Title says it all.
Anyone smarter than me
Lol…
Have you watched Brooklyn 99? Check out scenes with Captain Holt and his husband, they’re written as pure intellectuals. 
@agentaquastar LOL! Yes! I love your answer.
Have a good day!
Simple: a person who pursues knowledge. But that begs the question, what is knowledge? To me, knowledge is information of any type. You know 16 different ways to climb your favorite mountain? Great, that’s knowledge. You can juggle a soccer ball 2,248 times? Cool, that’s knowledge in the form of muscle memory and sensory information. You can recite Harry Potter word-for-word? Still knowledge. Knowledge is not limited to academics, and neither is being an intellectual.
Side note: We’re going through a period of time where intelligence is being redefined by both psychologists and the general public. This is relevant to your question. Do with it what you will.
I love all your answers, @jenjenjenjen @agentaquastar, and especially @ski_racer .
Traditional!y language has been associated. If someone speaks clearly, has an excellent expressive vocabulary, demonstrates skill on abstraction and problem solving, displays good memory, engaged, demonstrates good skills in executive functions such as attention, concentration, time management, working memory and so on, they are often viewed as smart. The highest academic language skill is writing so writing for a variety of audiences in pieces that are organized, expresses and supports ideas, communicate even when boring and so on. Intellectuals are like sponges in that sek and absorb information.
Intellectual is state of mind…ideas matter. However, they may not have earned lots of degrees or attended prestigious schools, have fabulous jobs or tons of money. They may do extremely well on standardized tests or not. Intellectuals are intrigued and want to know more so start seeking. They show the range of social skills and personality traits.
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I agree with you. I think being smart is a VERY different thing than going to a prestigious university/making a lot of money or whatnot. I also think being an intellectual is, as a matter of subtlety, a bit different than just being smart. I think all intellectuals are smart, but not all smart people are intellectual. @zannah
An intellectual is someone who loves to think and is involved not just in the life of the mind but also life of the City (in the classical sense, IE., their community, the Republic as ‘res publica’, etc.) The early definition derives from Zola’s " I accuse" column, related to the Dreyfus affair.
Nowadays, it’s broader. It means loving and discussing films, classical music, plays, foods, books of all kinds, reading newspapers and discussing them, and (according to Lahire who redefined Bourdieu’ habitus for various groups) has become increasingly eclectic, e.g., being passionate about Walking Dead, Ph Roth, manga, Frank Capra, Jacques Demy, Bach, and Bruce Springsteen. (You can switch any of the above, hopefully you get the idea.) This is due to postmodernism expanding the concept of legitimate culture.
Being an intellectual presupposes being intellectual but it’s kind of your profession to think, express your thoughts, and be involved.
Being intellectual isn’t synonymous with attending a prestigious college or getting high standardized test scores (some may argue to the opposite).
“Intellectual” colleges range from Swarthmore to Carleton to William&Mary to Pomona to UChicago but could also include Earlham, NCF, or Wooster.
I agree with you. And, going to an “intellectual college” won’t do much if you aren’t, well… an intellectual person.