> So how do you tell I suppose you can't; not definitively. I find it very hard to tell whether someone brighter than me is only a little brighter than me, or

> So how do you tell I suppose you can't; not definitively. I find it very hard to tell whether someone brighter than me is only a little brighter than me, or dramatically brighter than me. My heuristics are: * Nobody is dramatically brighter than me; I don't believe in geniuses. * Bullshit is a giveaway. If I detect bullshit (e.g. "word salad"), then he's not brighter than me. [Edit] In my experience, barristers/courtroom attorneys tend to be very bright, and also very good with language. Language is "what they do". Word salad doesn't seem to me to be a good strategy, when facing a good lawyer.