The 48 Laws of Power · law 21 of 48
21. Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker — Seem Dumber Than Your Mark
camouflage
The principle
No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. Make your targets feel smart — smarter than you — and they will not suspect you of having ulterior motives.
The application
A useful inversion of vanity: show your intelligence less, let others enjoy explaining things, and they will tell you more than they intended. Restraint of intellect is a form of camouflage.
The defensive tell — how to spot it being run on you
When a counterparty in a negotiation keeps asking you to explain "basics" they should know, slow down — they may be doing exactly this, harvesting your thinking under the cover of needing tutoring. Match their stated level, not your impulse to display.