Academic and Intelligent are very far from matching compliments. To reason, one must wonder.
Skepticism is perhaps one of the best and most rudimentary spirits in mankind.
Without it we are not intelligent. We are a stray and hungry dog, and we will eat anything fed us. Skepticism is a two edged sword, both sides sharp, as pure as blue steel and just as clean. Skepticism is, in a way, the mediating influence upon curiosity which guides it toward wisdom. This is knowledge.