Not being afraid of saying “I don’t know”, asking really good questions, being able to admit mistakes—these are just a few examples of what people think is characteristic of an intelligent person. And while signs that indicate that someone is highly intelligent might differ from person to person, you’ll know one when you meet them by the way they carry themselves.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community have recently discussed such signs after the user ‘Occyz’ started a thread about it. If you’re curious about what kind of person might make you feel like Pinky next to The Brain, scroll down to find the redditors' thoughts on the list below and feel free to upvote the signs you believe are indicative of intelligence as well.
#1
I have met several off the charts intelligent people. One thing I noticed that they have in common was low self esteem. They had an actual low self esteem club at the science fiction club I belonged to. The guy who did a lot of the calculations that allowed the Voyager probes to make the Grand Tour of our solar system was a member of the club. All he could think about were what he didn’t know or what he physically couldn’t do. The common issue I observed from these bright folks was relentless school bullying. We lose so many of these geniuses to depression, suicide, self medication, or just flat out self inflicted mediocrity—society in the US does a s****y job of nurturing intelligence, it makes me incredibly angry how many of these people’s potential were wasted. (I don’t include myself in that club—My intelligence is dead average.) Frank Zappa said it best when he said that intelligence is treated like a hideous deformity by American society.
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#2
They struggle with imposter syndrome. Dumb people always think they’re the tits.
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#3
Someone who can understand someone’s opposing view without having to agree with it or get angry over it.
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#4
How often they are confident in saying "I don't know".
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#5
When being taught to do something new, they care just as much, if not more, about why it should be done a certain way as they do about what needs to be done.
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#6
They mispronounce less common words.
It means they probably haven’t heard those words spoken much, and they learned the words by reading. They’re curious and self-educated.
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#7
I consider someone intelligent if they're able to explain something incredibly complicated in simpler and more readily understood terms.
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#8
They ask really good questions and listen more than they talk.
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#9
Choosing not to argue with someone who's wrong and choosing their own peace of mind over being right.
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#10
They can adapt their communication style — vocabulary, tone, content, etc — to fit the situation and people they’re talking to, and it seems completely natural.
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#11
They don't continually need to tell people how intelligent they are.
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#12
They're very good at problem solving. Even if it's something they have no experience with they always approach the problem from the right angle.
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#13
Understanding/appreciating nuance.
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#14
My freshman college roommate was a mechanical engineer. One of the first nights we were in the dorms, we had pizza delivered. We didn't eat it all, but the pizza box didn't fit inside the dorm fridge. He went all out origami and transformed the box into a smaller, perfectly square box that did fit inside the fridge...in about 12 seconds.
I'm pretty good at math, but not necessarily geometry. My mind was blown.
I spent 35 years in academia between my student/teacher years and he's still one of the three smartest people I've ever met. His ability to "just do it" is dumbfounding to me. His retirement project is transforming his father's 1963 Mercedes convertible into a "hybrid" that has a small diesel engine that runs on vegetable oil along with a totaled Tesla Model S battery pack.
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#15
Dry humor. Pulling it off requires an observant, quick wit with a nonchalant delivery that almost downplays its own cleverness.
Like it means their immediate passing thoughts are often profound enough to be very funny without any real effort.
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#16
When someone can admit a mistake and they know they don’t know everything.
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#17
Curiosity.
#18
They are ok with being perceived as "stupid" by asking questions - if we hold back in fear, we'll never truly learn. Plus it's a good way to show others it's ok to question things if you don't understand - better off if we're on the same page instead of hoping things work out without being informed.
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#19
They’re very observant, sometimes reserved.
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#20
They feel challenged rather than threatened by new things, problems, ideas...
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#21
If someone is actually intelligent, they don’t put down the intelligence of others or make others’ accomplishments seem small. I’ve never met a genuinely intelligent person who feels the need to directly (or even indirectly) hint that someone else is “not so smart.”.
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#22
VERY quick wit.
Not at all interested in proving how smart they are.
#23
One thing I’ve noticed is that really intelligent people tend to be empathetic. They’ve quietly analyzed many situations and have thought critically about them.
#24
They talk only when they have something to say.
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#25
They explain complex topics by using metaphors and analogies.
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#26
Honestly, after reading their work, debates, talks, podcasts, discussions, arguing, etc, I noticed they often use conditions in their sentences that's not absolute. There's also this saying "only a fool talks in absolute".
Tgey use: I think, many times, often times, usually, it's possible, it could be IF ...
So it appears they talk as if "I can be wrong" or "based on what we know".
If you compare sentences so known unintelligent people they lack these conditions and voices absolutes only.
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#27
They're storytellers. They craft narratives for themselves and for others that are compelling, that make the world make sense, that invigorate and install a goal, a mission.
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#28
They pause to think about a novel question instead of instantly blurting out an answer. Sometimes people think it means they've been "stumped" and claim victory. No, they're thinking, analyzing, and formulating a reply.
#29
When they take the time to filter through any possible misunderstandings in an argument by asking questions to help them better understand the idea that’s being presented, instead of immediately assuming their first interpretation of the argument is the correct one.
Something that’s always bugged me is when my argument gets misunderstood, and then attacked from angles where supposed “errors” exist, when those errors rose out of the listeners own misinterpretation.
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#30
Really funny and depressed.
Image credits: Koreangonebad
