It's 2019 can we please stop the stupid?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The character has extensive knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, cosmology, economics, electronics, computers, vexillology, linguistics, geology, (American) football, trains, comic books, contract law and science fiction.  He speaks English, Klingon, Mandarin, Swedish, Hindi and Finnish. He dances well and plays piano, bongos, recorder and theremin.

I'm pretty sure you can't be so well-versed in so many different subjects without having a marked degree of interest in the ideas behind them. If someone with that skill set doesn't qualify as an intellectual, he'll do until one comes along.

Boru

I've never seen the show, only clips, so my knowledge of Sheldon lore is lacking. 

I'd like to specify a difference between someone who knows facts and someone who thinks about the significance, connections, and wisdom of ideas.

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What about autism precludes one from being an intellectual? Or do you mean "autistic" in a non-clinical sense?

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that an autistic person can't be intellectual. 

I just want to distinguish between a person who can calculate the day of the week of any date in history, and a person who takes seriously and spends time on thoughtful ideas -- that kind of thing. 

The Hannibal Lector movies go out of their way to show that he is knowledgable about literature, music, etc. These are things that fascinate through their intellectual and emotional connections. Comic books, Star Wars, etc., are about what's "cool." There is no depth.

I see.  So, when Hannibal Lecter is knowledgeable about literature and music, he's an intellectual.  When Sheldon Cooper does it, he's a comic book geek.

Special plead much? And, by the by, it's 'Lecter', not 'Lector'.

Boru