[Craiggybear]

Sigh. Define "smart people".

A lot of people I've seen described as smart are either a) actually good at making money (not necessarily legally) or b) good at manipulating people to get what they want. I describe this as cunning, rather than smart. Although they may be smart, too -- but that's quite rare in my experience.

But, yes, smart people tend not take anything at face value or believe everything they are told by the media.

Going to institutions like Harvard is not in itself a measure of smart, necessarily. All it usually represents is a disposable income.

[Gustomaximus]

People also confuse "smart" with ability to memorise. I've had this when I read some history book and the topic comes up and you suddenly have loads of information on an obscure topic. People will say how smart you are. But IMO this has nothing to do with smart. My definition of smart is more a brains ability to ad insight to facts with thought, not just recall them by rote.