Let’s be honest. We’re all sizing each other up, all the time. In a world overflowing with carefully curated LinkedIn profiles and AI-generated “insights,” figuring out if someone’s actually sharp, feels like navigating a minefield in flippers. What’s the tell? What’s that one reliable indicator that someone’s got their cognitive gears meshing beautifully?
For a while, I clung to “curiosity.” But let’s face it, curiosity has been pummelled into such a bland, motivational-poster cliché that it’s almost meaningless. Besides, in this grand age of Wikipedia binges morphing into the AI era, faking a surface-level curiosity is child’s play. Ask a chatbot to be curious about quantum physics, and it’ll spit out a convincing monologue. Doesn’t mean it gets it.
Then there’s education. Diplomas? Degrees? Please. Education, or at least the appearance of it, can often just be bought. It signals access and perseverance, sure, but as a raw measure of nimble intelligence? Not convinced. I’ve met too many folks with impressive letters after their names who couldn’t out wit or out argue the average Uber driver.
Now, I’ll concede, weird professional vocations are usually a good sign. Someone running a niche artisanal pickle company out of a reclaimed lighthouse, or, you know, a legendary tiki bar in Thailand? That sparks my interest. It suggests a certain flair, an ability to go off-piste. It’s promising. It hints at a brain that isn’t just following the herd. Good.
But the heuristic I’ve landed on, the one that feels stubbornly un-fakeable? Humour.
Genuine, whip-smart humour. The kind that makes you bark out a laugh and then pause, thinking, “Damn, that was clever.” Humour can’t be faked, not effectively anyway. To wield it well, to really land a zinger that’s not just a parroted line but a freshly minted observation, you have to have all the components firing. You need to understand context, read the room (even a virtual one), make unexpected connections, and possess a damn good sense of timing. It’s a high-wire act of intellect and empathy. It shows an agile mind, one that can synthesize, surprise, and often, reveal a deeper truth.
You can’t buy that. You can’t get an AI to truly feel the awkward silence after a bad joke or the sublime click when a witty remark perfectly skewers an absurdity.
So, that’s my current gold standard. If you can make me laugh with something genuinely insightful and unexpected, you’ve got my attention and probably my respect.
If you have a better tip for spotting the truly sharp ones in this circus, by all means, let me know. I’m all ears.
//A 😝