10 signs that a person is way more smarter than they are letting everyone believe

Smart people in hiding

They say, "Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are." Keeping that in mind, individuals may wish to surround themselves with people who add to their lives with qualities like intellect. But oftentimes it gets difficult to spot smart people or the right kind of company. u/LiteralReality1 made that job that much easier for us by posting on the Reddit community, "What's a sign that someone is much smarter than they let on?" The general consensus was that people with brainpower usually try to keep it subtle, but there are some hints that they drop that can give it away. Here are 10 hints people can catch on to surround themselves with smart company.

1. Funny Bone

When I was in college someone asked my psychology teacher this question. He said that people who are intelligent aren't always the ones with degrees and success. He said they are actually the witty ones with a sharp sense of humor. He always stressed that IQ tests were meaningless for a large portion of the population. u/ageekyninja

2. Attention to detail

High awareness and attention to minute details (everyone claims to have this but most actually don’t). Not panicking when issues arise as they instead go into solve mode (you can tell the gears are turning). u/WintersDoomsday

3. Curiosity

Being curious for sure. I had a manager of another department come do cold eyes on my department. He was very curious and asked questions that had me thinking afterward, “Why didn’t I ask that question?” u/sufficient_day123 I’ve been in my field for 35 years, and I find a lot of younger folks are afraid to ask questions for fear they’ll look dumb or not know something that they should know. I tell them that it’s not their fault that they don’t know something, so always ask if they’re not sure. It’s the ones who don’t ask that cause more headaches for everyone. u/Calan_adan

4. Relatable

I agree with most of the replies here, but I'll add my two cents. I think people who meet you on your wavelength are smarter than most. They can talk about pretty much anything, with anyone. They'll shoot the sh*t with some people, discuss politics with others, listen as well as talk and ask questions, but also will take time to explain things if they're asked. u/Fluid_Comfortable488  The ability to explain advanced topics in a simple way so that a person who doesn't understand it will get at least a rudimentary comprehension of it. Understanding that there are many things they don't understand and so won't be shy about asking questions or saying upfront they don't know something. Listening more than they speak. Not being particularly interested in if people think they're smart or not. Those are generally the 4 most obvious tells imo. u/Diablix

5. Adaptable

They play the part other people think they should. Knew a dude in the military who I thought was legitimately dumb as a rock until I hung out with him and had a conversation. Told me he just played the “stupid private” part to get out of any bullsh*t. u/CallousLemon141. Yup. Served with that guy too. He was slow. Walked with a weird gait. Would always feverishly shake his head with, “Oh yeah. I got it I got it,” when you had to explain something twice to him. Could barely pass his PRT. Had to have the Seargent be his roommate because of the guys. Sarge said he overheard a phone call to his folks using words he’d never heard before. Guy had everyone played this whole time. Basically lower the expectations and nothing is expected of you. u/-Firestar-

6. Empathetic

In my experience, people who are kind are generally very smart. u/Can_O_Murica. Being empathetic to most people. u/-GUSTO

7. In tune with animals

Can be very in tune with animals. I don't mean "likes animals" or even "animals like them". I mean being able to interpret the gestures, general thought/behavior patterns, and intent of animals, and being able to attempt communicating in a way that is actually geared towards that kind of animal's understanding to whatever degree possible. I've never tried explaining it out loud so that's clear as mud. But hopefully, the idea comes through. u/tetractys_gnosys. I have a brother like this. Animals and children love him. He’s not particularly warm or anything, in fact, he teases animals a lot but he just has this weird thing where he gets tons of attention from animals and kids. u/yuckyyack

8. People of few words

They struggle to get the words out because their minds are working way faster than their mouths. Like sometimes starting the same sentence over again. When they do get the words together, it’s clear and concise. u/chiapeterson

9. Wary of spotlight

They don't brag about their education, and they never call themselves smart or claim that they are smart in any way. One of the stupidest people I know is constantly saying, "I'm pretty smart." Nothing I've seen has proven that so far. u/PumpkinPatch404. They aren't really the "smart" guy in the friend group but notice how fast they learn and grasp stuff. u/LardHop

10. Listeners

They don't appear to mingle or have many friends, but have good interpersonal skills and are active listeners, easy to get along with. u/MingusPho. They do more listening than talking. u/No-Association2617

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 1 , 2023. It has since been updated.