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Some people like to think the world of themselves. And while there's nothing wrong with a healthy dose of self-assurance and a little bit of cockiness, we might sometimes think we're a tad bit smarter, more good-looking, and better at things than we actually are.
When it comes to intelligence, one study found that 65% of Americans believe they're smarter than the average American. And not all of them are wrong: more educated respondents, for example, correctly assumed their intelligence is above average.
But how do we measure intelligence? Are there any signs that betray a non-intelligent person? Two people online were probably wondering the same thing when they decided to ask what the giveaways of low intelligence are. What do you think, Pandas? Do you agree that we can measure intelligence by a single behavior? Let us know in the comments!
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#1
Using complex words without fully grasping what they mean. I do it sometimes, it makes me sound photosynthesis.
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#2
They talk about being an alpha male.
Little Wonder 3 months ago
Alpha men are like Alpha software - not ready for public release, unstable and full of errors.
#3
Only use one source of news and believe it fully instead of looking across a number of different sources.
#4
Casual littering is one that gets me.
#5
Instead of having a good point in an argument, they call you names and insult you.
#7
Kinda an oddly specific one, but people who brag about doing dangerous things and thinking they have the biggest c*ck in the world for it.
I had a coworker once who was bragging about the fact that he was going over 100 on the freeway that morning and my manager looks at him and says “you were going over 100 in your s**t car with your pregnant girlfriend?”
#8
Absolute insistence that scientists are all lying because they are in the bag of government grants while Ignoring the three scientists who are Making three times money shilling for corporations.
Libstak 3 months ago (edited)
Claiming world wide conspiracles in health and science is a big one. It's also dangerous. Reality is there are millions of scientists and doctors combined across the globe. The idea that they would by a factor of hundreds of thousands be complicit in some diabolical plot just doesn't work.
#9
Thinking that they know how everything works. Typically, from my own experience, the smarter someone is the more they admit just how little they actually know.
#11
Lack of curiosity.
#12
Laughing or mocking people for asking dumb questions.
Intellectual humility is the only way we learn.
TheBlueBitterfly 3 months ago
Thete are no dumb questions when someone truly desires to learn.
#13
Sexism, racism, ableism.
And, even worse: The toxic assumption they have all the awareness they need and could never learn to do better.
A lack of awareness of your own privilege.
#14
Not being able to learn from mistakes. There’s a Chinese proverb that says that…
Smart people learn from their mistakes, but the really wise ones learn from other’s mistakes. When it comes to fools, sadly they (edit typo) do NOT learn from anyone’s mistakes.
As long as you can learn from mistakes, you are at least half as more smart than you really need to be to succeed in life…
#15
They see the world in black and white. There is no nuance. No understanding of the other side of anything. There is only right and wrong; and conveniently they are alway on the side of ‘right.’.
#16
Hate people that don’t look/act/think like them, people who are cruel. Greatest telltale signs. People with low intelligence tend to show distain towards things they don’t understand, or that don’t fit their world view.
#17
They have strong opinions about topics they don't really even understand the basics of.
David 3 months ago
Back in the 80s when people could canvas folks at the airport I got off my flight and passed a table where a lady was saying radiation was bad. (basically they were against nuclear power). I worked in nuclear power so I stopped long enough to ask her what kind of radiation she was talking about. She had zero clue. While I recognize there can be valid concerns, she literally knew nothing about radiation or even that there were different kinds. If you are going to try to influence people, at least learn the basics of what you are talking about.
#18
Celebrity worship i.e. the Kardashians.
TheBlueBitterfly 3 months ago (edited)
People whose entire personality revolves around the worship of celebrities, or worship of anything trendy really.
#19
I feel like people who ride motorcycles without wearing at least a helmet have low intelligence.
#20
The inability/unwillingness to try understand someone else's point of view, and how their personal experiences contribute to that view. It doesn't mean you have to accept it, or agree with it, just try understand it.
#21
Repeating rhetoric, you have heard, but not being able to actually explain what it means.
Pedantic Panda 3 months ago
Repeating rhetoric, you have heard, but not being able to actually explain what it means.
