There are situations where you will find a person that always tries to seem the wisest, smart, or most intelligent in the room or environment.
Most of the time those obsessed with being seen as the most intelligent in the room overcompensate by continuously trying to say the smartest things, using big words, and never saying "I don't know" on something they really don't know.
But there's a simple way to see or test if the person you are talking to is really intelligent or not. This does not require much from them either - Ask them to explain both sides of any issue.
It doesn't matter what the issue is. If they can't put on the other guy's shoes and recognize why their opponent believes as they do, they probably aren't as intelligent as they portray themselves to be or purely cannot see beyond their own current situation.
It's a way to get people to explain their thought processes to you. Then you can judge whether they're being rational, making evidence-based decisions, etc - whatever intelligence markers you're looking for.
If they say things such as "I do not want to explain both sides because I know I am on the right one". It will become evident that they are not very intelligent if they ignore you for the sake of not wanting to explain things and are not willing to learn from you.
Knowing this about a person will give you a clear insight into their rational capacity and thought patterns, and therefore provide you with the answer you are looking for - whether they are really intelligent as they may purport or not.
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