“Stupidity and wisdom are as easily seized as contagious diseases,” Shakespeare warned. Therefore, people in your environment must be chosen carefully. But how to understand who is really in front of you: a smart person or a fool? Psychologists name 10 signs of a person with high intellectual abilities. When meeting, look for them in your interlocutor!
1. Do not evaluate anything without context
A smart person does not rush to conclusions and assessments until he analyzes all the circumstances and details. He rarely criticizes and condemns.
A stupid person easily gives assessments to others and phenomena, without delving into the circumstances. At the same time, it seems to him that he is better than the object of his criticism.
2. Easily admit their mistakes
The main goal of an intelligent person is to find the truth, and not to be always right. He is well aware that he can be wrong, because nothing in this world is imperfect. Stupid people do not recognize their own mistakes.
3. Behave calmly
A quarrel with a partner, a long traffic jam or a sudden cancellation of a flight at the airport is something that can piss anyone off. However, according to research, smart people are more calm than those with a low IQ.
Years of research by scientists from the University of Michigan prove that there is a link between aggressive behavior and low intelligence.
4. Do not consider themselves better than others
Stupid people think they are better than others. According to a study published in the journal Psychological Science, less intelligent individuals are more prone to homophobia and racism. They insult others in order to look good in front of them.
Smart people don't compare themselves to others. They are always happy for the success of others and are often ready to help.
5. Empathize with others more often
People with low IQs often act selfishly. They are indifferent to the feelings and needs of other people. This is because they cannot put themselves in the place of another person and understand their train of thought.
6. Feel comfortable being alone
A smart person is not bored alone with his thoughts. Often important ideas come in moments of loneliness. Stupid people avoid it in every way. When they stay in their own company, they have to observe their own emptiness. Therefore, if there is no one around, then news and social networks save narrow-minded people.
7. Staying up late and changing the sound of the alarm more often
Researchers from Japan Kaya Perina and Satoshi Kanazawa believe that among the "owls" there are more smart people. In their study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, they identified a link between circadian rhythm and high intelligence. They also note that people who reset their alarms are more responsive to their body's needs.
8. Don't be afraid to look stupid
Smart people are not afraid to look stupid and allow themselves to relax. The narrow-minded, on the contrary, are trying with all their might to show their intellectual abilities. They will gladly correct you. Have you met these?
9. Not afraid
Fears do not rule the life of an intelligent person. But a fool is afraid of everything: I won’t go there and I won’t, suddenly something will happen. By performing some action, a person gains experience, and the one who sits at home and shakes will never comprehend the meaning of life.
10. Have a dialogue
If a person constantly talks about himself and you find it difficult to insert even a word, then know that you are dealing with a fool. Sometimes a person wants to talk, but this should not be on an ongoing basis.
No one can always do the smart thing, but it's still worth trying.
How many habits have you counted?
Such people are not uncommon. It could be your buddy arguing about the rules of the game, or your boss blaming you for his own mistakes. They can be called stubborn, quick-tempered, or simply jerks. But psychotherapist Caryl McBride prefers to call them fragile. It may not be exactly the word that comes to your mind to describe a guy who is ready to fight over the rules in the Scrabble game, but McBride's point of view is worth reading.
“People who always have to be right have very fragile egos,” she says. When they feel their rightness is threatened, they try to look even more impressive and smart, so they begin to humiliate others. It is a mechanism to compensate for self-doubt. At the same time, you do not have to treat such people condescendingly. Just follow these tips.
Keep calm
Even if you are sure that your friend, relative or boss is wrong, the worst course of action is to argue with him. As McBride says, this will only make him feel threatened, which means he will be even more defensive. This is a situation in which no one wins. Instead, have him parse his own arguments. For example, imagine that your boss blames you for the failure of the project, although you followed his instructions completely. Calmly ask him what you should do to avoid a similar situation in the future. This simple question will force him to introspect.
