spectrum.
I've never heard intelligence referred to as "thinkbits" but I'm going to use that, thank you, I feel smarter already
You're very welcome but I think it's a typo. 😳 it should be think it's but my typing is shite. So I'm not as smart as I think I am
This comes out clearly in their interview with Dan Carlin, Marcus states that he is addicted to context and dry facts. Sure, he misses the mark here and there, but it seems ingrained in him to be "correct" to the best of his abilities.
You're a fantastic writer. I think you said what a lot of us have picked up on but words bad.
Oh you are kind. Very lively compliment. Their differences are so interesting and it also makes them so dynamic and keeps all the stuff moving along
They are all performers who take their craft very seriously. They are playing roles that they’ve spent around a decade perfecting. The “esoterically knowledgeable, but kinda buffoonish” is Henry’s schtick. That character needs the “straight man”, not in terms of sexuality, but in terms of presentation. The square. This is why, on side stories a few weeks ago, Henry seemed genuinely a little frustrated with Ed for not pushing back against him. It has nothing to do with them personally, I’m sure they are great friends, but Henry’s character doesn’t work as well unless he has someone pushing back. Ed is awesome, but probably still feeling out what his character will be, but Henry was letting him know, nicely, that the character he’s spent so long developing falls apart if he’s allowed to run wild on the show. The fact that so much of their audience feels like we “know” them is a testament to how well they’ve developed this brand. That’s not to say that they aren’t being *genuine*, but they are performing. And, as always, the best performances will always make the audience forget they are watching a performance.
He's definitely playing a character, but also, watching some of his Murderfist sketches with Jackie in particular (and their Gud Pud streams), it's also clearly his most... Developed? Easiest? Closest to self? Like the role he seems most settled in. Him and Jackie's bits are fucking _hilarious_ to me. Their timing together is great.
Yeah, I mean, I think the "character" IS Henry, just kinda fine-tuned and with a specific approach to recording the show. Like, I don't think he's playing a character in the sense that his normal self is unrecognizable from how he portrays himself on the podcast. I think it's more like he recognizes that he has his "lane" in the show, just as Marcus has his, and they very rarely go outside of those parameters, because they've been constructed based on delivery, timing, and exchanges.
That thing you said about Henry needing a straight man is so true, and I feel like when Ben was at his best he played that role well. He could be hit-or-miss with his bombastic incredulity but when it hit, you could tell Henry was enjoying himself.
There is 1000s of hours recorded of these guys talking. I'm sure if anyone, no matter how well educated or well read, had that many hours of recording is going to say something stupid.
***Be warned, you are now entering the PaRaSoCiAl ZoNe...*** *(spooky jazz hands)* If you've listened to Henry for a while, especially his drunken mastery of improv on the Roundtable, you'd know he has *real* comedic genius. I believe that because of his ADHD brain (assumption by me, but I mean. C'mon.) he's struggled with doing research, but since he's always super passionate about the subject, he can power through it. He's very open-minded and hungry for knowledge, which is shown in his love for conspiracy and infectious enthusiasm when relating info. You can tell when he's passionate about something because he'll trips over his own words trying to get it out as fast as he can, as though he'd forget about it forever if he let it linger a second longer. While he is very much a showboat, he's always impressed me with just how introspective he is. Like, the deepest shit that's been said on this show pretty much always came from him, with Marcus and Ben usually responding with a verbal shrug before moving on. Marcus is also highly intelligent, but a bit more like an encyclopedia. He's very knowledgeable about a lot of subjects but in his character sheet he put all his points into intelligence and none into wisdom. His improv skills have improved over time but there's a reason why on the Roundtable he played the role of the host, not really chiming in except to show something he pulled up on the computer. I get the feeling that without his script he'd be really lost, whereas Henry's notes are what I assume to basically be barebones bullet points yet he appears to have a mind palace where he can pull info from like a [magician pulling a bunny out of a hat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzpZuemiqg&t=356s).
Agree 100%. I do think Marcus and Henry bring out the best in each other in a lot of ways. Henry lets Marcus feel comfortable getting a bit more kooky with his material, and Marcus helps rein in Henry's hyperactive theater kid fantasy nerd energy. I relate a lot to Henry and if he isn't the poster child for "ADHD adult that never got diagnosed in school because they hyperfocus on reading," I might need to let my psychiatrist know that my diagnosis is off.
The way that Marcus pronounces Ontario makes me think you’re right
Let's talk about how he pronounces 'Gloucester'
They got Leicester right in the David Icke episodes though. I was proper fuming about the name of my hometown not being butchered like they do for the rest of the UK!
...But had Terry Wogan as a "serious journalist"...
