From my first moment at Cambridge, in spite of shyness, I was exceedingly sociable, and ... At first the discovery that I could say things that I thought, and be answered with neither horror nor derision but as if I had said something quite sensible, was intoxicating. For a long time I supposed that somewhere in the university there were really clever people whom I had not yet met, and whom I should at once recognize as my intellectual superiors, but during my second year, I discovered that I already knew all the cleverest people in the university. This was a disappointment to me, but at the same time gave me increased self-confidence.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.1 chap. 1
More info.:
https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB13-150.HTM
