When you only listen to the smartest person in the room, you miss out on discovering what the rest of the room is smart about.
Everyone you meet knows something you don’t—and has wisdom from experiences you haven’t lived.
Every conversation is a chance to learn something new.
A good test of whether someone is a genius or a charlatan is whether they actually *want* you to understand.
The genius is willing/able to simplify, the charlatan is trying to dazzle you.
(Further test is if they get irritated by follow up questions)
In-person debates are very overrated (in some circles).
One reason is because you can "win" a debate through slick arguing tactics (e.g. the Gish gallop).
But another is that, in person, when one side cites evidence, the other side can't scrutinize that evidence on the spot.