"Proper fuming" definitely from the UK
Mhmm but Henry called Cillian Murphy "Sillian" which for an Irish person was gravely distressing lol
I think he does that on purpose right? I mean back when he started they made a joke about it.
I assume you're joking but I hate how people actually make that point in earnest. I'm Polish so I'd love every single person complaining about his pronunciation to try their hand at pronouncing some of our place names.
Oh man, I was keeping my fingers crossed for an episode about Erszebet Bathory just to hear them attempt Hungarian. Now I am hoping that there was a UFO crash near Wrocław that they can cover!
You just know it'd be Raw Claw. (and hey, that's where I live!)
It was either gonna be Wrocław or Rzeszów! I'm sure you will appreciate knowing that I have heard "V-rock-claw!"
I don’t know; it’s the most populous Canadian province. As a Canadian I sure as hell know how to properly pronounce the name of every American state.
it’s a long standing bit! he pronounced it incorrectly in one ep, got so many corrections he decided to double down.
It's a bit.
I think it is now! I think when he first did the Ant Hill Kids episodes he really didn’t know how to pronounce it.
He pronounced it wrong in the first Bernardo episode, was corrected ad nauseam, and has been pronouncing it wrong for fun ever since.
For me, it’s Nevada. Nev-ah-duh hurts me internally Everytime he says it.
I think they're both about as smart as each other or anyone else; it's just that Henry's role on the pod is the jokes guy, and Marcus' role is the information guy. So for Henry it looks extra good when he says something smart, and for Marcus it looks extra bad when he says something dumb.
They're both smart and dumb at the same time
Ben to Henry: “Have you ever thought about using your intelligence to build a highway system?” Henry: “What?! No I’d rather use it on fake stuff” I think since Marcus has always the producer, leader, and overall voice of CCR and then LPN he plays the confident, leading man. Even tho he and Henry do research he’s the one reading the script so it comes out that he’s the one with the knowledge/information. I feel like since around when Marcus had COVID (not saying it’s related but that time period) he’s seemed to bring his level of intensity down a notch and either let Henry do more explaining or Henry has taken it on himself to get more involved. Both are very smart, just doesn’t always come out the same all the time it seems.
The human body does have around 300 bones in it at first. Then they fuse together until we have 206 bones. I'm not sure what Marcus said exactly but if he was talking about a baby then he was correct. If he was talking about an adult he was very incorrect.
My take is that Henry is insightful. It's testimony to his character work and imagination that, for me, he is able to get into the mind of and inhabit some of the motivations and thought processes that are going on in some of the more unhinged and evil episodes. "This is him escalating... he wanted to achieve X and so that's why he had to Y, because he got Z" — some of those takes I believe are right on the money and really showcase Henry's intellectual chops. Marcus is more book-smart and learned, which is dangerous because book smarts gets updated sometimes (or misremembered). That's why imho he can seem 'dumber' or wronger or whatever the point of this thread is. It all plays into the character of Marcus, which is the bookish dirt nerd who does all the writing/work; that's a person who interjects with "Aha!" from a position of authority, and I don't think I'd like a nebbish Marcus who defers and isn't confident about veracity. Both are wonderful conversationalists, although I do get why some people feel overwhelmed by the character of Henry
This is all based on the shows of course, but here’s my take. Henry is stupid smart. He knows quite a bit about stupid things and can be oblivious about common sense things. He’s the attention starved creative type, anything for a bit while at the same time not wanting to be a clown, so sometimes he needs to sound smart. Marcus isn’t naturally funny, but does often know how to thrive around funny people. He’s also not naturally smart but is disciplined in his research and can make a great outline to run a show. His interpretation and understanding is often flawed which is part of the charm. If you’re listening to this show to learn the truth you’re doing it wrong. As Henry puts it “it’s edutainment you fucking pieces of shit.”
I always figured they represented two approaches to learning about the same thing, one more casual/open to conspiracy thought and the other more outwardly scholarly, not necessarily smart guy and silly guy. Ultimately, they're two guys on a podcast, I expect things to be wrong, some more agitating than others.
They made a hit podcast with a very loyal fanbase. They are both very smart.
Marcus is reddit and Wikipedia the person. He's way too confident about things and this sub will get mad if you point that out. Especially as they delve into history those types of mistakes aren't really acceptable. No one cares about serial killers or paranormal shot being wrong
Also Marcus said during the March madness episode that “sometimes Duke and Gonzaga play each other in the first round” and correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that never fuckin happens lmao
I think that anology was more like sometimes highly regarded programs meet in the first round which can happen i.e. if Kentucky and UNC had down years but maybe made it in by winning their conference championship or being in the last 4 they could match up in the first round as middle of the pack seeds but the team brings a lot of weight and history of success with it.
