I'm intrigued by all the contradictions here, D--the engineering types who are either good listeners or bad, the bright people who are frustrated by others and the ones who are open to surprise. I feel as if the more I think about the topic, the less certain I am about anything--everything ultimately seems to dissolve into (or at least get mediated through) personality traits or coping mechanisms. And perhaps that's life--nothing appears unmediated.

On a completely different note--well actually a related note (intelligence = relative, contingent, no absolutes, only differences in specific contexts, kind of like physical attractiveness)--I'm SO HAPPY to see Beholder back again this spring! It's always one of the highlights of the fannish year for me. M.