what do you consider an intellectual conversation?

a lot of people say “I want someone that I can have deep conversations with” but I’m sure that looks different for everyone. I saw one man say “I ask people who do they think built the pyramids to gouge their intellectual capacity” and I think that’s quite funny because it doesn’t sound that deep to me!

I’m always much more impressed with conversations about morality, or with how certain people approach live (nihilism, positivity 24/7 etc) these seem more interesting. but of course everyone is different! and I always love knowing what you guys think is a deep conversation, or an interesting question to ask someone!

i like conversations that make me think differently about the world, where i learn something or my beliefs are challenged :D i guess those would be the most intellectual for me

i think a genuinely deep conversation is less about the subject being "deep" and more about whether it reveals something about the person. you can talk about something as random as the pyramids and learn absolutely nothing, or you can end up talking for hours about why they believe what they believe. i find the latter much more interesting. i'm especially interested in the little contradictions in how people see life, what they think makes "someone good", whether they think happiness is something you create or something that just happens to you. i also like asking people what they think about things they don't have a definite answer for, because i feel like that's where you get a much better idea of how someone's mind actually works. for me, that's what makes a conversation feel deep, not necessarily having some profound topic but feeling like you've actually uncovered a part of how someone thinks that you wouldn't have known otherwise 

A conversation where the speaker's point of view is enriching, whether that's factual information or philosophy or intimate reflection of own mental processes.

What are your hobbies? Not an intellectual topic.

Why are these your hobbies? Can be an intellectual topic if there's introspection.

What are the techniques to master this hobby? Is an intellectual topic.

you can really get to know someone if you ask them their opinions on certain things. Such as, lgbtq, israel, universal healthcare, women's rights, etc. 

talking about a book with someone who's actually read the book

"Deep" and "Intellectual" are neither the same, nor mutually exclusive.

Probably a Venn diagram for it

Honestly, anything that gets me passing an hour in just talking can be considered an intellectual conversation to me, even if the subject is something silly 

This is such a great question. As an academic, here's how i see them as different (and as the same): 

An intellectual conversation is driven by ideas, analysis, evidence, theory, definitions, and logical connections. The focus is usually on understanding how something works, what it means conceptually, or whether an argument holds up.

A deep conversation reaches beneath the socially comfortable surface. It involves meaning, vulnerability, values, identity, fear, desire, morality, grief, purpose, or the consequences of how we live. Its depth comes from what is being confronted, rather than from how academically complex it is.

• Intellectual: “How have capitalism and changing family structures shaped modern ideas about romantic partnership?”
• Deep: “Do you think you have ever allowed someone to love you without trying to earn it?”
• Both: “How have the ideas about love we inherited shaped what we believe we deserve, and how are those beliefs affecting our relationships now?”

The overlap happens when people examine something meaningful with curiosity, honesty, and analytical care. (Hopefully I accomplished that here as an example) <3

I like to talk about what happens after we die. 

Mostly about Nihilism or Absurdism, I am a very positive Absurdist and have read a lot on philosophy so I always try to seek friends irl who would love to speak about these two philosophies but I also love to dwell into politics too! 

I think conversation about humanity, history, life, feelings is MORE intellectual than math/physics and people consider STEM subjects as the “smarter” subjects of conversation but i disagree, it’s easy to memorize theories and understand concepts and hypotheses than to actually understand the complex human relationships, when someone is REALLY insightful about psychology/history subjects im just mesmerized 

Ps: i think both require intellect but STEM is JUST intellect, feeling and humanity requires depth and understanding beyond facts or logic 

Anything where both people understand their perspectives and can actually discuss whatever civilly. One time I had a debate with a guy and I had to explain the reasoning of his own argument to him, twas entirely incomprehensible.

honestly, maybe I've just had a bad run in life or I've met the wrong people but in a decent amount of times Ive met someone who openly says they like having deep conversations with people or they think of themself as an intellectual, 90% of the time it's been a way to hide that they just like arguing lol
but I do like an actual deep conversation with people, even if they're rare. I do have a few favourites, but, arguably they are a bit childish. a personal highlight for me was a discussion over how the internet has a tendency to mischaracterise a character so much to a point that it can actually harm the thing it's from and its reputation, simply because the internet finds it funnier that way.
now, you're prolly wondering "which character was it?"
well... it was the king of cosmos from katamari lol
so I think really, what classifies a intellectual conversation isn't really a matter of the contents, but rather the passion and the willingness to want to listen from each party. it's like infodumping(? not sure if thats the appropriate word) but cooperatively :]

As for myself the speaking of deeper thoughts about the true living the life like learning the true rest not going as the rest (illusionary rest using the cellphone or smartphone in general) before the dominance of social media and screen (aka smartphones) probably from the 2010s. first is the governance surely counting as the advanced technologies over the decades and perhaps the issues relating the mentioning the usage of social media and screen time was completely destroying the foundation of living the person in whole life as the person will something is really missing like what will forgotten things before the mentioned things will occurred. Also what could be imagine like before the screens or social media have a disciplined and competent enough to capable of real things instead of today's pulled into a doomscrolling for no reason as ignoring the important part of daily basis or routine. That's why I'm sharing that something the whole person have something is really missing the encountering the before the screens and social media from average daily routine as person will variety of hobbies and things that's really brought for.

Anything could be an intellectual conversation if both parties actually know what they're talking about and are open-minded enough 

Basically talking about life imo. 😩

I personally know I need someone I can discuss mental health issues with, at least someone who I can relate to and talk about topics like SH or trauma with and them either having their own experiences to share and talk about.

To me, an intellectual conversation isn't orchestrated by emotion and personal feelings, it's puppeteered by analyzation, erudition, and comprehensibly examining a topic. A deep conversation is more about things that don't (and might never) have a definite answer.