We don't look too far into the future. Most people are afraid to ask for help. Not all religious people are unenlightened. When someone steps into a room for the first time, it is as foreign to them as it was to you when you first stepped into it. People are more alike than they are different.
People are very different.
I think the most important characteristic is originality. Also one needs a good short-term memory. Hear me out on this one. You must be able to keep many little pieces of information in your brain and to analyze relationships among them simultaneously. Or at least, this has been my experience.