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People Online Break Down 25 Subtle Signs That Someone Is Actually Really Intelligent
Every person is special in their own way as we all thrive in various and different activities. Some of us are great with creative assignments, some are better at finding answers to questions through applying logic. There are a lot of ways one can show their intelligence. Having this in mind, Reddit user @Gisgiii asked people online to share what kind of “subtle signs” they noticed that allow them to understand that the person they are talking to is extremely smart. The question that received almost 56k upvotes gave people a green light to share their opinions and observations.
A lot of users found that being able to ask good questions, being curious about various things, and taking into account that you can’t know it all is what makes people smart. It was said that intelligent people are always open to a discussion. This is what helps them to find out more about various things that they perhaps never heard of as well as challenge them to broaden their views. Do you agree with this? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
More Info: Reddit
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#1
They aren’t afraid to say they don’t know the answer to a question.
Alice By Heart 3 years ago
I've always hated people who are unwilling to admit that they don't know something, like you come across less intelligent getting it wrong then not knowing
RELATED:
#2
They can genuinely consider an idea which opposes their worldview without necessarily accepting it.
Chef Latte 3 years ago
I hate that I need to start doing this, but it is such a good thing that I am forcing myself to try thinking things in this way.
#3
They are curious about everything.
To be intelligent you need to be knowledgeable and you cant be knowledgeable if you are never curious.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
When I was a child, we had a set of Encyclopedia Brittanica, and I loved sitting in the window seat and just opening to something random to learn about. It was great. If you want your children to be readers, be sure to have a wide range of books around the house, and consider investing in a set of encyclopedias. I know they become dated, but they’re also a great curiosity builder and answerer at the same time.
#4
They can switch up the way they talk to match the person they're talking to without sounding condescending. They listen to how others learn and explain it in that person's language of understanding
#6
I think intelligent people are more willing to calmly debate/discuss, rather than argue. Like, you explain to them why you disagree, and they listen to you and ask further questions about your viewpoint before offering a different perspective; as opposed to an unintelligent person, who would just resort to insults when other people disagree with them.
#7
When they explain something they make you feel intelligent.
#8
People who use analogies to explain concepts to others. It’s a form of code-switching and integrating concepts on the fly is a clear indicator someone is both socially and conceptually intelligent.
Edit: As many have pointed out, not all analogies are helpful or make sense to others. So a useful analogy that creates an “ah-ha!” moment for someone is a wonderful thing. An analogy is an association; a mental process of connecting an idea or thing to a relatable image for someone who can then “see” and digest the initial representation.
Not using analogies doesn’t mean someone can’t be intelligent. And “Social Intelligence” doesn’t mean social ease and charisma, it means an awareness that one”s own understanding and experience often has to be translated in ways that others can relate to.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
If someone says something you don’t understand but wish you did, ask for an analogy—they’re so helpful!
#9
Admitting when they're wrong and being willing to learn from mistakes.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
Using this as a measurement, Trump must be the dumbest person ever
Ripley Dog 3 years ago
I would say "yes" but his followers are stupider still.
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Truth Speakin' 3 years ago
A wise man learns from HIS mistakes...a wiser man learns from the mistakes of OTHERS...
Sky Render 3 years ago
And the wisest learns from all mistakes regardless of who makes them.
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Kurt Mckenney 3 years ago
I like being wrong. Imagine being in a world where there is nothing left to learn?
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
Nothing makes you look more foolish than refusing to admit you're wrong no matter what the evidence says.
Make America great again 3 years ago
Being a parent is like this. My children never came with a manual, but I hope that by my admitting mistakes they will be less afraid of making mistakes themselves.
Regal Kitten 3 years ago
A smart person learns from their mistakes, but the real sharp ones can learn from the mistakes of others.
Monic Krugell 3 years ago
I was just thinking. Intelligent people apologize when they make a mistake.
