Stop Mistaking These 11 Traits For Intelligence In Bare Minimum Men

Be careful who you believe because some people have no idea what they’re talking about. Here are a few traits that people commonly mistake for intelligence that mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things:

“Arrogance. A truly intelligent person knows that there’s things they don’t know, and keeps trying to learn. An idiot refuses to acknowledge that there’s anything they don’t know, and fears doing anything that might prove it.” — Dahhhkness

“Having strong opinions. You can be opinionated AND smart, but if you’re unwilling to change your opinions in light of compelling evidence or a persuasive argument, you’re probably a dumbass.” — softserveshittaco

“Sarcasm. Can you believe having the ability to say the opposite of what I meant in a different inflection doesn’t automatically make me the smartest guy in the room?” — northeasy

“Wealth. People seem to think if you are rich with a good job you must be smart. Generally speaking I’ve only met one rich person I would consider smart. The rest? Ooooooof. I seriously wonder how some of them passed grade school.” — Cthulhubot666

“Correcting others. Knowing the time and appropriate way to correct someone is a skill. Just interrupting someone to tell them they’re wrong is not, unless the information is dangerous and needs immediate and obvious correction. I have noticed that smart people often realize something is off when they make a mistake, like they know they did something wrong but can’t quite put their finger on the issue. When it’s a word used wrong, simply saying the correct word is enough for them to catch on. Being in your face about it will only put people on the defensive, often bucking against the correction.” — FirstSurvivor

“Eloquence. 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

“Silence. I’ve been told so many times that I’m thoughtful and a deep thinker but really I can’t figure out what to say.” — RecreationalParks

“Age. There is a big difference between experience/wisdom and intelligence.” — SWHAF

“Authority. Always maintain a healthy skepticism for anyone claiming to be authority, at least until they prove themselves capable.” — Mharbles

“A college degree. The difference is that you’re smart enough to know you’re not that smart. Actual dumb individuals aren’t aware enough to know any better.” — Hardcorish

“Knowledge. I was surprised when I learned that knowledge isn’t necessarily correlated to intelligence. I met a lifelong academic who knew damn near everything about their topic… but just the facts. It’s like, they were a walking encyclopedia, could cough up any info about their field, but they couldn’t really process it that well, or draw conclusions, or apply it to a different topic. It’s hard to explain. Since then I’ve met several people like that. All academics, but I’m not sure that has anything to do with it.” — SkyPork