I am consistently curious about the traits of highly intelligent people. How about you? Here are some signs that tip me off to how intelligence people think:
I think a common trap that many people fall under is trying to pretend we understand something that we don’t know while nodding our heads meaninglessly.
We do this because we don’t want to appear uninformed and unknowing. (I’m still working to improve on this myself)
I think intelligent people get straight to the point. They say “I don’t understand this, can you explain it to me like I’m 5?”
They couldn’t care less about what others perceive their understanding or intelligence to be. What they do care about is catching up and learning so that they can understand in the first place.
They know that without a solid understanding of the basics, there’s no hope for them to grasp the more complex material.
Consider different perspectives
Truly intelligent people can inhabit a different perspective, especially a perspective they disagree with.
Abraham Lincoln would sometimes argue with a friend from one perspective, and then they would switch and argue from the opposite perspective.
Highly intelligent people … nothing to prove
They never feel the need to prove to other people how smart they are. They don’t brag about it. Casual acquaintances probably don’t even know.
I think this is because they are so secure about their intelligence that it’s a non-issue to them.
Leonardo Da Vinci called it “sfumato” or “smoke.” The idea is that not everything is clear, and the desire to have an answer now can lead someone into error. Intelligent people have patience with difficult, dense, or even ambiguous or vague subjects.
Patience is defined as “the ability to endure, ” and in this case, a sign of intelligence is enduring not having a clear, definite answer.
They’re highly adaptable
Several Quora users noted that intelligent people are flexible and able to thrive in different settings. As Donna F Hammett writes, intelligent people adapt by “showing what can be done regardless of the complications or restrictions placed upon them.”
Recent psychological research supports this idea. Intelligence depends on being able to change your behaviors to cope more effectively with your environment or make changes to the environment you’re in.
Signs of an intelligent person.
They understand how much they don’t know
The smartest folks can admit when they aren’t familiar with a particular concept. As Jim Winer writes, intelligent people “are not afraid to say: ‘I don’t know.’ If they don’t know it, they can learn it.”
Winer’s observation is backed up by a classic study by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, which found that the less intelligent you are, the more you overestimate your cognitive abilities.
In one experiment, for example, students who’d scored in the lowest quartile on a test adapted from the LSAT overestimated the number of questions they’d gotten right by nearly 50%. Meanwhile, those who’d scored in the top quartile slightly underestimated how many questions they’d gotten right.
Highly intelligent people … you enjoy being alone
Researchers from the LSE and Singapore Management University analyzed data from a large survey involving 15,000 people aged 18 to 28 – who also underwent IQ tests.
They found that, for both low-IQ and high-IQ individuals, living in highly populated areas was linked to unhappiness. But for highly intelligent people, even socializing with friends was linked to unhappiness.
The researchers write, ‘More intelligent individuals experience lower life satisfaction with more frequent socialization with friends.’ ‘The effect of population density on life satisfaction was, therefore, more than twice as large for low-IQ individuals than for high-IQ individuals.’
You’re physically lazy
Many of us tend to look down on slobs who sit watching Netflix all night and never drag themselves to the gym. But physical laziness might be a sign that someone is a deep thinker, a new study has suggested.
Researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University rated 60 volunteers using a ‘Need for Cognition’ test – dividing them into ‘thinkers’ and ‘non-thinkers.’ They then monitored their physical activity for a week – and found that the ‘non-thinkers’ tended to be much more active than the thinkers.
The researchers write, ‘High-NFC individuals seem more content to “entertain themselves” mentally, whereas low-NFC individuals quickly experience boredom and experience it more negatively.
‘The relationship between cognition and physical activity is an important question for the human experience, and the interaction likely extends across the lifespan.’
Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades.
A team led by Miron Zuckerman of the University of Rochester found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies.
One reason for this could be that intelligent people are more likely to be married, and more likely to be successful in life – and this may mean they “need” religionless.
The studies included a life-long analysis of the beliefs of a group of 1,500 gifted children – those with IQs over 135 – in a study which began in 1921 and continues today. You don’t post ‘inspirational’ messages on Facebook.
A study linked people who are receptive to Facebook ‘memes’ full of buzzword-heavy statements and quotes to lower cognitive scores – i.e., low intelligence.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, asked 845 volunteers to evaluate a series of statements on how profound they were – and if they agreed with them. Some of the statements were meaningless – such as ‘attention and intention are the mechanics of Manifestation’ and ‘imagination is inside exponential space-time events.’
Highly intelligent people … you’re the first child in your family
Common traits of genius.
Firstborn children are usually the cleverest, with measurable differences in IQ as early as age one – and it’s thanks to their parents.
Researchers at Edinburgh University found that all children received similar levels of emotional support from their parents – but firstborns had more support with tasks which developed their thinking skills.
Researchers say the findings could help to explain the so-called birth order effect when children born earlier in a family enjoy better wages and more education in later life.
Researchers observed 5,000 children from birth to age 14, testing them every two years with assessments including reading recognition.
They have an insatiable curiosity
Albert Einstein reportedly said, “I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.”
Or, as Keyzurbur Alas puts it, “intelligent people let themselves become fascinated by things others take for granted.”
