Do highly intelligent people tend to have a certain 'glint' or 'sharpness' in their expression which gives the feeling that they are more aware than average people?

Quora answer to "Do highly intelligent people tend to have a certain 'glint' or 'sharpness' in their expression which gives the feeling that they are more aware than average people?"

I thought this question and its answers were so entertaining I just had to respond.
Here are some reasons that people 's eyes "glint" or appear "sharp:"

1. Healthy eyes (clear, unjaundiced, not bloodshot, robust coloring, unscratched, uninjured).
2. Adequate fluid on the surface to reflect light.
3. Eye-smile (attracts attention and invites positive feelings).
4. Excitement (wider open eyes, attracts interest).
5. The quality and intensity of surrounding light.
6. Curiosity or intensity of focus (also attracts attention and triggers attentiveness in others).
7. Anger, love or other strong emotion (can increase tear fluid on the eye surface, open the eyes wider, intensify focus, etc.)

Now it may very well be that an "intelligent" person (however we are going to define that) may exhibit these qualities on occasion. However, to differentiate between the various causes and their relative micro-expressions will require a fairly high emotional or social intelligence (along the lines of MSCEIT), and familiarity with the person would increase accuracy. Which means that, unless you have a high EQ and know someone fairly well, *what you are likely observing as "a glint of intelligence" is just your non-rational presumptive projection onto that person*. And if such projections are partially reinforced (i.e. we see the "glint" in someone's eye whom we have been told is intelligent), then as meaning-making organisms we will tend to create generalizations about such "glinting," which we will then perpetuate with a persisting confirmation bias (and via Quora discussions).

My 2 cents.

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