John Baker 3 years ago
Find me one time when Steve Jobs or Elon Musk ever apologized. ;-)
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#10
Explaining something complex in simple terms. Knowledge is so vast that they can talk about in the easiest way for someone else to understand.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
I was told as a professional, that if I couldn't explain something to a layman, I don't really understand it myself.
#11
They apply knowledge from one realm into a new and relevant situation.
For instance one person described a situation (might have been on Reddit) where they were a new assistant in an academic research lab and fixed a snag that stumped all the senior researchers including the professor. The team was trying to video record their project using a strobe light and their footage wasn't working as planned.
When no one else made progress at diagnosing or solving the problem, the most junior individual spoke up and suggested that the strobe could be out of phase. They remembered that video typically records at a rate of 24 frames a minute second [thanks for the correction], and explained that along with suggesting a change to the strobe's flash rate so it would coincide with the recording.
This worked. And it really raised up that individual's reputation within the group.
Inwardly they were almost embarrassed about the source of this knowledge. They had a gaming hobby back in high school, and had taken some video footage of that, and discovered the standard frame rate while playing around in editing software.
But they remembered that detail years later and realized it made a difference in a completely different context.
That is intelligence.
Sky Render 3 years ago
It's amazing how many problems are caused by tertiary issues! I recall there was once a time when a computer system was unable to send e-mails out to physical locations further than a certain radius from the server. Someone noticed that the distance corresponded perfectly with the speed of light relative to the data transfer rate, and discovered that the issue was a flag had been set to deny all e-mails on the server. Anything sent fast enough to reach its destination before that check happened would still go through.
#12
They're logical, and they find out more information rather than believing something right away.
#13
There is also this lovely thing I like to call intelligence by association. I am a prime example of this. My small rural town seems to think I'm a genius simply because I can read at a level above your average fourth grader, when in fact I'm a high functioning moron.
#14
They say they love learning and they learn something new every day. Then they listen more than talk.
#15
They know when their knowledge ends and say something to the extent of "i don't know and anything else i say on this topic is ignorant speculation"
#16
Humor. I think that truly funny people are often very smart and cognizant of the different ways an idea can be humorous on several levels. They also know their audience. I think the difference between say a Jeff Foxworthy and a Dave Chappell and a Bo Burnham is their audience and their interests.
#17
They don't brag about it.
sofacushionfort 3 years ago (edited)
Southern USA wisdom: “It’s OK to be smarter than other folks. It’s NOT OK to make sure they know it.”
#18
You can honestly just tell by their "vibes".
The way they compose themselves, talk, write, think, explain, etc.
What I find the most interesting is that intelligent people, in my experience, are more likely to be less cold/fact-driven and more theoretical and creative.
For example, if an intelligent person were to read a certain stat, fact, idea, etc, they are likely to have very interesting theoretical extrapolations.
My friend qualified for the Mensa membership, and whenever we talk, his mindset always strays towards very interesting outlooks. He has certain ideas that I would never have even thought about.
It's actually very fun to talk to intelligent people. The way they are able to absorb information like a sponge and apply that information is very eye-opening.
#19
They spend time thinking before asking a question.
#20
They can ask really good questions
Edit: to anyone not understanding what mean, I’m talking about people who ask “really good questions”, not just any questions, really good ones. I don’t know how one would achieve this skill(I know I haven’t).
Josiane Roy 3 years ago
Like asking a question about something not readily apparent or usually associated with the topic in question.
#21
This is more of a hit or miss one, but in casual conversation they're good at puns/wordplay.
Making good puns, especially spontaneously, requires a high level of understanding in whatever language is being spoken. If they tell you a pre-constructed joke that has a punchline that is a pun (a pun-chline if you will) you can't really tell, because they could have had a lot of time to come up with it (like me for instance), or they could have memorized it from somewhere, but spontaneous puns generally mean they're processing your conversation multiple interpretations at once, in an intelligent way.
#22
They draw wisdom from multiple sources. Wait but that might be more wise than intelligent... But I guess those two tend to be seen together a lot.
Softball05 3 years ago
This is so important! You want to read from all sides (and never just headlines). I'm working on this!
