Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-31171723-20170128170340/@comment-26104757-20170212111022

Ravenlot 27 wrote: It seems to be that Madara is rather a "battle-type" shinobi whose intelligence is mainly based on the many years on the battlefield, while Itachi is rather a "study-type" shinobi with his intellligence based on the years of studying and observation rather than fights which he preferred to avoid.

Good point. I remember Chiyo saying how Sasori wouldn't attack recklessly because he knew she had much more battle experience than he did. Although this isn't actually comparable to what you're saying, I think 'battle-type' experience holds more significance than 'study-type' knowledge when estimating the difference in intelligence. On the battlefield, Madara would have a slight advantage because of that.