I was complementing everyone here when I used the word 'smart', not necessarily in terms of IQ level, but learned a great deal from them as I have been reading relevant startup threads on HN for the past year.

I agree. I consider some of the inmates I deal with day to day very smart when you want to understand their world, and they will be more successful than anyone else when the game is being played on their turf. Sadly, they have other "distractions".