#23
They understand what you’re saying before you’re even done with your explanation.
Sky Render 3 years ago
On the flipside, it's quite annoying when someone keeps explaining when you understood what they were trying to tell you by the end of the first sentence...
#24
Intuition
Theoretical Empiricist 3 years ago
I read a good description of hunches, that I think applies to intuition as well: "A hunch is often a conclusion based on data you don't know you possess". Intelligent people may develop intuition more quickly as they are often more observant over time (Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this in his book "Blink: The Art of Thinking Without Thinking"). They also know the limits of their intuition.
#25
They can follow the plot of Kingdom Hearts without needing any line graphs or charts.
Sky Render 3 years ago (edited)
It's not that complicated? I mean really, if you want "granite octopus" levels of impenetrable and all over the place, I can point you to a number of fantasy series that are way harder to follow...
What do you think ?
jk nbt 3 years ago
One of the sure signs of unrecognized genius is that what they do is so easy for them. It is easy for them because they are genius level. Just wait until they quit or retire. Their co-workers who hated them said, "if it's easy for XXXX, it will be easy for anybody." Hmmm, let's see how well that nonsense holds up after they fill the job opening. We'll see.
Charles Bosse 3 years ago
That's more a sign of unrecognized incompetence from the manager than unrecognized genius from the worker, IMO.
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Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
Cue all the average people here feeling like geniuses now off of a discussion on reddit. The irony!!
Lauren Caswell 3 years ago
It's ok, being average is nothing to worry about Mewton. Average is just a word to represent the regular standard of a person, it's a good thing. Take care ^-^
Load More Replies...
Sean Harrison 3 years ago
#26 - They think before they speak when answering someone's question.
jk nbt 3 years ago (edited)
Sometimes hardworking genius is not recognized until its holder is gone. When someone leaves their job and comments are made such as these after the departure, that person was an unrecognized genius: 1) "Everything you were doing just stopped when you left. It was really, really bad. They had to bring in outside help to fill the gap and to get everything done". 2) "We went through no less than five people trying to find someone who could do what you do. None were able to do the job. Will you please come back?" 3) "Product quality has consistently gone down since XXXX left. What was he doing that his replacements are not doing?" 4) "After YYYY died, we had to hire in no less than six people to replace him to keep up with all the work he was doing. We had to create a new department just to replace YYYY." Sad to say, the companies & managers making these statements never recognized what they had until it was gone. This blog reply is based on actual comments & statements I heard when working in industry, no exaggerations here. The incompetent managers who did not notice the genius were also the ones who did notice the slightest flaws or mistakes. We all make mistakes. Managers like that like to point these out so the worker does not dare to begin to think too highly of himself. Managers like that will discount or ignore the huge amounts of genius-level work and results. They then build into a major case any flaws or mistakes to offset the great work and to justify their contempt. No wonder these people eventually left for better things except for the man who died unexpectedly. Companies like that are not worthy of the quality of people they disrespect to the point of driving them out for good. There is always something better out there for you if you really are like one of the genius people I described.
Sapna Sarfare 3 years ago
I think even humour can be a deal-breaker here. Someone who understands all kinds of humour including subtle or word play is quite intelligent. Plus i think these people have their ears open all the time. You need to be all ears to get the jokes.
RandomBeing 3 years ago
Just like the last time boredpanda had an article like this my self-esteem has boosted. It's nice to know I'm doing this thing right.
Vicky Z 3 years ago
Oops! You're missing the bragging part!! (I'm joking! Keep up doing it right😉)
Load More Replies...
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
What id a genius? People can be brilliant at some things and pretty dumb at others. My take is the best brilliance is to know when you don't understand. On the other hand 'brilliant ' people make bad teachers because they simply cannot understand the problems the average person has with may concepts and operations.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
My sister once summed up the whole this, You can tell the really intelligent people because they can be so stupid. "Intelligence" and common sense do NOT always go hand in hand.
