‘What is incorrectly perceived as a sign that someone is intelligent?’ – 27 most frequent misconceptions

15.

‘Using big words or complicated language when trying to explain something or talking about a difficult subject. The smartest people can actually make it sound simple.’
18puppies

16.

‘Glasses.’
Arkarian_0

17.

‘A college degree.’
samanthahasbadbangs

18.

‘Solving a Rubik’s cube.’
mindlessfrenchfry

19.

‘Strong opinions, held with confidence.’
Homely_Bonfire

20.

‘Scoring an A when I was 14.’
TelevisionCroissant

21.

‘I’m living in China right now and everyone keeps calling me intelligent as I’m bald and left handed.’
Halfmoonhero

22.

‘Being labeled “gifted” at a young age.’
Gullible-Lobster-590

23.

‘Knowing lots of digits of Pi. It just prove that you took the time to memorize something useless. No one will ever need to remember more than 3 or 4 digits.’
mickdrop

24.

‘knowledge =/= intelligence’
Durfael

25.

‘The ability to speak.’
Tripping_alien

26.

‘Being quiet.

‘Some people are quiet because they don’t know what to say.’
anima99

27.

‘As someone who’s been in academia and the field of medicine/research for many years, I promise you, despite what people who aren’t really in these spaces might think, it isn’t exactly crawling with geniuses.

‘Now there are a few gifted people to be sure but 99% it’s perfectly average people who just showed up and did the work. It’s more commitment than intelligence.

‘As long as you don’t have an actual severe learning disability and have access to the correct resources (this is a big one) and put in the effort, you can do it too.

‘Also, don’t ever assume that just because someone is incredibly knowledgeable at one thing that it will carry over broadly to other things.

‘Some of the most successful people have incredibly narrow, focused specialized knowledge. If an orthopaedic surgeon tries to talk to you about infectious disease, take it with a grain of salt. If an astronaut tries to talk to you about the economy, take it with a grain of salt.’
50YearSword

On the flip side, of course, there’s only one surefire way of telling if someone really does have a big brain. Their ability to compile a list.

Source Reddit u/Indianfattie