Greg Frankson

**Greg Frankson** was a contestant on the 2012 Special.

## Background

Greg Frankson, also known as Ritallin, was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, by his single mother, who taught him the value of hard work and perseverance. As a first-generation Canadian of Jamaican heritage, Greg has experienced the negative impacts of prejudice, but he has also learned how to endure and thrive.

Since 1990, Greg has left a mark in every community he has called home through his work in education, the arts, and political activism. He is an alumnus of Queen's University, a highly accomplished spoken word artist, and an award-winning social activist. More importantly, he is dedicated to community service and intent on leaving a positive legacy for his three daughters.

Greg has published poetry collections entitled "Cerebral Stimulation" and "Lead on a Page" in 2006 and 2012, respectively. He has also contributed to anthologies entitled "Mic Check" and "That Not Forgotten" in 2008 and 2013, respectively. He has appeared on numerous poetry compilation CDs and previously collaborated with award-winning musicians such as Kinnie Starr, Spesh K, and The Fugitives.

*Retrieved from CBC.ca*

What does Linguistic Intelligence sound like?

It sounds like Greg Frankson, award-winning spoken-word artist, youth advocate and 2012 Canada’s Smartest Person finalist.

Under the name ‘Ritallin,’ Greg has released two poetry collections, four spoken word recordings and he’s been published in three poetry anthologies.

His artistic mission is to “present the vision that inspires others to positively change the world,” which keeps him very busy…

## 2012 Special

Before Greg was summoned to the stage, a clip of him and the other contestants introducing themselves was shown. In this clip, apart from introducing himself, Greg briefly rapped and danced and then stated that he is passionate about his career and that he targets youth, anti-discrimination, and mental health as subjects for his material. He also stated that his single mother made sacrifices in order for him and his sister to become successful and that he believes that he is Canada's Smartest Person because he has linguistic ability, a musical soul, and a "no playing around" attitude. Greg was the first contestant to be personally introduced by Gerry Dee as he entered the stage, before Laura Suen, Peter Dyakowski, and Marshall Carroll. In the first challenge, Word Mix, Greg got 3 acceptable words in the first round, 6 in the second round, and 4 in the final round. With a total of 13 acceptable words, Greg finished in last place and was not awarded any overall points. Backstage, in a confessional, Greg stated that although he was terrible at Word Mix, he hoped that the next challenge would go better and that he would bounce back by the end of the night.

In the second challenge, Spin a Speech, Greg was the first contestant to give a speech and had to give a toast as his speech. He said, "So as I flew in from **Labrador** across this **beaver**-infested nation with bleary *corneas* that allowed me to **acquiesce** to my sleepiness **alone** in my hotel room, I spoke to **Tom** before I came out to see you. You’re so beautiful in your–in your wonderful **spectrum** of colours. The **politics** of giving this wonderful toast, I–I can’t really tell you, but I feel very **special** in this moment. I hope that your **mistress** doesn’t have anything to say about what’s about to happen (haha). Uh–It’s a beautiful **holiday**, a wedding–a wedding ceremony. You look like an **angel** and I know that my speech may be lacking in–the–the lack–the type of ***loquaciousness*** that may have been possible. So let’s lift this **elixir**, all of us, to the bride and give her a warm applause." Interestingly, though 'corneas' was not accepted, 'loquaciousness' was. As a result, Greg received a score of 13 words. Guest judge Seán Cullen commented that Greg seems like a lovely man to have at a wedding and that his speech was interesting and coherent. Seán gave Greg an additional 8 points for the quality of his speech. With a total of 21 points, Greg finished in 2nd place and was awarded 3 overall points.

In the third challenge, Spaced Out, Greg finished his '7' shape 20 seconds into the challenge and finished his 'T' shape just before the challenge ended, making him the only contestant to do the latter. As a result, Greg finished in 1st place and was awarded 5 overall points. Backstage, in a confessional, Greg stated that he felt great because he needed the win and that he was back in the game. He also hugged his mom.

In the fourth challenge, Double Take, Greg selected 8 out of the 15 correct items for his model. He selected the correct hat, bag, skirt, blazer, shoes, sunglasses, necklace, and bracelet. As a result, Greg finished in last place and was not awarded any overall points.

In the fifth challenge, Human Calculator, Greg got 4 correct answers in the first round, 2 in the second round, and 2 in the final round. With a total of 8 correct answers, Greg finished in last place and was not awarded any overall points. In the sixth challenge, Logic Towers, Greg failed to fully relocate his block tower within the time limit of 2 minutes. As a result, Greg tied with Marshall, who had a similar performance, for last place and neither was awarded any overall points.

In the seventh challenge, Power of Persuasion, Greg and the other contestants had to individually explain why they believed that they were Canada's Smartest Person in 30 seconds, debate with each other about what they believed was the greatest invention of all time, and individually make closing statements in 15 seconds. In the first portion of the challenge, Greg was the last contestant to give his explanation and argued that he was Canada's Smartest Person because he is able to apply everything that he has learned since his childhood in real time and that he can be comfortable in any environment that he is put into. In the second portion of the challenge, Greg argued that language is the greatest invention of all time and that humans invented language. In the final portion of the challenge, Greg was the first contestant to make his closing statement and said, "Arlene, I have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of energy becoming someone who is a well-rounded individual–who is able to operate in many different areas and many different ways: musically, poetically, logically. I still strongly stand in my belief that I am Canada's Smartest Person." Guest judge Arlene Dickinson ranked Greg in 2nd place for his overall performance and Greg was awarded 6 overall points as a result.

In the eighth challenge, Lost Instrument, Greg earned 4 points. As a result, Greg finished in 3rd place and was awarded 4 overall points.

In the ninth challenge, Sport Stacking, Greg received a time of 9.02 seconds on his first attempt, received a time of 13.93 seconds on his second attempt, and chose not finish his third attempt after learning of Laura's time on her third attempt. With a personal record time of 9.02 seconds, Greg finished in 3rd place and was awarded 4 overall points. After the first nine challenges, Greg had received a total of 22 overall points. As a result, he finished in 3rd place and was eliminated alongside Marshall, who had finished in last place. Gerry prompted applause for Greg and Marshall because, despite their shared elimination, they were chosen to be finalists out of thousands of people across Canada. Backstage, in a confessional, Greg stated that he feels heartbroken because he came very close to making it to the Multiple Intelligence Obstacle Course and lost by one cup.

Throughout the tenth and final challenge, the Multiple Intelligence Obstacle Course, Greg cheered Peter and Laura on from the audience. After the challenge ended and Peter was crowned Canada's Smartest Person, Greg and the other finalists celebrated onstage with their loved ones and Gerry.

### Summary of Results

  WINNER  This contestant won the final challenge and the competition.
  RUNNER-UP  This contestant was the runner-up of the final challenge and the competition.
  ELIMINATED  This contestant was already eliminated from the competition.
     This contestant qualified for the final challenge due to a sufficient total score.
     This contestant was eliminated from the competition due to an insufficient total score.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on linguistic intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on physical intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on musical intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on visual intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on social intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on logical intelligence.
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.thestar.com/life/2012/03/14/cbcs\_canadas\_smartest\_person\_a\_learning\_experience\_for\_contestants.html
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ofUJ\_9e18&t=397s
3. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/press-release/comedian-gerry-dee-to-host-canadas-smartest-person-sunday-march-18-at-8-p.m
4. ↑ http://www.ritallin.com/about-greg
5. ↑ http://www.ritallin.com/artist
6. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/blog/greg-frankson-poet-and-canadas-smartest-person-finalist
7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ofUJ\_9e18