Craig Reynolds 3 years ago
Too many of those commenters cannot separate intellectual intelligence (IQ) from emotional intelligence (EQ). i couldn't even finish reading through it. It was just too ridiculous. Knowledge has nothing to do with intelligence (IQ) and neither does curiosity! Intelligence is how you utilize and apply knowledge. Curiosity is how knowledge is acquired and expanded upon.
Sidra Badar 2 years ago
I've been told many a times that I have High IQ that's why I have low EQ. Or Since I have high IQ therefore I have low EQ, I won't be good at following orders or a good team player.
Load More Replies... Charles Bosse 3 years ago
There is something really important missing from this list, and it is that truly intelligent people are experts at exchanging ideas and using that exchange to generate new ideas. Some of the parts of the list push in that direction, but none quite get there and it is, in my observations, possibly THE most important aspect of true intelligence, no matter a person's interests. The reason for the accelerated pace of science and technology in the late 19th century through the present is because we shifted from a culture of singular genius to one of collaborative ingenuity, driven by smart people working with and not against each other. While it means you hear of fewer Newtons or Descartes, it also means ideas can move and improve and be applied much more quickly and effectively.
Victoria Kimball 3 years ago (edited)
I disagree with most of these points. Many of them are examples of empathy, emotional intelligence, grifter skills, good communication, etc; rather than actual intelligence.
Potato 3 years ago
"Actual intelligence" -- intelligence presents itself in many different ways. Including emotional intelligence, which you include in your comment with the word "intelligence" right there in the description.
Load More Replies... 
Lennah Palbachm 3 years ago
I've never considered myself intelligent, but I matched nearly every one. I don’t know if I can be considered intelligent if I didn't realize I was intelligent... but I suppose if what I said is true, I can’t be intelligent, yet I am. Oh my word. I've created a question without end. Someone help.
Charles Bosse 3 years ago
"some people / started singing it not knowing what it was / and they'll continue singing it forever just because..."
Load More Replies...
Charles Bosse 3 years ago
No, actually. They open discussions just because they are interested in what other people think, even if they are probably the smartest and definitely the most accomplished person in the room.
Load More Replies... 
Potato 3 years ago
What if they were born there? Moving across state lines is extremely expensive and sometimes can't be done without first acquiring a job in the destination state (ironically, employers don't want to hire someone who doesn't already live there).
Load More Replies...
jk nbt 3 years ago
please kindly stay on topic, okay? This comment would fit in other places on Panda more appropriately.
Load More Replies...
jk nbt 3 years ago
One of the sure signs of unrecognized genius is that what they do is so easy for them. It is easy for them because they are genius level. Just wait until they quit or retire. Their co-workers who hated them said, "if it's easy for XXXX, it will be easy for anybody." Hmmm, let's see how well that nonsense holds up after they fill the job opening. We'll see.
Charles Bosse 3 years ago
That's more a sign of unrecognized incompetence from the manager than unrecognized genius from the worker, IMO.
Load More Replies... Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
Cue all the average people here feeling like geniuses now off of a discussion on reddit. The irony!!
Lauren Caswell 3 years ago
It's ok, being average is nothing to worry about Mewton. Average is just a word to represent the regular standard of a person, it's a good thing. Take care ^-^
Load More Replies... Sean Harrison 3 years ago
#26 - They think before they speak when answering someone's question.
jk nbt 3 years ago (edited)
Sometimes hardworking genius is not recognized until its holder is gone. When someone leaves their job and comments are made such as these after the departure, that person was an unrecognized genius: 1) "Everything you were doing just stopped when you left. It was really, really bad. They had to bring in outside help to fill the gap and to get everything done". 2) "We went through no less than five people trying to find someone who could do what you do. None were able to do the job. Will you please come back?" 3) "Product quality has consistently gone down since XXXX left. What was he doing that his replacements are not doing?" 4) "After YYYY died, we had to hire in no less than six people to replace him to keep up with all the work he was doing. We had to create a new department just to replace YYYY." Sad to say, the companies & managers making these statements never recognized what they had until it was gone. This blog reply is based on actual comments & statements I heard when working in industry, no exaggerations here. The incompetent managers who did not notice the genius were also the ones who did notice the slightest flaws or mistakes. We all make mistakes. Managers like that like to point these out so the worker does not dare to begin to think too highly of himself. Managers like that will discount or ignore the huge amounts of genius-level work and results. They then build into a major case any flaws or mistakes to offset the great work and to justify their contempt. No wonder these people eventually left for better things except for the man who died unexpectedly. Companies like that are not worthy of the quality of people they disrespect to the point of driving them out for good. There is always something better out there for you if you really are like one of the genius people I described.
