ADVERTISEMENT

You may know a person that is really intelligent: they have college degrees, they have written papers, they understand concepts that most people believe are out of their reach, yet they still do some things that make them look kind of stupid.

They may be more quiet or ask a lot of questions with seemingly obvious answers. However, according to people on Twitter, these qualities actually mean a person is intelligent.

Image credits: Mike Mozart

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Image credits: MorningBrew

Media company Morning Brew asked Twitter users to name signs that a person is intelligent but that people often confuse with stupidity. Take a look at them and upvote the ones you agree with the most. If you have anything to add, leave it in the comments!

More info: Twitter

Bored Panda has written a fun article in which intelligent people with several degrees confessed what stupid things they have done that caused them embarrassment. If you would like to read it, you can click here after you’re done reading through this thread.

This time, people on Twitter were discussing the things that mean a person is actually intelligent but that others would think is a sign of stupidity. A lot of them were repeating that a silent person, a person that asks a lot of questions and a person who isn’t afraid to admit that they don’t know something may indicate that they are thoughtful, thinking things through carefully and not pretending to know it all.

#4

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

lukecannon727 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Vicky Z
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is mostly a sign of not being an arrogant stubborn douche bag

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

There are more qualities that an intelligent person possesses. Among the above mentioned traits, various psychology research papers say that people who have higher IQ read a lot, are open-minded and are not afraid to change their point of view. They also enjoy their own company and they usually have a great sense of humor. 

Higher intelligence was also tied with being taller, having a smaller waist and having learnt a musical instrument. Psychologists say that older siblings tend to be smarter than the younger ones. And various experiments reveal that left-handed people have a more creative way of thinking.

#5

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

ForgetNr Report

Add photo comments
POST
Jo Johannsen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Epitome and hyperbole are two I still occasionally pronounce wrong simply out of habit.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Jgarnas00 Report

Add photo comments
POST
DarkAngelNic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have the same problem - I call it brain-mouth dyslexia. My brain knows exactly what it wants to explain or say but my mouth just can't make it happen.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

It’s nice to read such articles and find that you can relate to the things that are said, because it is hard to value your own intelligence. There is a theory called the Dunning–Kruger effect, which suggests that smart people tend to underestimate their capabilities and people who are less smart tend to think that they are more clever than they are. So if you have some pointers, you can have a clearer understanding of what you may need to work on.

ADVERTISEMENT
#8

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

marshal Report

Add photo comments
POST
Daniel Mattock
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always feel the need to start my question with ‘this may be a stupid question’ or ‘just to clarify’

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

ROIChristie Report

Add photo comments
POST
Vicky Z
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree but not having an opinion at all about anything is not good either

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#11

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Kalowaishi Report

Add photo comments
POST
Jo Johannsen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have always had conversations with myself, aloud and in my head. Usually when I am trying to decide between two courses of action.

Raven DeathShade
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My sister says she pities me when I told her I have an inner monologue. Apparently, some people just...don't.

SumoNinja
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was stunned when I learned that some people aren't thinking about something all the time. Like, what is that like, to actually not have thoughts in your head? How do you even know you are alive?

Load More Replies...
PossumMom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Makes me feel better. I have full on, out loud arguments with people who aren't around. Usually it's my fiancee or his mother. I do this, not only to make myself feel better, but to get it out of my system. I say all the mean, usually irrational things

Emma Garcia
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do the same, my brain runs a mile-a-minute and talking out loud helps me keep on one train of thought.

thatmagicgaychick
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do this all the time. Sometimes it’s talking through something out loud, sometimes it’s asking questions and answering myself, and sometimes it’s in my head with a fictional other person

Shay
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do this to help me stay focused on a task that's in front of me at work. It helps me not jump from project to project (I work at a credit union). My coworker does this to, but it's constant and I love it. She gets s**t done!!!

Susann Campbell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always answer, "We are thinking about it", It's kind of wonderful because they look at me like I am or think I am The Queen of England . No I explain there are two sides of every one. The do's and the don'ts. Jumping into an answer without thinking just a bit you may wish you had talked to yourself a little bit longer.

Judy Reynolds
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For many years, I explained it by saying I was a mother and therefore the only person who listened to myself.

Russell Bowman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Difficult to tell these days ...so many "ear bud" phone conversations going on

Devil's Advocate
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes you just can't figure things out until you hear them, my wife hates when I ask her a question purely so I can hear it myself, without her having a clue what I'm going on about

Judy Steelman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lawyer I worked with heard me talking to my computer and said it it was a sign of high intelligence. Obviously she did it too.

