Smart can have many definitions. But generally speaking smart people;

• question everything while seeing commonalities in everything.
• love to read and learn.
• see everything as being a math equation to be solved.
• are referred to as walking encyclopedias and can quickly recollect information they have already absorbed from years before.
• know that to retain it, you must maintain it, so journaling is a habit they adopt when they are young.
• are creative. Most are born with natural talents in art, music, etc.
• enjoy their alone time.
• can suffer from anxiety and addictions. ( Believe it or not, geniuses are not exempt from addictive behaviors..)
• understand that they don't know everything. Therefore, they crave to understand everything they possibly can while they are here.
• work best independently.
• are open-minded.
• admit when they are wrong or could be wrong.
• are honest to a fault.
• are mostly optimistic and driven to meet their goals, no matter the time and work involved.
• Can set their own pace.
• are argumentative and curious as children.
• are genuinely curious as adults which leads to awkward interactions with others.
• ask “why” a lot in their formative years.
• give excellent one-liners.
• are often misunderstood by the world around them.
• can suffer from imposter syndrome as both a child and adult.
• Their explanations are like lightbulbs going off in their heads and yours, too.
• are human, but some will seem of another world, place, or time.
• make you question your own life without even trying.
• are born this way for a reason that they aren't even sure of as to the why, but will always be in search of the answer for the rest of their lives.

Observe behavioral patterns of not-so-smart-people.

Expect smart behavior to trend in a generally opposite direction.

Smart people don't know they're smart, so they do everything naturally, and it's us who judge by their actions that they're smart. For me, a smart person is someone who doesn't argue, even when the opposing side is clearly wrong, because they know it won't change anything. Second, they can always present facts and data when they make a claim; it's not just random claims like people throw around nowadays. Third, they can easily adapt to changes, even if they're sudden. Fourth, they have Bitcoin!

Absent some easily verified accomplishment, when someone lacks humility, I generally assume they're stupid to protect myself. They might be smart but it's going to take a lot of effort to prove it if they desperately and consistently elevate themselves in trivial matters.

Otherwise, they consistently produce better and original thoughts/insight given novel information and can layout their reasoning in an easy to understand way (or it's obviously insightful in retrospect) so I can verify their conclusions.

It's this verification part that's key for me. Lots of people have trained themselves to deceive people into thinking they're smart.

I think it's when someone knows what they're talking about and can communicate it well.

Smart people can ignore convention while evaluating a new technology, especially one with the power to change everything 😉

They are naturally curious.

Contemplate, and carefully weigh/assess arguments they don't agree with

This is a sign that somebody is smart
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credits to @0xbitcoiner

They listen and think before they speak. They also have a thirst for continual learning.

someone who can think for themselves