>Smart people actively seek evidence that they are wrong - finding evidence that you're right doesn't prove anything. A single piece of evidence that you're wrong shows everything.
This only holds if you define "smart people" to be this way. Which is kind of a tautology.
I you use the common meaning of the word, or even just check what people other people consider "smart", you'll find out that they don't always fit your description.
I think to be practical it's best to see who people label as smart, and then note what attributes they have. Instead of starting from the attributes that you think a smart person should have (because then you just made your own definition, and it doesn't describe what most people see).
This only holds if you define "smart people" to be this way. Which is kind of a tautology.
I you use the common meaning of the word, or even just check what people other people consider "smart", you'll find out that they don't always fit your description.
I think to be practical it's best to see who people label as smart, and then note what attributes they have. Instead of starting from the attributes that you think a smart person should have (because then you just made your own definition, and it doesn't describe what most people see).