shapeless's Typeable in action ...

gistfile1.scala

scala> import syntax.typeable._
import syntax.typeable._

scala> val wat: Any = List(1, 2, 3, 4)
wat: Any = List(1, 2, 3, 4)

scala> wat.cast[List[Int]].map(_.sum)
res0: Option[Int] = Some(10)

scala> val wat2: Any = "foo"
wat2: Any = foo

scala> wat2.cast[List[Int]].map(_.sum)
res1: Option[Int] = None

scala> val wat3: Any = List("foo", "bar", "baz")
wat3: Any = List(foo, bar, baz)

scala> wat3.cast[List[Int]].map(_.sum)
res2: Option[Int] = None