They're open-minded. Smart people don't close themselves off to new ideas or opportunities. Hammett writes that intelligent people are “willing to accept and consider other views with value and broad-mindedness” and that they are “open to alternative solutions.”
They try to think from various viewpoints. They try to understand how their actions affect everyone. Feelings happen in our brains and are connected to thoughts. Intelligence is about caring about what happens in the world around you, how you fit into it.
In addition, they have a highly complex inner world that not many people get. Because of this, they may struggle with loneliness, relationship frustrations, and feeling misunderstood. The following 5 points are some of the life challenges faced by highly rational and highly intelligent people.
Truly intelligent people are naturally curious. They can't get enough of learning, they chase knowledge and genuinely enjoy learning new skills. They often learn new things and new skills just out of curiosity, even when they know they don't need those skills for their career or for any other purpose.
Some psychologists believe that the ability to listen to another person, to empathize with, and to understand their point of view is one of the highest forms of intelligent behavior.
Intelligent people often override common sense with their considerable brain power — but this isn't always a good thing. Smart people think in situations where they should feel, like in relationships. They may avoid the correct response because it doesn't seem rational when we all know that life isn't always rational.
Connecting With Others Is Difficult
Having a high level of intelligence, no matter the form, can make it difficult to form connections around others. Intelligent people may find that others are not interested in what they have to say, and that, conversely, it's hard to find interest in what others talk about.
The highly intelligent have also been shown to be more prone to mental health disorders, especially depression and anxiety. They may fixate on the negatives, churning them over in their minds and activating a stress response in the body.
It's a fact: Intelligent people have fewer friends
Recently, psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa of the London School of Economics measured the happiness levels of 15,000 people with various IQ levels.
One of the ultimate reasons why intelligent people have fewer friends is a simple fact that they tend to listen more than they like to talk. In a group of friends, you'll find the introverted genius sitting back, observing those around them, listening, and trying to understand their thinking.
They are also less likely to be happy because they need more help with skills of daily living, have poorer health and report more symptoms of psychological distress. So, never say you're too smart to be happy. (I know someone who says that all the time; it's a definite humblebrag.)
Research has shown that there is a high correlation between being intelligent and socially anxious. The higher your IQ, the higher the chance your social apprehension is higher than usual. Of course, that doesn't mean that your social anxiety should be classified as a disorder.
In 2015, clinical psychologist Elke van Hoof did research on high sensitivity and looked at a possible link with giftedness. She discovered that 87% of gifted people are also highly sensitive.
Intelligent people, though, tend to be characterized by insecurity. They have a high level of personal response, reflection, and discretion. None of these things makes an impact. Plus, we live in a world where people still see insecurity as a negative characteristic.
In predicting intelligence from brain scans, the algorithm is doing something that humans cannot, because even an experienced neuroscientist cannot look at a brain scan and tell how intelligent a person is.
Socially intelligent people pay close attention to people's behavior – howfast, loud or animatedly people usually speak; or how often people smile, what makes them laugh and what disturbs them; or how they stand, how they sit and how they greet other people; or the timing, delay or duration of their reactions.
It is hypothesized that logical/mathematical abilities will be most frequently perceived as most valued by society and musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalist intelligence will be perceived as least valued.
Spatial intelligence or picture smart is a quality that is perhaps the rarest of all the nine Howard Gardner categorized.
MarkTwo is, in many ways, one of the leaders in this area. For example, in his 2003 book “A Himalayan Trinity” Mark Oliver (Founder of MarkTwo) identified four fundamental intelligences - IQ, EQ (Emotional Intelligence), PQ (Physical Intelligence) and SQ (Spiritual Intelligence).