What makes a person “smart”

What does it really mean to be smart? Many people have questioned this and ponder if the peers surrounding them are smart or just walking frauds. 

According to psychreg.org, “On a literal level, the dictionary defines ‘smart’ as ‘having or showing a quick-witted intelligence.’ Intelligence is defined as ‘the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.’ “ Intelligence is opinion based but many can come to a mutual agreement on a number of people. 

Putting prior knowledge to use can be found to be the foundation of multiple trending games, with people being good at them being seen as a form of intelligence. Some examples include sudoku, checkers, word bombs, chess, or Wordle, that test various different skills. 

Questionable articles have also been written to deceive people, like studies of bad handwriting apparently proving intelligence. There is no real correlation between bad handwriting and intelligence. 

To not fall for bait articles you need to begin questioning yourself and ask whether or not these “smart people” are who you believe them to be. You’ll typically find yourself falling for their confidence whether or not it’s feigned. There’s a massive difference between confidence and self awareness, of course. Someone who is self aware knows their limits which hints to being above average IQ. Confidence is deemed a positive attribute typically but this trait can lead to a monstrous ego if they get too ahead of the game. Let’s get further to the signs someone is smart. 

First, are they able to control their impulses? Self-restraint is a massive sign and is found in more intelligent people. When asking questions, can they provide proper explanations to your questions step by step instead of skipping through directions? Do they tend to get excited instead of being irritated when you ask questions? Do they have an insatiable curiosity? Are they observant of more than just their surroundings? 

Now, some of the questions above may be impossible to answer without being straight forward but the better way to determine if someone is smart or not is to put yourself on a pedestal beside them. Begin with making yourself the average. A popular way of testing your intelligence is also an IQ test. This test looks over your capability and potential and provides a score which can be used to compare yourself to those that encircle you.

Deep down, intelligence is more opinionated and not a complete fact. Yes, many can agree if someone is smart but there are a lot of factors to it. What does it really mean to be smart? Upon reading this, begin applying all these questions to those that you keep tabs on and maybe yourself. Whether you decide someone is smart or not it’s all up to what the average is.