He would have to explain exactly what went wrong, which meant thinking about how correct his own instructions were. If this happens frequently, ask your boss for help before starting a new project. As Wendy Biary, founder and director of the New Jersey Cognitive Therapy Center and author of Disarming the Narcissist, advises, you can say, "I know I can learn a lot from you, so I'm counting on you to help me with that." This way you will not only boost his ego, but also gain evidence that he himself supported and helped to plan your actions.
demand respect
It's one thing if it's your friend, and another if it's your girlfriend or wife. You can just break up with a friend, but the problem with your wife must be solved. But don't do it in the heat of an argument. It is better to return to the question the next day, when you are both more calm. Explain to her that you are ready to admit the accusations when they are justified, but are tired of constantly apologizing. Most importantly, remember that her stubbornness does not come from the desire for revenge, but from self-doubt.
Friends should help you get rid of stress, not add it
Do not skimp on declarations of love and assurances of readiness to deal with the issue together. Tell her that if you respect each other, then both are able to admit mistakes when they make them.
Get rid of him
If your acquaintance is a great guy, except when he starts to argue, you are unlikely to want to completely break off the relationship, but you can choose when and where to see him. Understand what usually pisses him off and avoid dangerous topics and situations. As Florida psychotherapist Samuel Lopez de Victoria says, if he's so smart that he'll ruin any activity, it might be best to get rid of him once and for all. Friends are supposed to help you get rid of stress, not add it.
How to deal with your problem
Are you afraid that you are the same? To understand whether this is so is simple: remember the last time you apologized. If you can't, then you probably really are. And you won't get rid of it once or twice. As Biary explains, the need to be right is always deeply rooted. Therefore, it is better to use professional psychological help to identify the underlying cause of your self-doubt, inability to apologize and admit that you are wrong. For starters, the next time you're arguing, try to ask yourself why.
If it turns out that you just want to avoid apologizing or admitting a mistake, then you should change the subject. You can just say, "I don't agree, but I understand your point of view." That way you don't admit you were wrong and at the same time end the argument before it escalates. And in a group argument, just look around: you will see that most people do not participate in it and want it to end as soon as possible. Follow their example. Become just an observer and let someone else defend his case. Save your energy for more important things.
With whom you lead - from that you will type. This wisdom, as ancient as the world, has been confirmed by thousands of years of human relationships. Indeed, when a smart, well-read, erudite interlocutor is next to you, you yourself begin to reach for his knowledge, learn something new from him, and slowly become smarter yourself. But you will behave with a fool, with a stupid, uneducated, narrow-minded person, and as if you feel that you yourself are starting to grow dull. How to distinguish one from the other? Today we will tell you about ten habits of behavior of smart, calm and reasonable people.
1. A smart person always knows the context of a situation.
You can never draw quick conclusions and immediately give radical assessments of a particular situation until all its details, or at least their main part, are clarified. The one who cuts in the heat of the moment, condemning right and left - most likely, is not a smart person. At the same time, such a person, as a rule, considers his point of view to be absolutely true.
2. Smart people admit their mistakes easily.
Of course, because for them the main thing is not to amuse their pride or be branded as someone, but to find the truth, the truth. A smart person knows that he can make mistakes, just like anyone else. A fool, in general, will never admit that he was wrong.
3. A smart person behaves in a balanced and reasonable manner.
Aggressive behavior, as a rule, is not characteristic of an intelligent person. Yes, in life there are all sorts of situations that can piss off even the most calm and indifferent. However, if a person, just a little, begins to get angry, yell, wave his arms and flog a fever, he is most likely not of the greatest mind. Well, either something is wrong with the nerves, and it happens. 🙂
4. Smart people don't think they're better than others.
A controversial thesis, but still, as a rule, an intelligent person understands that he is not perfect and that there is always someone who is better and smarter than himself. A short-sighted and non-intellectual person is inclined to consider himself smarter than others, asserting himself in a similar way against the background of the rest.
5. Smart people are capable of compassion.
To help someone, to support, to give valuable advice or somehow help out - all this distinguishes smart people from fools. Those, as a rule, do not care about anyone but themselves, other people's feelings do not particularly concern them.
