True intelligence is defined by how one thinks, not just what one knows, and certain common behaviors can indicate lower cognitive functioning rather than personality flaws.
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Let me start with something that might
surprise you. Intelligence isn't about
how much you know. It's about how you
think. And some everyday behaviors that
seem completely normal. They're actually
red flags that psychologists have linked
to lower cognitive functioning. But
here's the thing. We all do some of
these sometimes. The question is, do
they define your pattern of thinking?
Ever notice how some people form
rocksolid opinions in seconds? They hear
one headline, see one post, and suddenly
they're experts with unshakable
convictions. Psychologists call this
cognitive rigidity. Higher intelligence
correlates with comfort in uncertainty,
the ability to say, "I don't know yet,"
or, "I need more information." Lower IQ
individuals tend to crave immediate
answers, even if those answers are
wrong. It's not stubbornness. It's that
their brain struggles with the cognitive
load of holding multiple possibilities
at once. So, they grab the first
explanation and hold tight. You're
either with me or against me. That movie
was either amazing or terrible. Notice
the pattern. No middle ground, no
nuance, no gray areas. This all or
nothing thinking is a hallmark of lower
cognitive flexibility. Intelligence
thrives in complexity. Smarter
individuals understand that most things
exist on a spectrum. They're comfortable
with paradox that someone can be both
right and wrong, that a situation can be
both good and bad. The brain that sees
only extremes is a brain that's
struggling to process nuance. Here's
where it gets really relatable. We all
know that person who just cannot see
another point of view. Every
conversation circles back to their
experience, their opinion, their
reality. It's not always narcissism.
Sometimes it's cognitive limitation.
Perspective taking requires serious
mental horsepower. You have to hold your
own viewpoint, imagine someone else's
completely different framework, and
compare them simultaneously.
Research shows this ability called
theory of mind is directly linked to
fluid intelligence. If someone
consistently can't do it, it's often an
intellectual capacity issue, not just
selfishness. Sure, sometimes people
interrupt because they're excited or
rude. But chronic interruptors often
have something else going on. They can't
hold thoughts in working memory. Their
brain can't maintain an idea while
simultaneously processing what you're
saying, so they blurt it out before they
forget. Higher IQ individuals can
listen, process, remember their thought,
and wait for an appropriate moment to
speak. It's a cognitive juggling act. If
someone's always cutting you off
mid-sentence, their working memory might
be struggling. If someone consistently
takes everything literally, if sarcasm
flies over their head and they miss
jokes that everyone else gets, it's
often an intellectual marker.
Understanding irony, sarcasm, and
abstract humor requires several
cognitive leaps. Simultaneously, your
brain has to process the literal
meaning, recognize it doesn't match the
context, infer the intended meaning, and
understand the social cues, all in
milliseconds. That's heavy cognitive
lifting. People with lower IQs often
struggle with this, which is why they
prefer straightforward, concrete humor.
This is huge. We all have beliefs we're
attached to, but when shown clear,
undeniable evidence that contradicts
those beliefs, intelligent people
adjust. They might not like it, but they
can do it. Lower intelligence shows up
as evidence resistant thinking, not
because they're stubborn, but because
changing a belief requires dismantling
existing mental frameworks and building
new ones, a cognitively demanding task.
It's mentally easier to reject the
evidence than reconstruct your world
view. So that's what happens. Living
completely in the moment sounds
spiritual, right? But consistently
failing to plan, never thinking more
than a day ahead, always being surprised
by predictable consequences, that's
executive function struggling.
Intelligence involves mentally
simulating future scenarios,
anticipating obstacles, and creating
contingency plans. If someone never
thinks past tomorrow, if they're
perpetually caught off guard by
foreseeable events, their brain may lack
the processing power for complex future
oriented thinking. Here's a subtle one.
Consistently leading with emotion over
logic in situations that call for
analysis. screaming at the customer
service rep instead of calmly
problem-solving, making major decisions
based purely on how they feel in that
moment. Don't get me wrong, emotions are
valid and important, but higher
intelligence includes emotional
regulation and the ability to engage
analytical thinking when appropriate.
Constantly being hijacked by emotional
impulses unable to access rational
thought suggests lower cognitive
control. Here's what you need to
understand. None of these behaviors make
someone a bad person. Intelligence is
just one dimension of human value.
Kindness, creativity, empathy,
perseverance, these matter enormously
and aren't captured by IQ. But
recognizing these patterns in others and
honestly in yourself gives you
information. It helps you understand why
some people struggle with complexity,
why certain conversations go nowhere,
why some individuals seem stuck in
repetitive patterns. And if you
recognize these behaviors in yourself,
that awareness is already a sign of
intelligence. The ability to
self-reflect, to honestly evaluate your
thinking patterns, that's metacognition,
and it's a higher order cognitive skill.
Growth is always possible. Your brain is neuroplastic.
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