When I think about the people who I consider to be very smart, the people with the most deep expertise aren’t who I’m thinking of. When I think about people who are smart, I think about people who are thoughtful.
Deep expertise on a topic is impressive, don’t get me wrong. But you can get there by being focused, determined – and of perfectly average intelligence. It’s a matter of time and effort. On the other hand, when I think about people who carefully consider things, change their opinions or views in the face of new information, and hold their decisions when they don’t know enough – these are the people I think of as geniuses.
The funny upshot is that the smartest people I know are also the ones who say “I don’t know” the most! It’s a very smart thing to say. Most of the time, you don’t know. But only smart people can see it, and only thoughtful people are comfortable admitting it.
The Opportunity Machine 