6. Smart people love being alone.
Another controversial thesis, however, it has been proven that smart people are not as bored and lonely when they are alone as not very smart people. Those with all their might are looking for human society, so as not to be alone with their thoughts, since they simply do not exist. A wise person is able to stay in solitude for a long time, thinking about certain things.
7. Smart people tend to stay up late.
In Japan, they recently conducted a study, according to which they recognized that “owl” people are usually more intellectually developed than “larks”. This is due to the fact that at night the activity of the brain increases and therefore smart people come to mind more thoughts.
8. A smart person doesn't worry about being wrong.
There is a special cohort of people who must always be right. They are more than anything afraid of making a mistake, so as not to look like idiots against the background of the rest. These people, as a rule, are not particularly intelligent. A smart person does not worry about a mistake at all: anything can happen. Mistakes are the key to learning success!
9. Smart people are fearless.
Finally, perhaps the most controversial thesis. Some believe that fools are usually afraid of everything, but smart people are the opposite. However, as you know, often foolish courage is also characteristic of fools, but a wise person, on the contrary, will be very careful.
10. Smart people are able to maintain a dialogue.
If during the dialogue your interlocutor only speaks and speaks without letting you insert words, then he is hardly an intelligent person. However, perhaps he is simply not accustomed to conduct a conversation.
Assess the situation. Why do you feel that the person is arrogant? Is he condescending towards you or doesn't speak to you? Unless there was an incident that showed that this person is putting himself above you, then don't jump to the conclusion that he is arrogant. You may be wrong about it.
- If you feel that your interests and wishes are not taken into account at all, then this may be a sign of contact with an arrogant person, especially if he insists that his path is the only correct one.
Listen to what the person is saying. Does he always talk about himself? Does he get angry or annoyed if the focus shifts to someone else? Boasting, belittling others, and acting like he knows everything? These are all sure signs of an arrogant type. If he constantly interrupts or interrupts abruptly, these are also signs of arrogance.
- Look for a person who constantly says that he is better than you and other people. It can be secretive or frank, but if a person now and then says that he is better than you and other people, we can safely conclude that he is arrogant.
- Consider how contemptuous the person is of you and your ideas or thoughts. Contemptuous attitude speaks of the belief that a person considers himself better than others.
- Is this person belittling things that matter to you, especially in public?
- Does this person talk/act like they are your boss? Listen for a tone of voice that can indicate bossiness and contempt.
- Does this person ever notice that you miss talking? Arrogant people never notice this!
Determine if the person accepts your opinion when making decisions. Arrogant people rarely let others make decisions because they are sure they are right and always know all the answers. And they don't care if the decision concerns you.
- Is this person constantly looking for companies of high-status people, seeking to get to know or talk with them? This is because an arrogant person believes that he is only worthy of people with high status.
Know that arrogant people are often quite insecure. Through dominance and control, they control their fear of being subdued. It is difficult for an arrogant person to admit that he is wrong, and no matter how ridiculous it looks, he will cling to his rightness even when his knowledge has outlived itself or when he is not able to think more broadly. Unfortunately, many arrogant people actually have far less life experience than they let on; it is just a cover embellished with imagination and envy.
- Snobbery is a classic sign of arrogance. When an arrogant person knows or pretends to know something special, it gives him an advantage and he is not shy about boasting about it.
- It is very difficult for an arrogant person to accept difficulties. He is much more comfortable with predictable situations, in black and white; such a person tends to see all life in this light. Such people tend to assume more than they actually know.
- Know that excitement is not always a sign of arrogance. An agitated person may simply be embarrassed for being inappropriate in conversation and trying to be too smart. This can sound like superiority and, combined with dominating the conversation, can come off as arrogant. Try to look more deeply before judging a person's intentions. A flustered person will ask for your opinion, while an arrogant person won't care and will never apologize for talking too much.