Sapna Sarfare 3 years ago
I think even humour can be a deal-breaker here. Someone who understands all kinds of humour including subtle or word play is quite intelligent. Plus i think these people have their ears open all the time. You need to be all ears to get the jokes.
RandomBeing 3 years ago
Just like the last time boredpanda had an article like this my self-esteem has boosted. It's nice to know I'm doing this thing right.
Vicky Z 3 years ago
Oops! You're missing the bragging part!! (I'm joking! Keep up doing it right😉)
Load More Replies... Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
What id a genius? People can be brilliant at some things and pretty dumb at others. My take is the best brilliance is to know when you don't understand. On the other hand 'brilliant ' people make bad teachers because they simply cannot understand the problems the average person has with may concepts and operations.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
My sister once summed up the whole this, You can tell the really intelligent people because they can be so stupid. "Intelligence" and common sense do NOT always go hand in hand.
Craig Reynolds 3 years ago
Too many of those commenters cannot separate intellectual intelligence (IQ) from emotional intelligence (EQ). i couldn't even finish reading through it. It was just too ridiculous. Knowledge has nothing to do with intelligence (IQ) and neither does curiosity! Intelligence is how you utilize and apply knowledge. Curiosity is how knowledge is acquired and expanded upon.
Sidra Badar 2 years ago
I've been told many a times that I have High IQ that's why I have low EQ. Or Since I have high IQ therefore I have low EQ, I won't be good at following orders or a good team player.
Load More Replies... Charles Bosse 3 years ago
There is something really important missing from this list, and it is that truly intelligent people are experts at exchanging ideas and using that exchange to generate new ideas. Some of the parts of the list push in that direction, but none quite get there and it is, in my observations, possibly THE most important aspect of true intelligence, no matter a person's interests. The reason for the accelerated pace of science and technology in the late 19th century through the present is because we shifted from a culture of singular genius to one of collaborative ingenuity, driven by smart people working with and not against each other. While it means you hear of fewer Newtons or Descartes, it also means ideas can move and improve and be applied much more quickly and effectively.
Victoria Kimball 3 years ago (edited)
I disagree with most of these points. Many of them are examples of empathy, emotional intelligence, grifter skills, good communication, etc; rather than actual intelligence.
Potato 3 years ago
"Actual intelligence" -- intelligence presents itself in many different ways. Including emotional intelligence, which you include in your comment with the word "intelligence" right there in the description.
Load More Replies... Lennah Palbachm 3 years ago
I've never considered myself intelligent, but I matched nearly every one. I don’t know if I can be considered intelligent if I didn't realize I was intelligent... but I suppose if what I said is true, I can’t be intelligent, yet I am. Oh my word. I've created a question without end. Someone help.
Charles Bosse 3 years ago
"some people / started singing it not knowing what it was / and they'll continue singing it forever just because..."
Load More Replies... Charles Bosse 3 years ago
No, actually. They open discussions just because they are interested in what other people think, even if they are probably the smartest and definitely the most accomplished person in the room.
Load More Replies... Potato 3 years ago
What if they were born there? Moving across state lines is extremely expensive and sometimes can't be done without first acquiring a job in the destination state (ironically, employers don't want to hire someone who doesn't already live there).
Load More Replies... jk nbt 3 years ago
please kindly stay on topic, okay? This comment would fit in other places on Panda more appropriately.
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