Probably one of the smartest people who ever lived. His breadth of knowledge was probably unsurpassed. He wrote/knew about everything, from math to philosophy to pharmacology ,sports, etc. By the end of undergrad he effectively a top-tier philosopher and then branched out to writing, in which he also excelled. Kinda like Issac Asimov in terms of knowing so much, but a completely different genre.
FWIW, his venture into math writing with Everything and More [1] was widely criticized.
The wikipedia has links to the full text of three reviews: "laced through and through with blunders of every magnitude." "Any reader keen to gain insights into the infinite would do better to go back to Aristotle." "The presentation grows increasingly frantic and disorganized. Nothing makes sense."
>a top-tier philosopher and then branched out to writing
I probably can't replicate the experience for anyone else, but I was astounded by learning the year in which Infinite Jest was released only after finishing it. The only other fiction that's led me to totally misapprehend the year of publication like that is Parable of the Sower.
