Signs of Intelligence: How Smart People Act

We often think that if somebody knows lots of stuff, they must be intelligent. But, according to Plutarch, this is often the opposite of what intelligence actually is. Plutarch once wrote that ‘the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.’ Most of us will remember from school long and resentful hours, sitting in classes that we hated, listening to teachers drone on about a subject we couldn't get excited about. We sat there like some trapped victim — a caged and empty vessel