<p>by crazy, i mean that they do random things that are weird, childish, and immature. and that they find it funny that they do it, and that they’re also self-aware of their craziness (by that account, paul erdos and nikola tesla probably don’t count since they didn’t seem to be that self-aware of their craziness). </p>
<p>also, it doesn’t count if it’s induced through schizophrenia.</p>
<p>it’s a benefit if they’re sociable though. henry cavendish and isaac newton don’t seem to be friendly or sociable. and then there’s kary mullis but he’s too normal for me. also, they have to be <em>rational</em>, as in, they have to actually have beliefs that correspond with the real world. if you believe that pigeons are smarter than people or that the 9/11 attacks were the product of a government conspiracy (like some crazy smart people do), then you’re wrong and irrational. </p>
<p>who else counts? teenage intellectuals are okay. i mean, the PROBLEM with most of the intellectuals above is that almost none of them were cute, except for possibly Erdos.</p>
<p>George Orwell Maybe. He was extremely argumentative as a kid about all sorts of things, took delight in pranks, and later in life was regarded as eccentric (he would slurp tea from the saucer IIRC).</p>
<p>The best examples of “crazy intellectuals” that I know, are people that I know from real life. Because the things that are regarded as important about documented intellectuals are their accomplishments and interests and backgrounds. People (in general) are not interested in the silly proclivities these people may have had (for instance whether they liked to act like a puppy or not), so consequentially this stuff is not well preserved.</p>
<p>Even if crazy intellectuals are hard to name, I think they have and do exist in numbers greater than history would otherwise indicate. From what I observe at my school, the intellectual students are often the ones that display the most immature behaviors. Of course - as you said - the immaturity is the childish and cute type, which is important. And, indeed, they do seem to find their behaviors funny and amusing (that’s why they consciously choose to take part in them).</p>
<p>So, yes, I know some, and think your description of “crazy intellectuals” is probably applicable to a decent-sized subset of intellectuals. </p>
<p>also, certain types of intellectuals might be less or more “crazy” on average (like writers as opposed to mathematicians).</p>