Have there been any great discoveries made by someone who wasn't particularly smart?
This seems worth knowing if you're considering pursuing a career with a low chance of high impact. Is there any hope for relatively ordinary people (like the average LW reader) to make great discoveries?
Norman Borlaug (father of the Green Revolution) didn't come across as very smart to me. Reading his Wikipedia page, there didn't seem to be notable early childhood signs of genius, or anecdotes about how bright he is.
2Eli Tyre
My understanding is that, for instance, Maxwell was a genius, but Faraday was more like a sharp exceptionally curious person.
@Adam Scholl can probably give better informed take than I can.