9 Signs of a Secretly Intelligent Person

When you think of someone smart, you might imagine a person with big, nerdy glasses, a book in hand, and a report card with A+ grades all over. Although many believe this to be true, intelligence isn’t something that’s measured merely by an IQ number or a test grade; it’s demonstrated and shown through our personality and lifestyle, which can make intelligence hard to determine ourselves. Are you curious to find out if you’re someone of great intelligence? If so, here are 9 signs of a secretly intelligent person: 

1. You’ve Got a Great Sense of Humour

Everyone loves a person with good humour. It makes you more approachable, attractive, and someone great to be around in general. But did you know that humour is strongly linked to intelligence? How else could someone easily crack a hilarious joke if they didn’t have the brains to do it? Research shows that funny people, especially ones that love dark humour, have higher IQs and are also highly capable at both verbal and non-verbal skills, which includes self-expression, problem solving, and more.

2. You’re Empathetic

Not only does being empathetic make you a great friend, it’s also linked to having higher levels of intelligence. The ability to respond accordingly to other people’s emotions, ranging from happiness to sadness, is actually a skill that not everyone has mastered. This is because people with lower levels of intelligence are often unable to identify or show concern for others’ feelings. Showing empathy reveals that you’re someone who’s able to read through people and their emotions by analyzing their verbal cues and body language.

3. You’re a Night Owl

It’s stereotyped that people who follow an “early bird gets the worm” sleep schedule are more productive, energetic, motivated, and overall better off than people that are night owls who wake up just in time for brunch. However, research proves that this isn’t always the case. In fact, if you tend to stay up late at night and wake up later in the day, you might just be a secretly intelligent person! A study published through the Personality and Individual Differences article in 2009 showed that people with higher levels of intelligence stayed up and woke up later in the day throughout their week, regardless of whether it’s on a week day or a weekend.

4. You Sweat the Small Stuff

If you’re a constant worrier, you know what it’s like to feel anxious over things like not having your homework done for class, to making a good first impression on your significant other’s family. While constantly feeling worried might not be the most desirable quality, on the bright side, it actually reveals much about your intelligence! According to psychologist Dr. Edward Selby in a Psychology Today article, a study done on 126 undergrads regarding how often they find themselves feeling worried revealed that those who tend to worry a lot more than others were more verbally intelligent, which meant that they’re able to analyze and process information, read, and write at a higher level. 

5. Romance Doesn’t Come Easy

When it comes to romantic relationships and finding a partner, we all know it isn’t as easy as the movies make it seem; your destined partner isn’t always going to be the person who lives next door or your new co-worker whose office is right by yours. However, you might notice that compared to others, you haven’t been in many relationships. If so, you may have even heard your family and friends tell you to lower your standards. While others may see high standards as counterproductive in regards to finding a potential partner, it’s actually a sign of intelligence! Knowing exactly what you want in a partner and not being easily swayed merely by someone’s looks is linked to being smarter than average. Also, as an intelligent person, you’re most likely introverted and independent. When in a relationship, your independence and the need for constant alone time might not work well with a partner who craves frequent attention and time together. As a result, this could leave them feeling neglected and could spark conflict.

6. You’re a Messy Person

Contrary to popular belief, someone who doesn’t make their bed or has a cluttered workspace isn’t always just plain lazy and careless. Instead, it could actually be another sign that you’ve got smarts! In a study done by Dr. Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, participants were asked to think of new ways ping pongs could be used, with some people being placed in tidy rooms while others were placed in messy rooms. Although participants from either room generated around the same amount of ideas as the other, the far more interesting and inventive ideas came from the people who brainstormed in the messy room. So, interestingly enough, if you find that you’re someone who tends to work in a more cluttered workspace without much care for tidiness, you’re most likely more innovative and full of ideas. So, when you’re hard at work and bursting with ideas, making sure all your papers are stacked perfectly and that your writing utensils are arranged neatly on your desk is probably going to be the least of your concerns.

7. You’re a Procrastinator

While many may see procrastination as a sign of laziness, it’s actually a trait of intelligence, and here’s why: If you’re smart, you have a creative, imaginative mind; one that can analyze, process, and visualize different scenarios and circumstances, even the not-so-positive ones, and when it comes to procrastination, intelligent people like you may approach a task at hand in a different way; instead of thinking about the end result, where you’ve successfully accomplished your duty with maybe even some time to spare, you might instead, visualize and focus on the entire process you’d have to go through before reaching completion. This could be thinking about every single step you’ll have to take, how much time you’ll spend working, and even all the things that could go wrong. All these overwhelming thoughts brew within your head before even getting started, and just the thought or sight of what you have to do could be enough to serve as a motivation turn-off.

8. You Use Curse Words

While it might not be the best idea to do it in front of your mom or in the middle of class, swearing isn’t as bad as it seems. Not only is it a great anger and frustration reliever, it’s also a sign of a more vast vocabulary and higher abilities in reading and writing. According to a 2015 study conducted by a Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts psychology professor, Timothy Jay, participants who could come up with as many words possible starting with a certain letter in under a minute were also the ones who could name the most curse words they knew under the same amount of time, which demonstrated a link between fluent speaking and the use of swearing.

9. You Doubt Your Intelligence

All across social media, we constantly see news of our friends, family, and role models posted of their accomplishments or projects they’ve been working on, it’s easy to fall victim to feelings of envy. You might compare your own successes to others and label yourself as “dumber” or “not smart enough”. It’s human nature to want more of certain aspects in life because we often overlook the gifts and talents we already have, making it hard to find content in ourselves. If you find this to be true, here’s some good news: you might actually be smarter than you think! Based on the Dunning-Kruger effect, people with lower levels of intelligence usually overemphasize their abilities, while those who are truly intelligent tend to be more humble regarding their skills and feel that there’s endless room for improvement and more learning.

It’s important not to look down on yourself for not always being the smartest in the room. Everyone has their own areas of intelligence, and those who are truly ignorant and unintelligent are the people who refuse to keep an open mind during our day and age of constant, new discoveries, and are forever tied to what they think they know. Did you find any of the signs above relatable? Let us know in the comments!

References

“10 Habits That Distinguish Smart People From The Crowd.” Cleverly, www.cleverly.me/smart-habits/.

Bokhari, Dean. “How To Stop Procrastinating.” Meaningful HQ, www.meaningfulhq.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating.html.

Cain, Ine. “17 Signs You’re Intelligent – Even If It Doesn’t Feel like It.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 22 Nov. 2017, www.independent.co.uk/news/people/17-signs-you-re-intelligent-even-if-it-doesn-t-feel-it-a8069606.html.

Dowthwaite, Lowri. “Being Funny Is a Sign of Intelligence, According to Science.” World Economic Forum, 19 Oct. 2017, www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/funny-people-are-also-more-intelligent-according-to-new-research/.

“Dunning-Kruger Effect.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect.

Hudson, Paul. “The Smarter And More Independent You Are, The Harder It Is To Find Love.” Elite Daily, Elite Daily, 29 Oct. 2015, www.elitedaily.com/dating/smarter-independent-hard-love/1262556.

Orlando, Alex. “Worried About Swearing Too Much? Science Says You Shouldn’t Be.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2020, www.discovermagazine.com/health/worried-about-your-foul-mouth-swearing-could-actually-be-good-for-you.

Page, Danielle. “When Cursing Is Good for Your Health.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 5 Feb. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/better/health/when-cursing-good-your-health-ncna843776.

“Tidy Desk or Messy Desk? Each Has Its Benefits.” Association for Psychological Science – APS, 6 Aug. 2013, www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/tidy-desk-or-messy-desk-each-has-its-benefits.html.