Check Out The Brains On Him: Men We Love For Their Mind

Jamie Hyneman

My daughter adores Mythbusters and I must say that I do too. Neither Jamie or Adam catch my eye with their looks (That's what Tory is there for. RAWR!), but I find myself wishing that Jamie could share his brain with me. I would love to be able to look at the world the way that he does, figuring out angles and physics and all the things needed to build the machines to test a myth. It amazes me. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all to have a man like Jamie around, even if he's not exactly my physical type. I'm pretty sure he could build me a full-size, working Bender, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot. That's plenty enough to win my heart any day. - Pinky




John Mighton

Ah, the renaissance man. That rare dreamy dude that is not just jock, not just artist, not just scientist. but a jortntist (let's make that a thing).

Well I don't know how good John Mighton is at free throws, but as a mathematician and playwright he is amazing. "His play "Possible Worlds" is beautiful. As beautiful as the charity work he does encouraging children to learn math skills. His belief in the "myth of ability" ie that kids are often convinced they can't do something because no one has taken the time to really teach them. Is incredibly inspiring and has earned him the Order of Canada. Yes, he's really that great. - Park







Dr. Spencer Reid

I'm sure there's some pretty serious downsides to dating someone who has a perfect memory, a near complete disconnect from modern society, and a heaping dose of intense shyness. But might it also be worth it if that someone had a wonderfully nerdy sense of humor and a personality that had become tough as nails after being sent to public high school at age 12 and serving time as an FBI behavior analyst? Survey says… totally worth it. Dr.Spencer Reid of "Criminal Minds" isn't exactly my dream man, but he's wickedly intelligent and handsome and that's a great start. And it doesn't hurt that the actor portraying Dr.Reid, Matthew Gray Gubler, is a former model. - Rusty



Hugh Herr


I'm going to go with Hugh Herr, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT and the head of the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab.

I learned about Dr. Herr via an interview that he did on Fresh Air. He designs amazing prosthetic limbs, and as double amputee himself, wears his own designs to do everything from walking to mountain climbing. Yes, mountain climbing. The work he does is brilliant and cutting edge.  I could listen to him talk for hours and he isn't hard on the eyes, either.  - Tamatha










Neil deGrasse Tyson

Ever since I was a kid I've been interested in the stars. My dad and I would stand out in the back yard on dark, moonless nights to name to constellations and point out shooting stars. So, it's no surprise that my favorite brain crush is Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium. The first time I heard of him was when he was quoted in an article on Space.com, too long ago for me to remember. All these years later, I'm still a fan. No joke, I do a Tiger Woods fist-pump when I hear that he is appearing on my favorite shows like Science Friday or The Colbert Report. What keeps me glued to the radio or TV with every appearance is his knack for explaining the fantastic in plain terms and his ability to eloquently argue for a return to space exploration. With a man like him around, one would never lack for an intellectually stimulating conversation. - Dixie





Dr. Ian Malcolm

In all honesty, I wanted to act all smart and come up with a fer realz scientist smart guy - you know, because I wanna impress you guys with my sophistication and knowledge, but the only person I could think of was chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm who fought a T-Rex in Jurassic Park and won. Now granted, he did not explain Chaos Theory very well in the movie, a droplet of water sliding down a hand doesn't quite cut it. Despite that script, I was enthralled with Chaos Theory, did some readings (which in my fevered 13 year old brain meant that Dr. Malcolm and I were pretty much dating), and discovered that systems that seem disordered, are really about finding the underlying order in apparently random data. I'm not 13 anymore, but I'm still hoping Dr. Malcolm will show up, get all mathematic-y up in my business, and explain why my life is a chaotic disaster. -Metric Jenn