Here are seven brilliant men who seemingly over-revved the neurological engine, who watched as the gearbox and chassis of their brains flew off onto the roadside...and kept on accelerating.

Is it possible to be too smart? Maybe. History is full of insane geniuses, humans who mentally put the pedal to the metal--and sometimes through the floor.

7 Pythagoras, Greek Mathematician, around 575 -500 B.C.

The Genius:

Yes, this is the guy who came up with the Pythagorean theorem we all learned in school ("The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the square of the other two sides").

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Apart from this pillar of trigonometry, Pythagoras was the first high-profile academic to insist that natural phenomena could be explained mathematically (paving the way for the study of Physics) and was even a major inspiration for Plato's theories of democracy. So, yeah, we can thank him for, like, half of the good things ever invented.

The Insanity:

Much like L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh, Pythagoras founded his own religion. Much like L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh, Pythagoreanism was totally insane. How insane? To put it concisely, the square of the insanity of Pythagoreanism is equal to the sum of the square of the insanity of other religions.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Pythagoras' religion had two primary tenets: souls are reincarnated, and beans are evil. Not metaphorical beans, or metaphysical beans, but just plain, edible beans.



"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

Amongst other absurdities, Pythagoreanism's greatest commandments include:

-Do not, under any circumstances, eat beans

-Smooth out all bodily indents on pillows and/or beds

-Do not step over a crossbar

-Do not sit on a quart

-Do not walk on highways

-Do not leave the pot's impression in the ashes after removing it from the fire

-Do not stir a fire without iron

-Do not let swallows nest under the roof

Pythagoras' sect had more understandable rules, such as vegetarianism and pacifism, but he tended to break those. The vegetarianism rules were bent when, upon discovering his famous theorem, he celebrated by slaughtering an ox. His message of pacifism suffered greatly from his dying in a fight.