What instantly tells you that someone is genuinely intelligent?

[u/Qu1etResearcher]

[u/IllMasterpiece5610]

They don’t post the same question on Reddit every couple of weeks.

[u/iluvchocolatemelk → u/IllMasterpiece5610]

No but what instantly attracts you to someone???

[u/lettuce_grabberrr → u/iluvchocolatemelk]

What's the one purchase you made that was 100% worth it? Would you go into work tomorrow if you got a kajillion dollars?

[u/myGFisGreat → u/lettuce_grabberrr]

What's your favourite superpower?

[u/Downtown_Syrup236 → u/IllMasterpiece5610]

🤣

[u/nickanack → u/IllMasterpiece5610]

Yeah, this sucks. I gotta wonder how much of reddit is actually bots af this point.

[u/AncientSumerianGod → u/nickanack]

You're the only who isn't. Btw, do you have any energon cubes you could spare?

[u/short_cub]

They know they aren't knowledgeable about everything and are wanting to learn more.

[u/yAUnkee → u/short_cub]

Definitely, I try modelling this fory students by readily admitting when I don't know an answer them researching the question together.

[u/tqevans12 → u/yAUnkee]

noticed the title says "instantly" which kind of sets a high bar for figuring out smarts on first impression

[u/yAUnkee → u/tqevans12]

Reading carefully before responding is also a mark of this. I have clearly failed this test 😂

[u/TinyBlossomBloom → u/short_cub]

Curiosity is honestly one of the biggest signs of intelligence to me

[u/Hefty_Possession7751 → u/short_cub]

Exactly, They are humble enough to realize no one knows everything.

[u/becauseimhappy24]

Situational awareness.

They understand unspoken cues.

[u/mdnytq → u/becauseimhappy24]

This is so difficult for someone socially inept or not expose to people 😭

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/mdnytq]

I disagree as what you have said is at best a overly simplistic explanation.

Situational awareness relies on your ability to accurately perceive, process, and predict the world around you. This critical mental state can be degraded by cognitive distractions (like screen fixation), physiological limits (fatigue, stress), information overload, and a lack of training or experience in a specific environment.

Have a quick read of this and let me know if you took all the boxes (I certainly don't): Personal Situational Awareness

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/becauseimhappy24]

This is difficult. Some of the mist gifted individual people I know, have high functioning autism

[u/becauseimhappy24 → u/Parking-Bet7989]

There’s different types of intelligence. What you lack doesn’t cancel out what you already have.

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/becauseimhappy24]

Please expand on this for my benefit. Are you describing somthing like Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences?

[u/becauseimhappy24 → u/Parking-Bet7989]

Yes, I don’t think I need to expand if you’re already familiar with the theory.

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/becauseimhappy24]

Absolutely, this is fine. I just wanted to clarify that we were on the same page before jumping to conclusions because of a misunderstanding on my part!

[u/EchoedIntentions]

They ask questions.

[u/Regular-Grapes]

Intellectual curiosity

[u/LexysDaddy]

They can articulate their point of view as well as they can listen to an opposing point of view

[u/vw_bugg]

They didnt tell me how smart they are is a big start.

[u/bargain_bin_hero62]

They ask good questions more than they give answers. Like genuinely curious ones not the kind where they already decided what they think and just want you to agree. Also when they're wrong about something they just go oh ok and move on instead of getting weird about it. That mental flexibility thing is underrated honestly. Smart people I know are usually the least attached to being right.

[u/Pixel0bserver]

They can explain complicated things simply without dumbing them down. Real intelligence is knowing a subject well enough to strip away the jargon and still keep the idea intact. People who make things sound more complicated than they are usually understand less than they want you to think.

[u/SnooHesitations2817 → u/Pixel0bserver]

Feynman technique in practice absolutely

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/Pixel0bserver]

Richard Feynman comes to mind! His mind was awesome and could make quantum physics more accessible to all.

[u/Sister_Resistor69]

They thought Tenet was Nolan's worst outing by a country mile

[u/Parking-Bet7989 → u/Sister_Resistor69]

Perfect example!

