Comparing Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot is a classic debate. Because they operate using entirely different methodologies and personality types, "smartness" depends on how you define intelligence.

Here is a breakdown of how they compare across different categories of intellect:

### 1. Methodology: Science vs. Psychology
*   **Sherlock Holmes (The Materialist):** Holmes relies on **induction and chemistry**. He is a master of forensic science (before it fully existed), ballistics, botany, and anatomy. He notices the specific red clay on a shoe or the depth of a footprint. His intelligence is **observational and encyclopedic**.
*   **Hercule Poirot (The Psychologist):** Poirot scoffs at "clues" like cigarette ash or footprints (which he calls "the detective of fiction"). He relies on **deduction and psychology**. He believes that by sitting still and using the "little grey cells," he can understand the victim’s and killer's characters. His intelligence is **emotional and analytical.**

### 2. Breadth of Knowledge
*   **Holmes:** He has a "brain attic" theory: he only keeps information that is useful for his work. He is brilliant in chemistry and British law but famously did not know that the Earth revolves around the Sun because it didn't affect his cases.
*   **Poirot:** Poirot is more of a Renaissance man. He is well-versed in high society, international politics, fine art, and human behavior. He has a much broader understanding of the world and social nuances than Holmes.

### 3. Social Intelligence (EQ)
*   **Holmes:** He is often described as a "calculating machine." He frequently struggles with empathy, social graces, and understanding the emotional motives of others unless they pertain to a crime. He is an introvert who often needs Watson to translate "humanity" for him.
*   **Poirot:** Poirot is a social master. He uses his "foreignness" and perceived eccentricities to make people underestimate him. He knows how to manipulate people into talking and understands the "hidden" tensions in a dinner party or a family dynamic. He has a much higher EQ.

### 4. Technical Skills
*   **Holmes:** He is a master of disguise, a skilled boxer, a violinist, and an expert in cryptography. He is a "man of action" who will chase a boat down the Thames.
*   **Poirot:** Poirot hates physical exertion and dirt. His skill set is almost entirely mental and linguistic. While Holmes might track a killer through the woods, Poirot will sit in a chair and wait for the killer to make a logical error.

### The Verdict: Who wins?

*   **If the crime is a "How-done-it":** **Sherlock Holmes** is smarter. If you need to know which specific brand of tobacco was used and how the killer entered a locked room using a fishing line, Holmes will find the physical evidence that no one else can see.
*   **If the crime is a "Why-done-it":** **Hercule Poirot** is smarter. If the crime involves a complex web of lies, hidden motives, and "order and method," Poirot will solve it by simply talking to people and finding the inconsistency in their soul.

**In a direct clash:** Most literary critics suggest **Holmes** has the higher "raw" processing power and specialized genius, but **Poirot** is more "complete" as a human being and less likely to be fooled by a person's emotions. 

**Fun Fact:** Agatha Christie herself eventually grew tired of Poirot, calling him a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome little creature," whereas Arthur Conan Doyle became so overwhelmed by Holmes's popularity that he famously tried to kill him off at Reichenbach Falls.