18 576 Our world is inhabited by all kinds of people with extremely varied levels of intelligence. Of course, almost everyone considers themselves smart, and it is very difficult to get an accurate estimate of our own intelligence. After all, our thoughts always seem smart in our own head, don't they? Intelligence is very important. Especially in a professional context, high intelligence can be your best asset. But people who are less intelligent often have habits that make them stupid and can also be quite disastrous in a number of circumstances. Here are five main differences between smart and stupid people. It's very conspicuous, unprofessional, and something a smart person would never do. If you consistently try to force your mistakes on others, you are demonstrating to everyone that you cannot be the sharpest tool in the shed. Stupid people don't like to take responsibility for their mistakes. They prefer to blame others. “You should never absolve yourself of guilt. Be responsible. If you had a role—no matter how small—whatever it is, own it,” advises Bradbury. "The moment you start pointing the finger at others, people start seeing you as someone who lacks responsibility for his actions." Smart people also know that every mistake is a chance to learn how to do better next time. A neurological study by Jason S. Moser of Michigan State University found that the brains of smart and stupid people actually respond differently to mistakes. In a situation of conflict, smart people more easily sympathize with the other person and understand their arguments. They can also integrate these arguments into their own thought and revise their opinion accordingly. A sure sign of intelligence is the ability to look at things and understand them from a different perspective. Smart people are open to new information and change settings. Stupid people, on the contrary, will continue to argue and will not budge, regardless of any valid arguments against them. It also means they won't notice if the other person is more intelligent and competent. This overestimation is called the Dunning-Kruger effect. This is a cognitive bias, where less competent people overestimate their own skills while underestimating the competence of others. The term was coined in a 1999 publication by David Dunning and Justin Krueger. Psychologists have observed in previous research that in areas such as reading comprehension, playing chess, or driving a car, ignorance leads to confidence more often than knowledge. At Cornell University, they did more experiments on this effect and showed that less competent people not only overestimate their own skills, but also do not recognize that someone else's skills are superior to others. Dunning writes: “If you are incompetent, you cannot know that you are incompetent. The skills you need to get the right answer are exactly what you need to understand what the right answer is.” Of course, this does not mean that smart people always think that everyone else is right. But they listen carefully and consider all arguments before making decisions. Obviously, even the smartest people can get angry from time to time. But for less intelligent people, it's a reaction when things don't go their way. When they feel that they do not have as much control over the situation as they would like, they tend to use anger and aggressive behavior to secure their position. Researchers from the University of Michigan conducted a study on 600 participants with parents and children for 22 years. They found a clear correlation between aggressive behavior and lower IQ. The researchers wrote in their paper: "We hypothesized that low intelligence makes the learning of aggressive responses more likely at an early age, and this aggressive behavior hinders further intellectual development." Intelligent people tend to be very empathetic towards those around them. This allows them to understand the other person's point of view. Russell James of Texas Tech University conducted a representative study of thousands of Americans and found that people with higher IQs are more likely to give without expecting anything in return. As it turned out, a smart person is better at assessing the needs of other people and, most likely, wants to help them. "People with higher cognitive ability are better able to understand and meet the needs of others." People who are less intelligent have a hard time thinking that people can think differently than they do and therefore disagree with them. Also, the notion of "doing something for someone without expecting a favor in return" is more foreign to them. All times are selfish, this is perfectly normal and human. But it is important that we strike a balance between the need to pursue our own goals and the need to consider the feelings of others. Intelligent people try to motivate and help others. They do this because they are not afraid to be clouded. They have a healthy level of confidence and are smart enough to accurately assess their own competence. Stupid people, on the other hand, tend to pretend to be different in order to look better. They consider themselves superior to everyone else and can always judge them. Prejudice is not a sign of intelligence. In a Canadian study published in Psychological Science, two scientists from Brock University in Ontario found that "people with low intelligence tend to be more prone to harsh punishment, more homophobic and more prone to racism." Many biologists believe that the human ability to cooperate contributed to our common development. This may mean that the most important sign of intelligence is working well with others.1. Stupid people blame others for their own mistakes.
2. Stupid people always have to be right.
3. Stupid people react to conflicts with anger and aggression.
4. Stupid people ignore the needs and feelings of other people.
5. Stupid people think they are the best.