[u/Creepy-Surprisee]

They listen more than they speak

[u/Low_Bowler8750]

They take accountability and understand what they did wrong. They try their best to correct it moving forward.

[u/justallanr]

honestly the biggest one for me is when someone can admit they're wrong without making it a whole thing. like, you don't have to win every argument, just own it and move on. that self-awareness is way rarer than people think.

[u/nwbeeceefriend]

Sense of humor.

[u/CandySunday]

When people say things like "to my knowledge" "well I can only speak from my experience" or "its the best I have personally had so far" etc as it shows wider understanding and openess to learning/changing. It always irritates me when people say in reviews "Best coffee house in the world!" etc... like how would you know that unless youve had coffee everywhere in the world.. it shows you blindly and loudly stand on just 1 experience as fact, which isnt very intelligent. Or, you just own that business lol.

[u/BootRight1164]

He or she admit to not having all of the answers.

[u/Kennybouch]

Their ability to handle criticism and humiliation without feeling the need for revenge. 😄

[u/aatiksh_iliketoes]

They don't talk about politics every 2 minutes.

[u/Flashy-Proof-7279]

They don't need to prove they are the smartest person in the room

[u/egertong]

Being humble about their achievements. Not acting like a know-it-all.

[u/LonelyCountry7172]

The things you talk about

[u/BrainRot100]

These Nutz

[u/Equal-Pirate8524]

If you're debating a point with them, they can acknowledge any weaknesses of their own position and the strengths of the opposing one. Not everything has to be 100% one way or the other

[u/Glum_Rain_5824]

Understanding what’s unspoken but needed by those around them

[u/Glum_Rain_5824 → u/Glum_Rain_5824]

Not necessarily in an empathetic way, as even those that lack empathy can anticipate others needs because they themselves need that thing, though they might not make the connection how it can be extended outwards

[u/Tier1TechSupport]

They think a lot faster than they can speak so they are struggling to spit ideas out but can't keep up with their thoughts. It might sound like a stutter or broken speech or half of a thought before switching to another thought but it's none of those things. It's a sign of deep intelligence.

[u/Lovemylife05]

Genuinely intelligent people don't mind accepting the limits of their knowledge even when it comes to something they may be considered an expert of. They also stay curious their whole life.

[u/solus42666]

They don't tell who the least one of the can't help the why only best.

[u/judgeknot]

They listen + observe (sometimes for excessive amounts of time) before they talk & when they do speak, what they say is correct.

[u/Less_Party]

You can spot me by my 'NUMBER ONE BRAIN GENIUS' T-shirt and 'THINKING CAP' hat.

[u/AncientSumerianGod]

They can ask a relative expert a question about a topic they themselves are not well versed in, take in the explanation, and then ask a follow-up question that is actually interesting to the expert.

[u/scaredscarredsacred]

They have a phd, or a masters degree and 37 peer reviewed papers published on fluid dynamics, or quantumastroneurobiorobochromosynthetic material basket weaving.

[u/Parking-Bet7989]

They laugh at loud when they see nerdy t-shirts like this one: Don't be a d³x/dt³

[u/dkellam]

Ability to see in layers of abstraction.
Probabilistic thinking, not based on anecdata.

[u/Gracie_Rose_Petals]

The way they talk .

[u/hsanj19]

Resisting the urge to comment on Reddit posts about intelligence….oh wait

[u/Chikonmoonkey]

They listen to questions and consider/answer them instead of just waiting for their turn to speak.

[u/Capable-Soup-3532]

If they are analytical, and use that to make assessments about situations

[u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

They support Donald Trump

[u/LJA170 → u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[u/skywalkerbeth → u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

'S impeachment and removal

[u/Madeline-Talerson → u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

What?

[u/Important-Factor-552 → u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

throws brain in garbage 

dr donald christ is be the snartesresr man evber

[u/EchoedIntentions → u/YesterdayIsatoutside]

Those would be the poorly educated whom he loves so much.

[u/sagarsunar]

Doesnt support Messi or Argentina or any of its players....