Isaac Asimov was a very modest man. He considered himself the third most intelligent person in the world.

The two people Asimov placed above himself? Carl Sagan and Marvin Minsky.

Sagan many have heard of, of course, because of his crossover into pop culture. Minsky, on the other hand, deserves more recognition.

Minsky is one of the foremost researchers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, the founder of MIT's AI lab. Among his many accomplishments is his pioneering work on neural networks. (So, yes, when the robots eventually rise up to conquer the world, we'll have Minsky to thank. But that's not for a while.) He's also dabbed in philosophy.

So, other than their advanced intelligence, what do Asimov, Sagan, and Minsky have in common?

As if you have to ask!