From when we're little, we're told that it is important to be smart. And while our society seemingly values the typical academic knowledge the most, actually, there are many more ways someone can be intelligent, sometimes in a non-obvious way.
Yet, there are signs that give away their smarts. That's what we're going to focus on today — ways to tell someone is way smarter than they let on. All of the examples you're going to see were suggested by folks under a viral Reddit thread, so it comes from human experience, not only our imagination.
More info: Reddit
#21
They are the one person in the room that hasn't opened their mouth yet.
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18points
#22
They say what you wanted to say but much simpler and direct, without really using complicated words.
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17points
#23
They can explain a new concept to you in a way that is easy to understand yet not condescending.
16points
#27
They talk to themselves a lot but not in a mentally ill way . More like they’re processing stuff they learnt to remember and later on apply it.
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13points
#28
They don't feel the need to contradict everyone's comments and prove themselves.
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12points
#30
After I complimented a very smart and successful farmer on his operation, he replied, “All it takes to be a farmer is a strong back and a weak mind”.
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11points
#31
Anyone that can sit down and listen and doesn’t try to constantly lead the conversation, smart people are always looking to learn and understand not to teach and be understood.
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10points
#34
It’s actually interesting to see how many different views on ‘intelligent’ people seem to have.
If we talk about ‘logic’-smart then a subtle sign is worrying about obscure edge cases too much.
Emotional-smart: bringing up stuff that reassures other people before they bring it up.
If we talk about ‘logic’-smart then a subtle sign is worrying about obscure edge cases too much.
Emotional-smart: bringing up stuff that reassures other people before they bring it up.
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8points
#35
Persistence is a great sign of intelligence. Curiosity is another great sign. Intelligence comes in many forms, so I would ignore all the comments suggesting that intelligent people keep their mouths shut, etc.
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7points
#36
Honestly one of the most immediate signs of intelligence is controlling emotions, if you're looking for a more scientific answer.
It's not to say emotionally unstable people can't be smart, there are lots of reasons people can be overly emotional (hormones' are a great example), but statistically if someone is unable to control their anger, or fear, more often means their pre-frontal cortex is less well developed, which is also often the case for younger people just because it doesn't develop as quickly as the part of your brain that actually houses emotion.
So someone who can keep their emotions in check, and be less reactionary in their responses, meaning they can pause, let the emotion fade, and then respond, often has a more developed logic process in their brain.
It's not to say emotionally unstable people can't be smart, there are lots of reasons people can be overly emotional (hormones' are a great example), but statistically if someone is unable to control their anger, or fear, more often means their pre-frontal cortex is less well developed, which is also often the case for younger people just because it doesn't develop as quickly as the part of your brain that actually houses emotion.
So someone who can keep their emotions in check, and be less reactionary in their responses, meaning they can pause, let the emotion fade, and then respond, often has a more developed logic process in their brain.
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3points