Sagenhaft, was ich manchmal zusammengeschrieben habe.
Da ich jetzt in Pension bin, habe ich Zeit, manche Sachen anzusehen, die ich nur deswegen erinnere, weil ich Kommentare anderer Personen gemeldet bekomme.

The question: "Could small talk be used to test someone's intelligence?"
My comment: (has been upvoted several times :) )

"The answer is YES, I can detect it. It is not about the words they use, it is about the usability of the words and whether they have been utilized in their right meaning. - I do not agree to that 5th grade level language. The language to be used depends on the level of the people who are communicating. In many fields there exist special "high level" words that not only have their own meaning but they also include a lot of premises that are to be understood if e.g. scientists have agreed on the meaning of a word.
It does not make sense to start from Adam and Eve in every conversation.
Detection rules could be:
1) Does a person use the right level of vocabulary? (One on which both partners have agreed to use)
2) Does a person use words with there right meaning? (Semantics, Connotation)
3) Does somebody speak sensibly? (showing some intelligence by what he is saying)
More often intelligence can be found out by what the people write:)"

Mir kommt vor, ich war früher gescheiter, - oder zumindest engagierter.