Cat Whispwerer’s rule might be too sweeping, but not bad with a little rewrite:
“Dumb people only talk about other people. Average people only talk about events and other people. Intelligent people talk about everything.”
Well, duh!
A high intelligence and poor judgement are, of course, not mutually exclusive.
For me, the most reliable sign of intelligence is when someone doesn’t shy away from mental challenges. It’s not about how well they do at them, but that they are keen to accept them.
Another sign is doubt. Especially when they question their own statements. People who pause in the middle of their sentences, as if to double-check the accuracy of their statement, are usually highly intelligent, even if it’s hard and irritating trying to follow them.
I was thinking about this a bit more, and it occurred to me that I often don’t talk about ideas with other people because I either don’t want to come across as, “Oh, look at YOU, with the big brains!” or I don’t think the other person would be interested in them. I wouldn’t deny that there might be some confirmation bias involved here.
Heck, that just means that they’re good bullshitters. 
You make a good point, too - my husband is one of the smartest people I know, but he doesn’t talk much. He understands everything, all the time, but he doesn’t tell anyone about it.
Not bad, not bad. 
I was going to say much the same thing. You can tell someone is intelligent by the way they pay attention to you. Maybe it’s the way they hold eye-contact, maybe it’s something else…they can be very sleepy, they can be making inconsequential small-talk about eggs in a grocery line, they can be distracted, but they somehow give off a subliminal impression of many gears wheeling behind their eyes.
Also: in general, I think a good measure of intelligence is how quickly you can learn something.
Pretty much the same here. I call it a vibe or spark of life, but that certainly isn’t a solid explanation, just poetry. People like that aren’t necessarily intelligent as in smart, but more intelligent as in self-aware, clued, observant. They’ll actually listen to what you’re saying and consider it, not just listening to their internal track that most closely matches what you’re saying.
Ability to detect and communicate humor in the form of irony.
I think your saying is largely true as well, although I like to think of it as permeable concentric circles representing both ability and tendency. That is, fewer people are able and willing to discuss ideas. These people tend to be more intelligent than those who are only able and willing to discuss other people. Of course everyone discusses ideas on some occasions, just as everyone discusses people and events now and then. But the more able and willing you are to discuss ideas the more likely you are to be intelligent, in my experience.
I agree. Those who are able to make quick witty comebacks or use sarcasm but not in an ugly way seem to be the brightest people I know.
And also, I’ve heard that intelligence is positively correlated with anxiety disorders.
In a way, ignorance (due to low inquisitiveness) is bliss.
Does anyone have a link to an actual study?
I have to read a lot of shit. You’re probably right about this guy, but you never know; maybe he was reading it so he could debunk it to his woo-woo sister-in-law.
Don’t know how long ago or where this was, but it’s really not like that here (and now). Most events don’t even bother to have accommodations for smokers.
Why, what are you trying to find out about us? :dubious:
I had to look up the word “subjunctive” in a thread about how we assess another person’s intelligence. I will now politely refrain from commenting on the topic as I have lost all credibility with myself.
Not sanctioned Mensa events, but bar trivia with Mensan members. They were constantly taking smoke breaks, as Ohio bars don’t allow smoking. This was as recently as last week.
Ah, but the fact that you went and looked it up rather than wonder about the intersection of two sandwiches redeems you.
I agree with posters who believe the eyes have it. There’s something about the look of someone who’s constantly thinking. I don’t believe you can go by speech patterns at all - that may clue one in to a person’s class or educational background, but not intelligence. I’ve met some incredibly intelligent people who don’t hold fancy degrees or use proper grammar. I think one of the biggest giveaways is the kind of questions someone asks you. Some people have a way of getting right to the point.
This is only somewhat related, but have you ever noticed some people are better at using their intelligence than others? My Aunt comes to mind. She struggled in certain subjects in school and has never been much of an ‘‘intellectual,’’ but she’s a very intelligent person, and what impresses me the most is how masterfully she uses the wits she has. She knows what she knows and how to use it. Meanwhile I, a closer fit to the definition of ‘‘intellectual,’’ find myself tripping all over my own brain sometimes. We both have roughly the same IQ, but she’s more efficient at thinking. Maybe that’s a form of intelligence in itself.
I dunno, if a person makes the linguistic associations necessary to connect the word “subjunctive” with the idea of an “intersection of two sandwiches”, they are probably at least a bit educated and clever. Or weird, at the very least. 
A truly dumb person would just give a blank stare.
I see what you did there.
I know I shouldn’t do it, I try not to do it, but it happens anyway…when someone talks “hillbilly”. I don’t mean just a Southern twang, that’s all right. But when they talk straight out of backwoods Appalachia or the Louisiana swamps I tend not to take them too seriously. Subtract two additional points if they have a declamitory manner of speech and rely on volume to make their point. A “quiet confidence” of manner OTOH makes me think well of them.
SS
Heh - I had to go look it up, too. I do use them correctly (I think).