People Are Sharing Subtle Signs That Someone Really Isn't Intelligent

When we were younger, we might have heard our parents describe someone as "not the brightest bulb in the box."

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Looking back, can you believe our parents were actually right?

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I asked the BuzzFeed Community, "What's a subtle sign that someone really isn't intelligent?" Here's the feedback, and the responses are brutally honest:

1."Anyone who acts like they're the smartest person in the room. They need to always be right. Being overly wordy, trying to fit as many words (the larger, the better) as they can into a sentence."

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2."When they begin a sentence with, 'actually…'"

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3."Someone who constantly interrupts."

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4."This is probably more of an emotional intelligence thing, but an inability to recognize your own shortcomings and own up to them. Sometimes YOU are the problem, and being able to recognize that and grow from it, either in the moment or in retrospect, shows an awful lot of intelligence."

zara_black

5."If they don’t read books. The day you stop learning is the day you die."

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6."People who mistake education for intelligence. These two are not the same."

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7."When someone's mind can't be changed whatsoever, no matter how much evidence and proof they are presented with."

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8."My mom, bless her heart, is the sweetest person I have ever met, but intelligence is not her strong suit. She’ll be told something and will completely change the story to something else. She only hears what she wants and makes it her own. My whole family is fact-checking her a lot. It’s wild, the stuff she comes up with at times."

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9."Cursing. When I hear someone constantly cursing, it tells me they have no language skills and limited vocabulary."

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10."Maybe not 'unintelligent' as a whole…but someone who just doesn’t 'get it' when they meet a person who doesn’t speak the same language, and they repeat the same thing louder and slower as if the other person is suddenly going to understand."

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11."Lack of curiosity. Truly intelligent people know there is always more to learn."

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12."First, those who can’t engage in civilized discussion of polarizing subjects with others who don’t necessarily share the same views or beliefs. I usually take this to mean they aren’t capable of considering perspectives other than their own, or in not such a kind way to phrase it, it's a sign of a 'small mind.' Second, never asking questions in these types of conversations, or asking about topics you have a lesser understanding of than the person you're speaking with. Asking questions is how you learn and understand."

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13."Using purely emotionally-based arguments instead of logically-based ones. Blindly supporting a politician based on what side they’re on or their identity (race, gender, sexuality). Also, making excuses for or denying the negatives of supporting politicians instead of recognizing the truth and that there can be both good and bad about them. Adapting their ideals based purely on whatever their party’s platforms of the year are instead of thinking for themself and thinking through the entire cause and effect surrounding those platforms. Basically, not recognizing that you don’t have to agree with all the platforms or actions of the side you’re on, or even align yourself fully to a side."

chak777

14."Stubbornness. If someone isn’t willing to learn or change their mind about something at all, then chances are they’re not that smart."

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—Anonymous, 24

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15."When they feel the need to constantly tell you how smart they are. The smartest people I know have never had to tell anyone that they are smart."

jakkiw2

16."Folks who want to know how to do something, but refuse to watch or be told how to do it, drive me nuts"

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—Anonymous, 68

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17."A big sign of lack of intelligence is repeating things with exactly the same words when somebody asks, 'What?' Even people of average intelligence know that 'What?' either means the person doesn't understand or that they can't hear you over the background noise. In either case, using different phrasing will help the person hear you and respond. Being able to rapidly come up with alternate wording is a sign of intelligence."

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—Anonymous, 47

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18."When a person gets belligerent about a situation or circumstance when they are not in the right, even when the issue is over, or they are presented with facts as to why they are wrong."

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—Anonymous, 42

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19."When they constantly talk and think they’re the smartest person in the room. Intelligent people listen more than they speak and are genuinely open to feedback and learning."

—Anonymous, 34

20."When someone has a strong opinion, especially religious or political, without knowing anything about the other side, or even worse, not knowing very much about the side they have chosen."

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—Anonymous, 43

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21."They aren’t funny…as in, they have ZERO wit. They may try to be funny by punching themselves in the nuts or tossing out an occasional 'that’s what she said,' but those are cheap tricks that likely only work on pre-teens and other people who really aren’t intelligent."

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—Anonymous, 41

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22."I’ve had a few female friends say they 'stay out of politics because they’re all crooks.' I’d be okay with that response in the pre-Trump era. However, as women, we can’t afford that BS. How do so many of my white female friends (a few who are on government assistance) live under rocks? The most recent friend who said this has twin daughters, I asked her what kind of world she wanted them to live in. Apparently, she’s never heard of Project 2025. How??"

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—Anonymous, 42

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23."I can’t speak to IQ, but a sure sign of low emotional intelligence is when someone repeatedly trauma dumps on you without stopping to ask you about your own life. We all have bad days. Hell, we sometimes have a shitty year. If a person doesn’t realize that other people are also suffering the tides of life, it’s a sure sign they need to develop their social-emotional intelligence."

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—Anonymous, 44

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24."An adult family member once argued with me that the post office was open on Sunday. I tried to explain to them it was not because it was a government office. They replied, 'Well, if Wal-Mart is open, so is everything else.' And off they went to the local post office. Seriously. Can't make this stuff up."

—Anonymous, 50

25."They equate volume and aggressiveness in conversations with being correct."

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—Anonymous, 53

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26."Cursing a lot. There are so many words an intelligent person can use instead of vulgar curse words to get their point across. Excessive cursing shows they just don't know them."

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—Anonymous, 44

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27."They can recite a response they read or heard somewhere, but they can't integrate another source of information. For example, they can cite one case study, but if challenged with conflicting information, they just shut down and refuse to engage. If you don’t question every 'fact' you read or can’t acknowledge that complex topics (from science to politics) are multifaceted, you’re simply regurgitating a single source report."

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—Anonymous, 39

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28."People who can't form their own thoughts. I have a friend who takes whatever her husband tells her as fact. She was talking about autism once and said kids at two years old can't be diagnosed. I work in the autism field, and yes, they absolutely can, but because her husband said that's not true, obviously that's the right answer."

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—Anonymous, 41

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29."Anyone who claims to have no filter when speaking. They are not intelligent enough to stop themselves from saying offensive things, so they think they should just be excused from common courtesy."

—Anonymous, 46

30."They think everything is about them and get involved in everyone’s business. Or, they never accept anyone else’s opinions because they’re the only ones who can be right. Also hating something they’ve never given a chance, e.g., music, art, religion."

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—Anonymous, 34

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31."They don’t believe in science. Dinosaurs didn’t exist; climate change is a myth. Low-intellect people fail to grasp theory and research."

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32."They always have to have the last word. If you're confident in your position/answer, there's no need. Last-worders use their last words because they don't want to admit they're not as intelligent as they portray."

—Anonymous, 49

33."My mother argued with my sister and me for days (and STILL argues) about the Boston Tea Party, saying that it had nothing to do with the American Revolution. Um…bless her heart."

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—Anonymous,46

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What do you think of these responses? Let me know in the comments.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.