14 Extremely Subtle Signs That Someone Is Actually Intelligent
Figuring out if someone’s actually smart isn’t as obvious as you’d think. Some intelligent people are confident and articulate, but plenty of idiots also speak with total certainty about things they know nothing about. On the flip side, some genuinely brilliant people are so quiet and unassuming that it takes forever to realize how much they actually know.
u/Wonderful-Economy762 recently took to the ProductivityCafe subreddit, and asked:
Instead of the usual nonsense, people actually gave thoughtful answers. The responses weren’t about test scores or degrees—they were about behavior. How smart people handle being wrong, how fast they process jokes, whether they know when to shut up
Turns out intelligence shows up in weird, unexpected ways that have nothing to do with how much someone talks or what they claim to know.
Here are the subtle signs people shared that someone is actually intelligent.
1. They’re curious about everything
“They like to learn about any and everything.”
“And remember details and concepts later. A desire to understand and curiosity about the subject at hand.”
2. They change their minds when they’re wrong
“They can change their mind when presented with new information.”
“This is definitely the best / most noticeable answer. Intelligent people agnostically process new information. They don’t just “automatically” deny anything that they don’t know or is inconsistent with what they already know. Intelligent people – it’s not what they know, it’s how they interpret / process new information.”
“As John Nash, the mathematician allegedly once said; when the facts change, I change my mind!”
3. They get jokes immediately
“They get the joke sooner than most people. Happens once in a while in movies or group settings: one person starts to laugh way ahead of everyone else. That’s one with a super fast processing mind (I know one). It is totally unconscious, so cannot be faked.”
4. They like being corrected
“When you correct them, they’re actually happy about it because they get to learn something new.”
“100%. This is often referred to as growth mindset.”
5. They have a great sense of humor
“Humor is a marker for intelligence. Truly dumb people aren’t funny.”
“Agreed but I would add that witty or dark humor is more intelligent than mean, cruel, gross humor. If someone’s ‘wit’ is just the same structure of putting other people down or being gratuitously shocking or gross, then no.”
“A really good sense of humor. To be really funny, you have to be very observant and able to see things in ways that others don’t.”
6. They make you feel smart
“They explain some things to you in a way that makes you feel intelligent.”
“Einstein said, ‘If you can’t explain what you are talking about to a six-year-old, you don’t fully understand it yourself.'”
7. They think before they respond
“They don’t react. There is always a delay… and then, they respond.”
“They observe, they pause, and then comes the long encyclopedic reply.”
8. They know when to shut up
“Yes, I have come across people with no filter, and have to argue about everything, and that can be exhausting.”
“Never miss a good opportunity to shut the f**k up.”
9. They’re great at banter
“Yes, and quick word play/good puns.”
10. They ask about your thought process
“If someone is inquisitive. They want to know how and why you think the way you do. Most people don’t do this.”
11. They know what they don’t know
“Even very intelligent people don’t know about every topic. They understand this and don’t pretend to be an expert or speak to things they don’t specialize in. Or they use analogies to connect it to things they do understand. They understand that there is a lot they do not know, especially about their given specialties.”
“Some people have so much ego, that they have an inability to say that they don’t know the answer to a question. They’ll either give a bullsh*t answer, or try to shrug off the patient’s concerns entirely. Nobody knows everything. If you don’t know, there’s no fault in admitting that, and then using resources to find the answer.”
12. Physical intelligence counts too
“I wish people could understand intelligence in many forms—being good with your hands is intelligence. Being able to learn elaborate choreography is intelligence. Being emotionally responsive and understanding microexpressions is intelligence. It’s not just regurgitating facts. I’m a fact regurgitator myself, but I have a lot of respect for things I can’t do.”
13. They don’t get into drawn-out arguments
“Not raising their voice during a disagreement. Shouting over each other is to try and win an argument with intimidation rather than logic.”
“Argue with an idiot and there’s two idiots.”
14. They think for themselves
“They don’t have herd mentality. Specifically in politics, religion, and pseudoscience.”
“I remember the first time that I understood that not picking a side was a valid option for many situations. It was like a record skip moment in my head.”
There were other signs people mentioned, some more debatable than others. Someone claimed intelligent people use bidets instead of toilet paper, which is… specific. But the traits above are solid indicators that someone’s got more going on upstairs than they might let on.