Is there a difference between being smart and acting smart?

Although intelligence is one of the most consistent and important predictors of real-life success, the connection is by no means perfect. This explains why we all know people who we consider “smart” in a traditional sense (e.g., knowledgeable, bookish, geeky, and mathematically sharp), but who seem to malfunction in everyday life. In fact, decades of scientific research show that intellectual and emotional intelligence are only marginally related, so the ability to function well in interpersonal...