Research published in 2016 suggests that there’s a link between childhood intelligence and openness to experience — which encompasses intellectual curiosity — in adulthood.
Scientists followed thousands of people born in the UK for 50 years and learned that 11-year-olds who’d scored higher on an IQ test turned out to be more open to experience at 50.
Highly intelligent people … they’re open-minded
Smart people don’t close themselves off to new ideas or opportunities. Hammett writes that intelligent people are “willing to accept and consider other views with value and broad-mindedness,” and that they are “open to alternative solutions.”
Psychologists say that open-minded people — those who seek out alternate viewpoints and weigh the evidence fairly — tend to score higher on the SAT and intelligence tests.
At the same time, smart people are careful about which ideas and perspectives they adopt.
“An intelligent mind has a strong aversion to accepting things on face value and therefore withholds belief until presented with ample evidence,” says Alas.
They like their own company
Richard He points out that highly intelligent people tend to be “very individualistic.”
Interestingly, recent research suggests that smarter people tend to derive less satisfaction than most people do from socializing with friends.
Highly intelligent people … they have high self-control
Zoher Ali writes that smart people can overcome impulsiveness by “planning, clarifying goals, exploring alternative strategies and considering consequences before [they] begin.”
Scientists have found a link between self-control and intelligence. In one 2009 study, participants had to choose between two financial rewards: a smaller payout immediately or a larger payout at a later date.
Results showed that participants who chose the larger payout at a later date — i.e., those who had more self-control — generally scored higher on intelligence tests.
The researchers behind that study say that one area of the brain — the anterior prefrontal cortex — might play a role in helping people solve tough problems and demonstrate self-control while working toward goals.
Scientists agree. One study found that people who wrote funnier cartoon captions scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence. Another study found that professional comedians scored higher than average on measures of verbal intelligence.
They’re sensitive to other people’s experiences
Smart people can “almost feel what someone is thinking/feeling,” says He.
Some psychologists argue that empathy, being attuned to the needs and feelings of others and acting in a way that is sensitive to those needs, is a core component of emotional intelligence. Emotionally-intelligent individuals are typically very interested in talking to new people and learning more about them.
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Stupid people tend to overestimate their competence, while smart people tend to sell themselves short. As Shakespeare put it in “As You Like It“: “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Do you wish to become a high intelligence thinker?
That conventional wisdom is backed up by a Cornell University study conducted by David Dunning and Justin Kruger. The phenomenon is now known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.
So, if you’re not too sure about your intellect, it actually might be an indication that you’re pretty intelligent — thoughtful enough to realize your limitations, at least.
Here are some signs that tip me off to how you can become a high intelligence thinker:
High intelligence thinker … brutally honest with what they don’t know
I think a common trap that many people fall under is trying to pretend we understand something that we don’t know while nodding our heads meaninglessly. We do this because we don’t want to appear uninformed and unknowing.
I think intelligent people get straight to the point. They say “I don’t understand this, can you explain it to me like I’m 5?”
They couldn’t care less about what others perceive their understanding or intelligence to be. What they do care about is catching up and learning so that they can understand in the first place.
They know that without a solid understanding of the basics, there’s no hope for them to grasp the more complex material.
High intelligence thinker … consider different perspectives
Truly intelligent people can inhabit a different perspective, especially a perspective they disagree with.
Abraham Lincoln would sometimes argue with a friend from one perspective, and then they would switch and argue from the opposite perspective.
You took music lessons
Research suggests that music helps kids’ minds develop in a few ways:
A 2011 study found that scores on a test of verbal intelligence among 4- to 6-year-olds rose after only a month of music lessons.
A 2004 study led by Glenn Schellenberg found that 6-year-olds who took nine months of keyboard or voice lessons had an IQ boost compared with kids who took drama lessons or no classes at all.
Meanwhile, a 2013 study, also led by Schellenberg, suggested that high-achieving kids were the ones most likely to take music lessons.
In other words, in the real world, musical training may only enhance cognitive differences that already exist.
High intelligence thinker … you’re the oldest
Oldest siblings are usually smarter, but it’s not because of genetics, one study found.
Norwegian epidemiologists used military records to examine the birth order, health status, and
Notice signs of extreme intelligence.
IQ scores of nearly 250,000 18- and 19-year-old men born between 1967 and 1976. Results showed that the average firstborn had an IQ of 103, compared to 100 for second children and 99 for third children.
The New York Times reports: “The new findings, from a landmark study published [in June 2007], showed that eldest children had a slight but significant edge in IQ — an average of three points over the closest sibling. And it found that the difference was not because of biological factors but the psychological interplay of parents and children.”
For a 2006 study, scientists gave roughly 2,200 adults intelligence tests over a five-year period, and results suggested that the bigger the waistline, the lower the cognitive ability.
Another study published that same year found that 11-year-olds who scored lower on verbal and nonverbal tests were more likely to be obese in their 40s. The study authors say that smarter kids might have pursued better educational opportunities, landed higher-status and higher-paying jobs, and therefore ended up in a better position to take care of their health than their less intelligent peers.
