What would you say are the characteristics of very smart people?

[Anonymous]

Just outward signs/things that tell you someone is extremely bright.

[Anonymous]

Clever but not malicious sense of humor.

[Anonymous]

At work, they ask questions. More than that, they ask questions and do their own investigations to try to understand the root cause of problems and WHY any problem is occurring. They try to solve problems and try to create efficiencies. Don’t just always do things the way they’ve always been done if there’s a better way to do them. Really smart people have a natural curiosity.

It’s a lot harder to tell in non-work settings, but the natural curiosity is going to come through eventually regardless of the situation.

[Anonymous]

I encounter two types of very smart people a lot:

The type who are very engaged, listening to everything being said, asking questions, building on ideas as they come up, challenging assumptions, etc.

The type who say almost nothing but then when they do talk, say very insightful things.

I think it just depends on personality type. The quiet ones are stealth smart but then when you get a peak at how their brains work, it's intimidating. One of my best friends is like this. She is a huge introvert and doesn't volunteer much. But she's one of the smartest people I've ever met.

[Anonymous]

Wow it really varies.

I think I am very smart but I don’t act smart in front of people I don’t know. I joke around, using a lot of self-deprecating humor, and I say like a lot. Lots of people are really surprised when the conversation turns to something I’m interested in on a deeper level and I ask intelligent questions and/or spew a bunch of knowledge I have gained over the years about the topic. My husband actually said one of the things that he found attractive was that I was ditzy but smart.

But then I know people who don’t really joke around and all their sentences are well-constructed and laden with factual knowledge that demonstrates impressive critical thinking skills. Then there are people who you know are smart just because of their jobs, like an appellate attorney who regularly argues in front of the Supreme Court or a rocket scientist. There are so many ways to address intelligence.

Also, like I always say when the subject of intelligence comes up: it is a vastly overrated quality. Intelligent arent more likely to make more moral decisions, they aren’t more likely to be happy, they aren’t more likely to self-actualize, and they aren’t more likely to have better relationships. They don’t do better in any of the things I find most important in life.

[Anonymous]

Oh and very funny people are usually very intelligent, like Ali Wong and Oscar Wilde.

[Anonymous]

I figured I was truly low IQ because I wasn't identified as "gifted" in FCPS and was the only one in my family not in then called Gifted and Talented program. I apparently was neither gifted nor talented.

Now, through therapy and maturity, I can recognize that I am, in fact, very smart. Let me count the ways:

- quick wit: I can think clearly and quickly and act immediately, great in an emergency, extra fun in everyday life - I can see the humor and can make people laugh with a witty response.

-highly observant: I'm always observing. Unfortunately for me, I can and will remember entire conversations, your tone of voice, what you were wearing and all social cues given. I remember people's names and use them. I notice everything.

- quickly learn and integrate new information. If at all possible, I prefer to teach myself - not that I don't have trust in trainers and teachers, it's just that I get so distracted and frustrated by the pace of training classes...just let me do it myself.

[Anonymous]

Funny and quick witted. Clever.

Good recall on information and weaving it back into the conversation when relevant. Connecting the dots easily and quickly.

Excellent ability to concisely and accurately summarize disparate threads of a conversation and tee up decision points in a meandering group conversation. (This is a work thing.)

And then there is the traditional academic stuff - very good at math on the fly, etc.

[Anonymous]

Truly intelligent people will happily admit when they don’t understand something, especially something that everyone takes for granted. A willingness to question received wisdom.

[Anonymous]

Asks questions and processes information logically.

[Anonymous]

Truly bright people are never bored. The most brilliant man I ever knew once admitted that he doesn’t even know what boredom feels like. He said he could always think so how could he be bored.

[Anonymous]

When people tell you about examples of their brilliance and they discuss things that they say they understood and recognized before everyone else, those are the very smart people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny and quick witted. Clever.

Good recall on information and weaving it back into the conversation when relevant. Connecting the dots easily and quickly.

Excellent ability to concisely and accurately summarize disparate threads of a conversation and tee up decision points in a meandering group conversation. (This is a work thing.)

And then there is the traditional academic stuff - very good at math on the fly, etc.

Agree with all of this. I always consider a quickie mind and sense of humor to indicate intelligence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Truly bright people are never bored. The most brilliant man I ever knew once admitted that he doesn’t even know what boredom feels like. He said he could always think so how could he be bored.

I don't think I'm necessarily very bright, but I am like this. I have never minded standing in lines and things like that. I always have things to think about and I love observing other people and everything around me. The world is endlessly fascinating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny and quick witted. Clever.

Good recall on information and weaving it back into the conversation when relevant. Connecting the dots easily and quickly.

Excellent ability to concisely and accurately summarize disparate threads of a conversation and tee up decision points in a meandering group conversation. (This is a work thing.)

And then there is the traditional academic stuff - very good at math on the fly, etc.

Interesting. You think the bolded is a relatively rare skill? I don’t disagree but I’ve never thought about it this way.

Agree that I highly appreciate this when people do it.