Ron is smarter than Nick.
Ron has more raw intelligence than Nick. However, Nick lives in an environment which encourages intellectualism and that is why it seems Nick is smarter than Ron.
Here is the evidence:
Ron: "What if time shrunk too I mean? What if it is hours for us, but years for the rest of the world?"
Nick: "Impossible, time doesn't exist except as a..."
Ron posed an interesting question even if the answer was "no." Time is relative and can change in space. Nick was completely wrong.