Meanwhile, a more recent study found that, among preschoolers, a lower IQ was linked to a higher BMI. Those researchers also say environmental factors are at play since the relationship between BMI and smarts was mediated by socioeconomic status.
High intelligence thinker … you have a cat
A 2014 study of 600 college students found that individuals who identified as “dog people” were more outgoing than those who identified as “cat people,” according to a test that measures personality and intelligence.
But guess what? Those same cat people scored higher on the part of the test that measures cognitive ability.
You were breastfed
2007 research suggests that babies who are breastfed might grow up to be smarter kids.
In two studies, the researchers looked at more than 3,000 children in Britain and New Zealand. Those children who had been breastfed scored nearly seven points higher on an IQ test — but only if they had a particular version of the FADS2 gene. (That version of the gene was present in roughly equal numbers among kids who were and weren’t breastfed.)
Figuring out the exact mechanism of this relationship between FADS2, breastfeeding, and IQ will require further study, the scientists noted in their paper on the finding.
A 2012 study of more than 6,000 Brits born in 1958 found a link between high IQ in childhood and the use of illegal drugs in adulthood.
“In our large population-based cohort study, IQ at 11 years was associated with a greater likelihood of using selected illegal drugs 31 years later,” wrote researchers James W. White, Catharine R. Gale, and David Batty.
They conclude that “in contrast to most studies on the association between childhood IQ and later health,” their findings suggest “a high childhood IQ may prompt the adoption of behaviors that are potentially harmful to health (i.e., excess alcohol consumption and drug use) in adulthood.”
High intelligence thinker … you’re left-handed
Left-handedness used to be associated with criminality, and researchers are still unclear as to whether and why there are slightly more lefties among criminal populations.
More recent research associates left-handedness with “divergent thinking,” a form of creativity that allows you to come up with novel ideas from a prompt — at least among men.
In her review of a 1995 paper, New Yorker reporter Maria Konnikova writes:
The more marked the left-handed preference in a group of males, the better they were at tests of divergent thought.
Left-handers were more adept, for instance, at combining two common objects in novel ways to form a third — for example, using a pole and a tin can to make a birdhouse.
They also excelled at grouping lists of words into as many alternate categories as possible.
You’re tall
A 2008 Princeton study of thousands of people found that taller individuals scored higher on IQ tests as kids and earned more money as adults.
The researchers write: “As early as age 3 — before schooling has had a chance to play a role — and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests.”
You drink alcohol regularly
Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa and colleagues found that, among Brits as well as Americans, adults who had scored higher on IQ tests when they were kids or teens drank more alcohol, more often in adulthood than those who had scored lower
High intelligence thinker … you learned to read early
In 2012, researchers looked at nearly 2,000 pairs of identical twins in the UK and found that the sibling who had learned to read earlier tended to score higher on tests of cognitive ability.
The study authors suggest that reading from an early age increases both verbal and nonverbal (e.g., reasoning) ability, as opposed to the other way around.
Results showed that people who tended to worry and ruminate a lot scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence, while people who didn’t do much worrying or ruminating scored higher on tests of nonverbal intelligence.
High intelligence thinker … you’re funny
In one study, 400 psychology students took intelligence tests that measured abstract reasoning abilities and verbal intelligence.
Then they were asked to come up with captions for several New Yorker cartoons, and independent raters reviewed those captions.
As predicted, smarter students were rated as funnier.
You’re curious
In University of London business psychology professor Tomas Chamorro-Premuzi’s post for Harvard Business Review, he discussed how the curiosity quotient and having a hungry mind makes one more inquisitive.
Regarding the importance of CQ, he wrote that
“It has not been as deeply studied as EQ and IQ, but there’s some evidence to suggest it is just as important when it comes to managing complexity in two major ways. First, individuals with higher CQ are generally more tolerant of ambiguity. This nuanced, sophisticated, subtle thinking style defines the very essence of complexity.
Second, CQ leads to higher levels of intellectual investment and knowledge acquisition over time, especially in formal domains of education, such as science and art (note: this is, of course, different from IQ’s measurement of raw intellectual horsepower).”
A Goldsmiths University of London study found that intellectual investment, or “how people invest their time and effort in their intellect,” plays a major part in cognitive growth.
High intelligence thinker … nothing to prove
They never feel the need to prove to other people how smart they are. They don’t brag about it. Casual acquaintances probably don’t even know.
I think this is because they are so secure about their intelligence that it’s a non-issue to them.
Leonardo Da Vinci called it “sfumato” or “smoke.” The idea is that not everything is clear, and the desire to have an answer now can lead someone into error. Intelligent people have patience with difficult, dense, or even ambiguous or vague subjects.
Patience is defined as “the ability to endure, ” and in this case, a sign of intelligence is enduring not having a clear, definite answer.
The bottom line
Our world is in flux. There is no part of the consumer experience that is untouched. Digital technology is disrupting the marketplace, while changes in our understanding of the psychology of decision-making have overturned centuries of conventional wisdom. Even a brief summary such as this one can make the challenges seem overwhelming.
So what to do? First, start somewhere. It can be one place or the other, but at least start. The change will be unfolding for years and everyone else is as confused as you are.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to continually improving your continuous learning?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
