“Here are three traits I would report from a long trail of meeting and interviewing people who by any reckoning are very intelligent.
- They all know it.
- Virtually none of them (need to) say it.
- They know what they don’t know. This to me is the most consistent marker of real intelligence. The more acute someone’s ability to perceive and assess, the more likely that person is to recognize his or her limits. . . . generally the cliche is true: the clearest mark of intelligence, even ‘genius,’ is awareness of one’s limits and ignorance.”
— James Mackenzie Fallows, American writer and journalist; from his article, “How Actual Smart People Talk About Themselves,”The Atlantic, January 6, 2018