10 Subtle Signs Of Incredible Intelligence, As Shared By People Online

Not being afraid of saying “I don’t know”, asking really good questions, and being able to admit mistakes are just a few examples of what people think is characteristic of an intelligent person. And while signs that indicate that someone is knowledgeable might differ from person to person, you’ll know one when you meet them by the way they carry themselves.

Members of the ‘Ask Reddit community have recently discussed such signs after the user ‘Occyz’ started a thread about it. If you’re curious about what kind of person might make you feel like Pinky next to The Brain, scroll down to find the Redditors' thoughts on the list below and feel free to upvote the signs you believe are indicative of intelligence as well.

10 PHOTOS

#1 They struggle with imposter syndrome. Dumb people always think they’re the tits.

#2 How often they are confident in saying "I don't know"?

#3 Someone who can understand someone’s opposing view without having to agree with it or get angry over it.

#4  When being taught to do something new, they care just as much, if not more, about why it should be done a certain way as they do about what needs to be done.

#5 They can adapt their communication style — vocabulary, tone, content, etc — to fit the situation and people they’re talking to, and it seems completely natural.

#6 I have met several off-the-charts intelligent people. One thing I noticed that they have in common is low self-esteem. They had an actual low self-esteem club at the science fiction club I belonged to. The guy who did a lot of the calculations that allowed the Voyager probes to make the Grand Tour of our solar system was a member of the club. All he could think about was what he didn’t know or what he physically couldn’t do. The common issue I observed from these bright folks was relentless school bullying. We lose so many of these geniuses to depression, suicide, self-medication, or just flat-out self-inflicted mediocrity—society in the US does a s****y job of nurturing intelligence, it makes me incredibly angry how many of these people’s potential was wasted. (I don’t include myself in that club—My intelligence is dead average.) Frank Zappa said it best when he said that intelligence is treated like a hideous deformity by American society.

#7 They're very good at problem-solving. Even if it's something they have no experience with they always approach the problem from the right angle.

#8  They ask really good questions and listen more than they talk.

#9  Understanding/appreciating nuance

#10 They don't continually need to tell people how intelligent they are.