While many people value relationships, friendships, and spending time with people they really like, studies indicate that those with higher IQs are happiest when they have less social interaction.
Intelligent people love working alone because it allows them to be in tune with their inner creative selves. They can introspect different fields and even think out of the box. When there are so many people around, it is difficult to think quietly and creatively because there's chaos all around.
So, intelligent people will often prefer to tackle projects solo, not because they dislike companionship, but because they believe they'll get the project done more efficiently. This suggests that their “loner attitude” can sometimes be an effect of their intelligence, not necessarily a preference.
Intelligent people seek solitude, especially when they have work and other important things to do. They also seek it when they just want to enjoy time alone with themselves.
Throw social commitments into the mix, and there's limited time to be alone and be still with your thoughts and creative process. It's common for people with genius qualities to seek out isolation at times, due to a social anxiety and an excessive need for “me” time, in order to practice mindfulness..
However, intelligence has drawbacks too. For example, studies have found that higher IQ is associated with more and earlier drug use. Studies have also found that higher IQ is associated with more mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Intelligent people often enjoy spending time alone to pursue their interests, recharge, and reflect. They may not feel the need to socialize as much and may prefer to spend their time in solitude or with a small group of likeminded individuals.
This isn't necessarily true, and while not all quiet people are necessarily smart, highly intelligent people will often refrain from speaking if they are accessing a situation. They will take some time to think about what was said and prepare an adequate response, and they find silence better than pointless small talk.
One misconception a lot of folks have is that intelligent people get by easily in every aspect of life — that they are destined for success. They think belonging to the top of the ladder in terms of IQ level saves smart people from the struggle of doing tasks, mundane or complex. Well, they're not entirely wrong.
Those with an IQ of over 125 tended to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. and wake up around 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and go to bed around 1:45 a.m. and wake up around 11:00 a.m. on weekends. Those of normal intelligence tended to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and from 1:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on weekends.
Research suggests that highly intelligent people get bored easily and spend more time thinking, behaviour that comes across as 'laziness'. A study by the Florida Gulf Coast University looked at a group of 'thinkers' and 'non-thinkers', studying their activity levels over the course of a week.
It's freeing to know that self-doubt is a near-universal feeling. If anything, it's the smartest people who doubt themselves the most. Here are some of the ways smart people give self-doubt a chance to take root: They focus on the things they don't know instead of what they do.
They often over-analyze their dates by wondering about the future, the best way to cultivate romance, and being too obsessed with finding the right person. Though it is not a bad thing at all, it makes their journey to find love extremely difficult.
Key points
Smart people tend to be liked better than their peers, a new study focusing on adolescents found. Smart people tend to like fewer people than less intelligent people, and have a tendency to only like other intelligent people.
Intelligent women are curious and always learning.
They're never content to just accept things as they are. They want to understand why things are the way they are and how they can be improved. Rather than being afraid of change, they embrace it and use their intelligence to create new ideas and solutions.
Smart people have a lot of advantages, but they also have a couple of large disadvantages. One big disadvantage is the inability to listen as well as people of average or even below-average intelligence can listen. That's right.
Study of smart people and intelligence (IQ)
Brain scans were carried out, along with tests of intelligence and anxiety. In people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, IQ was positively correlated with worry. In other words, people who were more intelligent also worried more.
Highly effective people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy listening (Covey, 1989). 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.
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.
Talking fast seemed to signal confidence, intelligence, objectivity and superior knowledge. [However, another study in a different context has found that speaking slowly is linked to sounding intelligent, so the link is far from proven.]
Because they spend their time developing their curiosity, intelligent individuals stand out from the crowd. They geek out, ponder, research, and read. Whether the subject is the most recent catastrophic disaster, proper flossing technique, or how words have evolved, they will take the time to go further.
They Are Adaptable. Intelligent people are flexible and thrive in different situations. Smart people know the future is uncertain and are ready for the unexpected. Research supports the idea that intelligence is based on being able to change behaviors to cope with your environment and adapt accordingly.
Yes, smarter people look more intelligent. But not all people – just men. Kleisner discovered that “both men and women were able to accurately evaluate the intelligence of men by viewing facial photographs.” But strangely, “no relationship between perceived intelligence and IQ was found for women.”
The higher your IQ, the more likely you may be a highly sensitive person.