#22
No self awareness.
fckiforgotmypassword:
Self awareness is a pretty big one. There’s a lot of people I know that would hate themself if they were able to meet themself.
keyboardtek 3 months ago
The opposite is too much introspection, self criticism, and self doubt.
#23
They think they're always right. Not curious / open to learning.
Stephanie Did It 3 months ago
Not being willing to change or improve because "that's just the way I am and will always be"
#24
When they never questioned the beliefs they grew up with.
TheBlueBitterfly 3 months ago
Or they never question ANYTHING that comes from a person in "authority" i.e. religious leaders, government leaders, parents, teachers. Questioning their statements or actions doesn't mean you immediately disagree with them, just that you want to know WHY before you follow them. Learn. Ask. Research. Think critically before reacting emotionally.
#25
They tell you about the time they scored 450 in an online IQ test.
khanfusion:
Over my years of the Early Internet, it was always easy to spot to a pseudo-intellectual by how readily they dropped 200 or close to 200 as their score. Because they didn't know that's a ludicrous score to lie about.
#26
Well I'm not sure you can reliably guage intelligence by just looking at behaviour, but people who try to get on the train while others are getting off score pretty f**king high in my book.
#27
They don’t know the difference between their there they’re.
#28
They don't just not take the time to listen to other opinions, they actively shoot them down.
EmmaDaBomb:
A lot of debates you see online are going to be people trying to yell over one another. Most of the time, people pick apart grammatical errors or things that they didn't phrase right and use it as the base of their whole argument.
An intellectual debate shouldn't include yelling. Hear another person out before disagreeing with them.
#29
They have a hard time understanding how a concept in one context could apply to another context.
#30
Thinking being louder in an argument means you are winning.
keyboardtek 3 months ago
Speaking louder is sometimes the only way to get heard over the constant unending stream of hate from the right wingers.
#31
They act like they are smarter than anyone else. They really believe they are. Flat out. No matter the education they have, they know more about any subject you bring up.
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
A proper education - or even life experience - helps you to grasp how profoundly ignorant you are.
#34
No critical thought. I knew a lady who got suspicious of the donkey charity adverts on TV because "if they're helping new donkeys, why are they still showing the old ones."
#35
Telling you how smart they are.
lovemy suffolk 3 months ago
Where they went to university coming up in every single conversation. 🙄
#36
Not trying to figure something out before they ask for help/ no desire to learn.
#37
Inability to process hypotheticals and the IF scenario. That's really the main development people have gone through intellectually over the latest handful of generations. We can entertain, not just what is, but what might be or what could've been. It helps us think in abstract ways that allows us to for example categorize information which is immensele useful in the types of tasks a modern society requires. It helps us with basic skills like arithmetic ("IF you have 5 apples and then remove two how ma--" "But I don't have 5 apples though"). One of the most important abilities it gives us is the ability to put ourselves in someone else's place ("How would you feel IF you were treated the way you treat others?" "I'm not, though").
#38
Repeating conspiracies they have not really researched. Because as someone that has, it's like the writer of most of them didn't think the logic of it to fill completion, so you run into a story with no purpose, ending, motive, or even plot. How a ton of them have to be believed in total isolation but this specifically they are willing to give the benefit of the doubt, not the reasonable or rational and educated argument.
#39
People who "don't get" art or literature. *"It's just a picture/statue." "Reading is lame."*.
Stephanie Did It 3 months ago
People who actually brag about never having read a book or being unable to write and spell, then laughing about it. I'd be ashamed. (Talking about those who ignored their schooling)
#40
Their entire personality is based off trendy identities based off Tiktok, Tumblr or Twitter.
What do you think ?
panther 3 months ago
Thinking that random people on tiktok and other social media platforms are credible news sources.
cherry~ 3 months ago
I know a person that regularly used unfactchecked Twitter sources for debates and thought he was super smart for doing so…
Load More Replies... Breadcrumb. 3 months ago
Taking your kids out of public school, heaven forbid they learn critical thinking.
panther 3 months ago
Thinking that random people on tiktok and other social media platforms are credible news sources.
cherry~ 3 months ago
I know a person that regularly used unfactchecked Twitter sources for debates and thought he was super smart for doing so…
Load More Replies... Breadcrumb. 3 months ago
Taking your kids out of public school, heaven forbid they learn critical thinking.
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