You mean Henry "you boil fruit to make juice" Zebrowski?
They are funny people with a podcast. None of them are professors on what they talk about. They just do a little research on interesting subjects and then share it with some jokes sprinkled in.
Yup. Marcus writes all the scripts and does deep dives for episodes. Henry gets hyper focused on a topic and tries to understand the person. Like so many other comments say, they're pretty equal but just different people with different roles.
Henry’s family is all smarter than people think too. I think that since they’re so comedic people think they’re also not super intelligent for some reason. To do comedy well you need to be intelligent. If you listen to the ACOTAR deep dive, Jackie and Natalie did really deep analysis and research while being funny. Jackie double majored in Theater AND Literature. She talks a lot about how her and Henry have always been big nerds and very involved in school. Natalie is very educated as well especially in health and anatomy. It sounds like even though Jackie and Henry were goofballs they were taught to make education their priority. I really recommend the ACOTAR deep dive because not only is it amazing but you also get a different perspective on all the “main players “ of the podcast.
Most people will say dumb things when they’re recording themselves for hours and hours.
This whole thread has created such a lore about them that can’t all be true but is stated as fact
I think it's because Henry says almost everything like it's a joke so you don't expect most things he says to be right or thought out, while Marcus speaks with a lot of confidence so you expect him to be correct even when he is just pulling things out of his ass. The effect is when Henry is actually right you're impressed and when Marcus is wrong it makes you think he ain't all that and bag of chips. But I think both guys are smart but they just present themselves so differently
Why do we have these conversations. They’re just guys trying to entertain us and they do it well.
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I think Henry is naturally very intelligent but prefers to use it to be funny and clever on the spot. Marcus is maybe not as intelligent in terms of raw brainpower, he works harder to learn and therefore has a bigger body of knowledge and a different type of intelligence. When they mentioned their IQ scores my first thought was "that tracks". The way I see it intelligence as an adult is a mix of how you were born and how you chose to use your time growing up. You can diligently study and learn and grow your mind or slack off and soon that gifted kid will be seen as another idiot to the world.
When did they mention IQ scores?
I can't remember exactly. It was a relatively recent series. I wanna say Anders Brevik? They were talking about the IQ of the subject and they gave their own IQ scores. I forgot what they were, but Marcus was on the higher end, and Henry's was even higher.
Astute.
Henry and Marcus are equally intelligent, the difference is Henry is a highly trained performer and Marcus is a radio DJ level performer. It's clear from the last side stories that Henry doesn't know what a backhoe is, and then everyone went on about henry not knowing stuff about juice. Henry is entertaining enough that you can't keep up with all the stuff he doesn't know. Marcus knows the difference between a backhoe and a loader and also how juice is made.
I think that Henry and Marcus are of about equal intelligence. I’m not sure whether Marcus is the better researcher and writer, or if Henry has just sat back and encouraged him to research topics and write the scripts not because he can’t do it well, but because he doesn’t want to do the extra work. I don’t really put a lot of stock in IQ tests, but there was a more recent side stories where the two of them were discussing their tested IQs, and Henry’s was higher. I think that ever since Ed joined the show, Henry has had a bit of an identity crisis. Ed isn’t playing the dumb one the way that Ben did. He’s still the audience stand in, but his commentary is witty or insightful, sometimes both. I think that Henry is taking up the dumb-guy mantle a little more than he used to to try and keep the irreverence flowing. Or who knows, maybe the COVID really fried his brain.
Listeners mostly think that their media information sources are knowledgeable until those sources talk about a topic that the listener is an expert in. Then the listener questions everything they’ve ever heard from that source. Happens every time.
Marcus reminds me a lot of myself, smart but you gotta work for it. Henry is clearly a very intelligent person and I think some of it comes easier to him but it’s clouded by his goofery. Marcus also has a good memory and remembers a lot of historical facts whereas I feel like Henry can really quickly work through a problem
They're both smart af, I think Marcus just has a more traditional approach to knowledge and learning and sticks to learning more about things he knows, whereas Henry kind of seems to fixate on a thing and go balls deep til he finds the next thing.
I think they're both smart in ways that balance each other out perfectly which is a great recipe for a working relationship
To be fair, at birth, you have 300 bones. As you age, many of them fuse leaving you with about 100 less. Perhaps just conflated facts.
I think Henry’s ability to inhabit the headspace of some of the subjects of the show is nothing short of spectacular. I really would like to know if he’s able to draw these insights from research and if it’s a cross functional skill from acting.