Demongrrrrl
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Does that apply to cursing at your computer? If it does, then I am a genius.

Load More Replies...
El muerto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a genius...or more probable, it's just my mental illness

Viviane
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A social worker gave me a very important lesson about people who talk out loud because of mental health issues. She said, "If someone is talking to themselves, you can talk to them." So now I'll sometimes say hi to them. I've never had anyone get upset at me for that.

Load More Replies...
Zoritza Temelkova Petridis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Omg, I do that. When I was young people thought it was cute and funny. They think it's just weird now.

Jennifer Norton
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a funny one because I had no idea there were people that didn't talk to themselves. I also didn't know that there are people out there that don't have inner monologues. Like what?!?!?!

Pagan Child of Fire
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have constant conversations with myself in various accents, and most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it

Kim Irving
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always say that I talk to myself because I need an expert opinion.....

Jyri Hakola
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

IT would still beneficial to learn to have that discuss silently inside you mind. Does not confuse others and you can have tha conversation much more quickly.

kjorn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i always talking to myself but sometime i'm not agree to myselft and get angry against myselft and stop talking to me for long periode of time out of spite

R Carson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Intellegent speaker-interested listener-what's wrong with that?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Of course, a person can be intelligent and not have these qualities, either mentioned in this list or in other research papers as they only show some tendencies that come up in test groups. Nonetheless, these kinds of generalizations are always good fun if you don't take them too seriously. 

So what do you think of them? Do you find that some of these are not true at all? We are always interested to hear your opinions!

ADVERTISEMENT
#13

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

SpartanEquity Report

Add photo comments
POST
Nikki Sevven
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My daughter and I do this all the time. I'll have an idea, and she'll improve on it, whereupon I'll accept that her idea is better. However, we both consider these situations to be collaborative efforts. Neither of us is necessarily wrong; instead, we came to the conclusion together.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

twigsays Report

Add photo comments
POST
BastWren
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just a note...the full expression is, "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back".

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#17

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

LukeBuxton_ Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people would rather stay in ignorance than admit they don't already know everything.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Joshua_Kersey Report

Add photo comments
POST
Bob Belcher
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a compliance officer this right here is everyday. People expect me to know everything about all regulations in my industry. You know how many different regulatory agencies a single company has to abide by, how many volumes of regulations each one has, and how often they change or get updated? Google, Google is 80% of my job.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

kunning_druger Report

Add photo comments
POST
Mohammad Ammar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't have a strong opinion on anything and it can come across as if I'm hiding my true opinion or that I'm naive or clueless. The truth is, there's soooo much we don't know so it's pointless trying to forge solid conclusions. I'm also skeptical of all forms of news and rely on personal observations more than news reports and second hand stories, because the amount of propaganda out there is frightfully high.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Doorknob1974 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Theoretical Empiricist
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To the person who downvoted: do you really want a particle physicist swapping out your breaker box?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#21

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Vksouth Report

#23

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

marketeuphoria Report

Add photo comments
POST
iblowsheep
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

most issues do not have a black and white, right or wrong "side" some however do for instance, killing someone can have some grey area, sexual assault no.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Indiscretion Report

Add photo comments
POST
BastWren
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I must be missing something. How is this a perceived sign of stupidity?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

suryaprakaz Report

Add photo comments
POST
El muerto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the ability to laugh at the most terrible situations is also a very good way to surpass difficulties...most terrible situations are often very ridiculous, life is a parody of itself.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

EricWainaina Report

Add photo comments
POST
RMA
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

‘The arts’ can include law, social work, languages, etc. They are the flip side to ‘the sciences’. It is not just mean ‘art’, such as fine art, graphic design, ballet, etc.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#29

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

Dmurr68 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Otter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again, not necessarily a sign of intelligence. That may indicate that you're dealing with a bright person who changes their opinions when they receive game-changing information, or you may be dealing with one of those idiots that always believes what the last person told them.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

Sign-Of-Intelligence-Confused-With-Stupidity

galligun Report

Add photo comments
POST
iblowsheep
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"In your own words. Do you have your own words? Personally, I'm using the ones that everyone else has been using. Next time they tell you to say something in your own words, say, "Nigflot blorny quando floon." George Carlin

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu