>>11697820If you go to academic shindigs, you will run into many very smart people.
I have met Tim Gowers, Alain Connes, Pierre Cartier, Jean-Pierre Serre, Misha Gromov and many others...
Now among the people I really know, I have a good friend who is wrapping up his math PhD and who is definitely in the scary smart category. The guy had enough material to defend after two years (out of three) and he does not even seem to like math that much. He spends most of his time learning ancient languages, reading 19th century novels or playing Civ 5. I once saw him translate a text from polish (I think, it was a while ago) on the spot inferring from what he knew of German and French.
He has an excellent memory, a very extensive culture and a great sense of humor.
Tbh, if I did not know him so well, I would swear he is a character from a bad anime.
Another one is a friend of mine from high school. She has remarkable facility with languages. When we met, she was fluent in French (native), English, Spanish and Italian. Then she went on to learn German, Portuguese, Finnish, some Inuit. She reads constantly and creates a lot: plays, poems, paintings, music, etc.
She has a very sharp mind, very good reasoning skills and a great ability to make connections. And a very obscure sense of humor.
These two are high in my personal pantheon because they struck me the most. I have met many other very smart people, but they were often pretty similar to me. Not many gave me the impression of being from another planet.
