It doesn't matter as long as they don't try to act like they are better/smarter than everyone else. I also dislike when people try to make themselves look smarter when they really aren't.

My friends are usually about the same in intelligence. Of course we're all smart in different ways, but there's a general level of intelligence that makes it easier to communicate. I find it much harder to build a connection with someone who is significantly "smarter" or "dumber" because it just gets more difficult for us to really understand each other.

Around the same, I'd say. I go to a small, private liberal arts college, and apparently about a quarter of the people in my year were their high school valedictorians, so pretty much everyone on my campus is at least intelligent in the able-to-take-tests-wel l sort of way.

Same and higher ... we tend to have the same values and interests, so there's never any need to dumb-down or put up with someone who rattles on about nothing. Although I think it mostly has to do with articulation rather than IQ - there are different types of intelligences, after all.

I don't so much rank people by intelligence. But I do care about people who are able to hold an interesting conversation and aren't too judgey, so in some ways I think that's "emotional intelligence." And I do sometimes seek out people who are more emotionally intelligent than me, who are older than me or more life-experienced but not condescending about it. This allows me to learn, but it's also way more chill.

Academic achievement doesn't matter much, in terms of how intelligent or interesting someone is. I do try to be around people who feel the same way.

I teach all levels of high school during the day, so when I'm not at work, I really just want to talk to intelligent, fairly mature people.