Five Definite Signs of Intelligence
Measuring intelligence can be difficult, especially if one is measuring their own. There are many causes of this, including a certain phenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, a highly common cognitive bias that prevents people from accurately being able to measure their skill in a certain field and instead underestimating or overestimating it based on respective levels of expertise. This concept was first discovered by Cornell University psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger.
And yet, despite the challenges to measure one’s own intellect, or even the intellect of others, there are a few subtle yet distinct indications of sharpness and high mental capability in humans which may surprise you.
- Being a night owl
As it turns out, the popular phrase ‘The early bird catches the worm’ may not be as true as you think. In fact, night owls, or people who enjoy reading, writing, and working at night, especially those who are more productive in the night than the day, have several mental advantages. For starters, they are, according to Peninsula Doctor, more intelligent and creative than those who prefer to work during the day, despite lower academic scores. In addition, they tend to be less stressed out and less tired throughout the day, performing tasks with higher speed and alertness.
2. Larger pupil size
While this characteristic may seem particularly irrelevant, according to Scientific American, one’s pupils, or the dark-colored circular openings found in the center of the eye, not only respond to the light, but they also show arousal, interest and mental exhaustion — as well as intelligence. Tests of memory, reasoning and attention show that the larger the pupil, the higher the intelligence. So the next time you would like to figure out a person’s intelligence before even saying a word to them, all you need to do is look into their eyes.
3. Indecisiveness
We have all had that one friend who can never seem to choose between even the simplest or least consequential of things, like chocolate and vanilla. But the truth is, indecisiveness, overthinking and overanalyzing are actually other less commonly known signs of intelligence. According to Right Attitudes, smart people are the most susceptible to overthinking a situation or decision. This is due to the fact that many intelligent people are perfectionists, and cannot be satisfied with anything less than flawless. This causes them to think and rethink until they are confident that they have reached the best decision.
4. Dark humor
Black humor, or dark humor, is a comedy style that focuses on topics that are considered dark or taboo, especially death. It uses these serious subjects to create jokes that while perceived as hilarious to some are not to others. This is due to how black humor treats these dark subjects in a lighthearted matter, making them seem less important or critical. Nevertheless, according to the Guardian, a team of researches at the Medical University of Vienna discovered that the people with highest appreciation for the dark jokes also happened to have both the highest verbal and non-verbal IQ scores. This same group of people also scored lower for aggression and bad moods.
5. Forgetfulness
Oftentimes, forgetfulness or absentmindedness is associated with a lack of focus: that is, not paying attention or being present at a certain time. Conversely, a proficient memory, which is associated with good observation and attention, is often perceived as a decisive sign of intelligence. And while retention may be a good sign of high mental capability, so is forgetfulness. According to CNN, researchers Paul Frankland and Blake Richards of the University of Toronto suggest memory aims to store the most important information and discard the information that has little to no significance in order to enhance decision-making. Consequently, forgetting irrelevant or insignificant details is simply a sign of the brain attempting to make the best decision by making use of only the most critical information.
So, despite the fact that there may never be a single absolute measure of the intelligence of a person, there are several distinct habits that separate the highly intellectual from the rest. And while some of these signs may be shocking and seem as though they are irrelevant, they are all definite signs that your mental capacities are much higher than you think.
