Be wary of telling trivia if you aren’t otherwise grounded in a subject. In a smart crowd, chances are someone will understand the subject better than you do. If you attempt to “enlighten” a more knowledgeable person and you get it wrong, they may quietly dismiss you and everything else you have to say.
To signal smart to a smart person, ask them questions about progressively more arcane parts of their field.
Be wary of telling trivia if you aren’t otherwise grounded in a subject. In a smart crowd, chances are someone will understand the subject better than you do. If you attempt to “enlighten” a more knowledgeable person and you get it wrong, they may quietly dismiss you and everything else you have to say.
To signal smart to a smart person, ask them questions about progressively more arcane parts of their field.