Smart people are n’t just defined by their outrageously high scores on IQ tests .
They tend to share a bunch of other characteristics , like insatiable oddity and a dependable sensation of humor .
We lease a look at aQuora threadwhere users have listed some vernacular traits of highly thinking people , and checked out the science to see if it backs them up .
Here are 11 qualities of super smart hoi polloi :
They ’re highly adaptable
Several Quora users notice that healthy the great unwashed are flexible and able to thrive in different configurations . AsDonna F. Hammettwrites , healthy citizenry accommodate by " showing what can be done regardless of the complication or restrictions localise upon them . "
Psychological researchsupports this idea . Intelligence depend on being capable to deepen your own behaviors in orderliness to manage more effectively with your environment , or make changes to the environment you ’re in .
They empathize how much they do n’t cognise
The smartest folks are able-bodied to admit when they are n’t familiar with a particular concept . AsJim Winer writes , intelligent masses " are not afraid to say : ' I do n’t get laid . ' If they do n’t know it , they can get a line it . "
Winer ’s observation is backed up by aclassic studyby Justin Kruger and David Dunning , which find that the less well-informed you are , the more you overrate your cognitive ability .
In one experiment , for exemplar , educatee who ’d scored in the down in the mouth quartile on a test adapted from the LSAT overestimated the issue of interrogation they ’d vex right by nearly 50 % . Meanwhile , those who ’d mark in the top quartile slenderly underestimated how many question they ’d gotten proper .
They have insatiate curiosity
Albert Einsteinreportedly said , " I have no special gift , I am only stormily curious . "
Oras Keyzurbur Alas put it , " levelheaded people rent themselves become hypnotized by things others take for allow . "
Research published in 2016 in the Journal of Individual Differences suggests that there ’s a link between puerility intelligence and openness to experience — which encompasses intellectual rarity — in adulthood .
scientist stick with M of masses born in the UK for 50 years and learned that 11 - year - olds who ’d score higher on an IQ psychometric test turn out to be more unresolved to experience at 50 .
They read a lot
Because they ’re so odd , bright people are also fain to be voracious reader , writes Cheikh Mbacke Diop .
Indeed , many of the world’smost successful multitude — Bill Gates and Oprah among them — say they train themselves by reading anything they can get their hand on .
They ’re open - minded
fresh people do n’t close themselves off to newfangled ideas or opportunities . Hammett writesthat levelheaded people are " willing to accept and consider other views with value and broad - mindedness , " and that they are " open to alternative solution . "
Psychologists saythat capable - minded hoi polloi — those who seek out substitute point of view and weigh the grounds fairly — tend to nock higher on the SAT and on intelligence information tests .
At the same time , smart people are careful about which ideas and position they adopt .
" An intelligent idea has a strong averting to take on things on face time value and therefore withholds impression until give with ample evidence,“says Alas .
They care their own fellowship
In a since - cancel resolution , Richard He points out that highly level-headed people incline to be " very individualist . "
Interestingly,2016 researchpublished in the British Journal of Psychology propose that smarter mass lean to come less atonement than most mass do fromsocializing with friends .
They have high ego - control
Zoher Ali writesthat smart the great unwashed are able-bodied to overcome impulsiveness by " planning , clarify goal , explore alternate strategy and weigh consequences before [ they ] begin . "
Scientists have found a link between self - control condition and intelligence . In one2009 studypublished in the diary Psychological Science , participants had to select between two fiscal reward : a smaller payout immediately or a larger payout at a previous date .
Results showed that participants who choose the magnanimous payout at a posterior date — i.e. , those who had more ego - ascendency — mostly scored higher on intelligence activity trial run .
The researchers behind that report say that one area of the wit — the anterior prefrontal cortex — might play a function in helping citizenry clear elusive job and demonstrate self - ascendence while working toward goals .
They ’re really comical …
Advita Bihani points outthat highly intelligent people lean to have a great horse sense of humor .
scientist agree . One 2011 University of New Mexico field of study receive that hoi polloi who wrote funnier cartoon captions scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence agency . Another University of New Mexico study regain that professional comedian scored high than average on measure of verbal word .
… and they appreciate dark humor
Elora Amber mentionsresearch that paint a picture intelligent mass have a " twisted mother wit of humor . "
Indeed , a2017 studypublished in the journal Cognitive Processing found that people who score higher on tests of verbal and nonverbal intelligence are most likely to enjoy and interpret " calamitous humor . " ( For example : " Here is the answering machine of the self - help connexion for Alzheimer patient role . If you still remember your topic , please talk after the quality . " )
Those who appreciated the dark humour did not , however , seem to be in any way disturbed or aggressive .
They ’re sensitive to other multitude ’s experiences
Smart masses can " almost feel what someone is think / feel , " He added in the deleted resolution .
Some psychologists debate that empathy , being attuned to the need and feelings of others and acting in a way that is raw to those motive , is a core component ofemotional intelligence . Emotionally - sound individuals are typically very concerned in utter to new the great unwashed and learning more about them .
They think outside the boxwood
Being bright is about cogitate differently .
Teodora Motateanu writesthat extremely healthy hoi polloi " question the condition quo . They question the old ways to do things . They have strange , out of the boxwood , apparently ' sick ' ideas . "
In fact , stickingto the status quo may sabotage your success . Scott Galloway , a clinical professor of marketing at New York University ’s Stern School of Business , antecedently told Business Insiderthat successful people ( like successful companies ) are always asking , " What if we did it this way ? "
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