Of which part? I thought you meant of the smartest people I've known, but another replier addressed humility.
You might also be requesting examples of other issues, that I feel are interesting, of how I know they're smart if they don't act like it; or of how they do act.
I find it self-evident that people who are aware they don't know something will be more likely to learn something than somebody who believes they already know it. But you might be askimg for examples of that.
People who try to display their smarts are focussing on something other than learning. That can be helpful if their goal is to impress potential mates, competitors, opposition, colleagues, employers, investors, customers, clients, audience, readers, followers. It's social conduct, and it's just that it's not helpful for becoming smarter.
I'll give some examples anyway.
Someone who listens to you and watches you like a hawk (somewhat predatory). Someone who easily says "I don't know" because they have a crisp delineation between what they do and don't know, and similarly "you could be right".
In my personal experience, it's incredibly rare to directly experience someone being smart. An example is when I just barely managed to articulate a hazy problem clearly, only to have a smart person solve it without missing a beat.
The issue is (I think) there just aren't that many opportunities for actual smarts to be displayed. For one thing, you have to be confronting a new and difficult problem. And you have to be there. And of course, you have to be less smart than the person, to be able to appreciate it!
Smart people I've known tend to speak slowly.
BTW I'm clearly not speaking as someone supersmart, but as someone who has been the opposite type on occasion!
You might also be requesting examples of other issues, that I feel are interesting, of how I know they're smart if they don't act like it; or of how they do act.
I find it self-evident that people who are aware they don't know something will be more likely to learn something than somebody who believes they already know it. But you might be askimg for examples of that.
People who try to display their smarts are focussing on something other than learning. That can be helpful if their goal is to impress potential mates, competitors, opposition, colleagues, employers, investors, customers, clients, audience, readers, followers. It's social conduct, and it's just that it's not helpful for becoming smarter.
I'll give some examples anyway.
Someone who listens to you and watches you like a hawk (somewhat predatory). Someone who easily says "I don't know" because they have a crisp delineation between what they do and don't know, and similarly "you could be right".
In my personal experience, it's incredibly rare to directly experience someone being smart. An example is when I just barely managed to articulate a hazy problem clearly, only to have a smart person solve it without missing a beat.
The issue is (I think) there just aren't that many opportunities for actual smarts to be displayed. For one thing, you have to be confronting a new and difficult problem. And you have to be there. And of course, you have to be less smart than the person, to be able to appreciate it!
Smart people I've known tend to speak slowly.
BTW I'm clearly not speaking as someone supersmart, but as someone who has been the opposite type on occasion!