Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a casual conversation?

Re:Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a ca... by hindsightbias on Sunday December 06, 2020 @04:54PM (#25326993)

Anyone who listens for more than 20 seconds is over 110 IQ. People who talk mostly about other people rarely are.

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Re:Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a ca... by totololo on Sunday December 06, 2020 @05:27PM (#25327233)

Reminds me of this quote: "Great Minds Discuss Ideas. Average Minds Discuss Events. Small Minds Discuss People."

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Re:Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a ca... by chrisked on Sunday December 06, 2020 @06:22PM (#25327644)

Listening plus being very curious might be a good indicator. Smart people tend to understand that the world is complicated and there is always something to learn how it functions.

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Re:Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a ca... by therm0 on Sunday December 06, 2020 @05:09PM (#25327090)

I know plenty of people who are extremely intelligent who only talk about themselves. Isn't social intelligence only one component of overall intelligence?

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Re:Ask HN: How to figure out if someone is smart during a ca... by 9wzYQbTYsAIc on Sunday December 06, 2020 @06:10PM (#25327566)

Ability to think about others’ frame of mind is a kind of intelligence. You are probably referring to gossip, however.

Also, listening duration is a measure of attention not intelligence.

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