For a criminal, he was certainly astute. Perhaps that why he associated with who he did. Sherlock could only guess that his rival didn't like having people of a certain IQ or intelligence level around him.
Only when they parted did Sherlock feel the slightest daze. It wasn't as bad as he expected. It was actually almost...pleasant. But Moran didn't need that knowledge since he assumed the other would simply report it back to Moriarty and find a way to exploit it. He cleared his throat and nodded once.