# Signs you use to assess a person's intelligence **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255 "2011-07-08T01:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/121 "2012-05-02T00:25:33Z")
Reading through the posts, it’s occurs to me that I probably would come across as dumb to many of ya’ll. I am frequently not eloquent. If I have to relay a complex idea off the cuff, on the spot, be prepared for a stammering, cluttered mess. But I can sound smart when what I’m saying is short or prepared. Conversations with me–IMHO–are probably not the most interesting affairs. I don’t know how to explain why I feel this way, really. I just know that I often feel inadequate and stupid when talking to people for longer than two minutes. My eyes. I don’t know if they are intelligent. No one has ever said they look any particular way, except for sleepy and drugged. My eye contact is not great either. If I look at people when I talk to them, I quickly lose my train of thought. So I tend to look off in the distance…which means I’m not picking up important cues from the listener…which means I probably ramble… I DO have a wonderful sense of humor, though. However, for whatever reason, it is hard for me to laugh at other people’s jokes. Which probably makes me look like I don’t get them. Honestly? A lot of things I hear just aren’t that funny, despite all the raucous laughter around me. (I swear, sometimes people’s guffaws seems so over-the-top that I can’t believe they are genuine.) I’m more likely to laugh at something patently absurd (like someone doing a funny dance) than I am at someone’s stab at dry wit. Toilet humor doesn’t really move me, but physical humor often does. Puns? Not so much. (But well-placed double-entendres are good for at least a smile). The biggest insecurity about myself lies in my speech and the (dis)organization of my thoughts. So when I see someone who excels in verbal communication–they are able to convey complex information clearly and succinctly–I think they are teh genius. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/122 "2012-05-02T16:20:38Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > 1. I’m smart enough to know that a seatbelt doesn’t do nearly as much good as most people think, and in some cases may actually make people LESS safe. Every scientific study says otherwise. Use of seatbelts reduce the chance of death or serious injury, by about 40-50% according to various studies. You aren’t playing the odds. > [@Flyer](#): > > Somewhere around 80-90% of all accidents are avoidable. Therefore, driving in a truly safe manner is FAR more effective at protecting you than wearing a seatbelt. Possibly, but why not further increase your safety by wearing a seatbelt? bear in mind, even if 90% of accident are due to human error, that doesn’t mean you can avoid 90% of accidents by driving as safely as possible. You have no control over the behaviour of other road users. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/123 "2012-05-02T16:28:07Z")
You are confronted by a man, late 40’s, who is sporting: -a propeller beanie on his head -high top sneakers with the laces n done - a faded t-shirt with “Grateful Dead-World Tour” printed on it -patched and faded blue jeans -nicotine stained fingers What would you conclude? ---
**Author:** ![gvozd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gvozd/32/7301_2.png) [@gvozd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gvozd)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/124 "2012-05-02T16:59:45Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > This one is probably not true but I’ve noticed that the funnier someone finds bathroom humor to be, the dumber they are. > > I have to agree with Alice, too. The eyes. > > Also spelling/grammar. More grammar than spelling, really. For example I had this friend who considered herself an intellectual\*, but would use the term “I seen” when describing something she saw. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. > \*She certainly wasn’t stupid but she was no Einstein either I remember our English teachers told us it is perfectly acceptable to use present perfect tense when describing someone you saw, as in “I have seen him. A few days ago, I encountered with him in the market. He’s getting better in English.” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/125 "2012-05-02T17:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > ou are confronted by a man, late 40’s, who is sporting: > -a propeller beanie on his head > -high top sneakers with the laces n done > > - a faded t-shirt with “Grateful Dead-World Tour” printed on it > -patched and faded blue jeans > -nicotine stained fingers > What would you conclude? That he’s a smoker who could use a stylist. Otherwise I’m going to wait till he says something to assess his smarts. What would you conclude, based on the info you provided? Care to share? ---
**Author:** ![Isaacedwardleibowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecb155/32.png) [@Isaacedwardleibowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isaacedwardleibowitz)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/126 "2012-05-02T17:09:26Z")
- Curiosity. - Empathy. - Appreciation for nuance. - A certain alertness in the eyes. - Wit. - A precise way of talking. However, there are many intelligent people who do not have some or all of these qualities. It’s really a combination of things. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/127 "2012-05-02T18:37:36Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] You are confronted by a man, late 40’s, who is sporting: -a propeller beanie on his head -high top sneakers with the laces n done - a faded t-shirt with “Grateful Dead-World Tour” printed on it -patched and faded blue jeans -nicotine stained fingers What would you conclude? [/QUOTE] I’d conclude that he smokes and probably has more than a few bootlegs of Dead concerts. Of course, the better question is why he’s confronting me. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/128 "2012-05-02T18:49:02Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > …until I noticed his _Chariots of the Gods_ book. > Really, there is no quicker way to diminish a person’s intelligence in my eyes than if they follow pseudoscience… A bit of a defense needed here…I enjoy “slumming” in a lot of crappy reading material, if only to enjoy the ridiculousness of the subject or to critically analyze what the “woo” side of the house believes in. When I’m reading a Bigfoot book, or UFO book, it doesn’t in any way mean that I believe in it. For me, waiting one’s turn in a conversation and not interrupting just to provide filler conversation is a big intelligence sign for me, or at least recognizing when the dynamic of the conversation is just banter or is actually substantive. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/129 "2012-05-02T20:09:33Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Part of my research included reading the first part of his autobiography, which had just been published in English. In it, he says that he is absolutely incapable of even simple arithmetic. He has tried and tried (and people have tried and tried to teach him), but it makes no sense to him. . . . He also talks of his horrific spelling and the eternal thanks he gives his editors for making sense out of his atrocious writing/spelling. This suggests he is hampered by [**dyscalculia**](https://www.google.co.uk/search?as_q=dyscalculia&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=), combined with dyslexia. If this is the case, then his success despite these handicaps illustrates remarkable intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/130 "2012-05-02T20:22:44Z")
Personally I’m a mingler, so I don’t particulary wish stand out as being reasonably intelligent in some situations. Way to be selected as a victim in a rough pub on a council estate for example. So how do you know that your assesments of complete strangers intelligence is the correct one ? Or the one that for whatever reason they wish to give you that impression of. But in the U.K. I would go by accent, people who exaggerate their accent at first deliberately and then as they get older speak like it naturally, tend not to be the sharpest knives in the draw. ---
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255/131 "2012-05-02T21:05:53Z")
How well a person reads into a conversation. Like, whether they pay attention to body language or not, whether they remember something one of us said in the beginning well enough to connect a joke to it much later. Their body language when talking about something that interests them- smart people seem to be more animated, less self-conscious. Their receptiveness when talking about something they don’t know much about. People of average or below intelligence might try to sound smart, smarter folks tend to just be interested. As for ways other people might use? Well, when people think I’m a dumbass, it’s usually because I stumble over words, use profanity without having stubbed my toe first, or migh have to take two cracks at wording something before it gets the point across. Oh, and inconsistent facial expressions- sometimes inappropriately blank and sometimes clearly exaggerated, but those are the result of emotional problems. When people think I’m intelligent, it’s typically because I speak very quickly, seem to lack the accent most folks here have or any discernible other accent, and have a broad vocabulary. And subject matter. I tend to naturally gravitate toward topics most people don’t think much about, even if they aren’t particularly profound- the history of shoes, fatal familial insomnia, who the street we’re walking on is named after and what they did… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-use-to-assess-a-persons-intelligence/588255.md?page=6)