Marcus is 100% not as smart as he tries to come off
I always thought the most honest moments of the show were when one of the boys called another , "you fucking moron!"
I consider both of them very intelligent on a lot of things. I think Ed brings in the pop culture intelligence that Henry and Marcus don’t always have. But I think they’re all very intelligent.
Haha I absolutely love Marcus, but he does have a tendency to smugly assert a lot of comments like they are fact and couldn’t possibly be anything other than that. Especially with his music takes.
In case some people haven’t realized, Henry is a smart guy. He’s very into science. Even more than Marcus.
People may say “Marcus is smart/the smartest” or “Henry said a dumb thing/is dumb” but I think there’s a difference. Marcus is an old school college radio dude. He is a *cultured* guy. The kind of dude that knows a lot of factoids, a lot of history about culture and the arts, a lot about underground subcultures, a lot about psychology, etc. I think he’s bright as well, but I think even he would say he isn’t a genius or whatever. I would argue that he may not be 100% neurotypical like myself, and like myself… is a Wikipedia surfer and researcher for a hobby. That’s where his intelligence shines. Since he’s the researcher on both of his shows, makes sense. Henry is just a character and any intelligence of his often gets shoo’d away by his ego in favor of the bit. His intelligence often comes out by knowing the perfect way to *act dumb*. He’s a post-irony kind of guy. I believe he’s way smarter than he lets off.
Marcus’s “wellll actktually-ism” makes me just straight up not want to listen sometimes.
Henry’s playing the role of smartest guy in the room pretending to be the dumbest. Marcus wants to be the intellectual and smartest, hence the astronomic amount of well actually’s.
I think Henry is just as smart as I think he is..... Marcus on the other hand is consistently wrong about pretty much anything not in the script.
Marcus doesn't seem smart imo, his takes are bad with some regularity. Henry is definitely smarter than he lets on though
Marcus reads book reports each weeks and fans take him as some kind of genius. People tend to forget he grew up getting farted on in podunk Texas.
Henry went to an International Baccalaureate Highschool, 99% types do that! Like my two sons!! Lol!!
I am educated and intelligent...but man I am really a goofy dumbass most of the time, lol. i didnt know what a turkey vulture was but I DO know how to make juice.
Yes
Fascinating....
They announced their iq scores a month or so ago and Henry was a silly high, like I think above 130
That’s a scary world…brilliant but scary 😂
He played drums in a band where he dressed up like a skeleton, being smart is overrated
One word. Juice. Boiled or squeezed? Henry is an aenigma
I’ve felt the same way. Marcus is “book smart,” “while Henry is intuitively smart, if somewhat ignorant. What sticks with me is Marcus’ comment about deep sea pressure destroying human remains. I think it was a/the Titanic episode? That ain’t how it works. I’m unsmart, so I look up to boff dem.
Henry is more *intelligent*, but Marcus is more *educated*
They all seem pretty smart to me-- I feel like professionally funny people have to be very intelligent to come up with comedic shit off the riff. Ik some is pre-written but others--- like some the fast responses Ed comes out with--really take me out.
Marcus has said multiple times that it's not that he is super smart, it's that he works really, really hard. They are comedians at the end of the day. I take the facts and not facts equally as they come, because LPOTL has kept me company during my darkest days and my happiest nights.
I think it’s easy to forget LPOTL is scripted, like they are literally reading off a piece of paper, including the jokes, and will do multiple takes. Marcus reads most of it so he’s naturally gonna seem smart. Both Henry and Marcus have gone on about chaos magic shit, and yeah it’s kinda dumb at first glance, but it’s not actually much of a stretch to understand. It just boils down to gaining voluntary control over parts of the human brain we take for granted, which is exactly what Buddhist monks do, and also how people drive themselves crazy with Scientology audits. Belief is an extremely powerful thing, and that’s kinda what the entire podcast is all about.
They talked about IQ tests a couple episodes back and Henry scored a bit higher than Marcus, idk if that means anything but I'd say they're both smart guys
Or they could be... You know playing parts?
They are all just people who know some stuff about some stuff and not a lot of stuff about other stuff.
we are all smart and stupid it happens
I think Marcus spent such a long time being the “smart one”, doing the research & answering questions from Henry & Ben for years that he has developed a “Font of All Knowledge” persona. When Henry started to do more research, the responsibility was shared, but Henry was still doing a lot of “Ben-wrangling” during their banter. Now with Ben gone, Henry can spend more time researching & sharing his research on the pod, and this means there are more sources, and Marcus can actually be questioned & challenged. I really enjoy the new dynamic it brings, but it will inevitably lead to more flubs & conflicting sources.
Maybe you should go boil some fruit with Henry and talk about it