‘What’s a sign that someone is way smarter than they let on?’ – 21 subtle hints there’s a galaxy-sized brain in the room

What are the obvious signifiers of intelligence? A large vocabulary? An impressive job? Spectacles? Perhaps, but the real signs that somebody is incredibly clever and much more subtle and harder to spot. Reddit user Mysterious-Ad5451 asked:

What’s a sign that someone is way smarter than they let on?

And got plenty of answers from people who have spotted a total brain box hiding in plain sight.

1.

‘I think people who meet you on your wavelength are smarter than most. They can talk about pretty much anything, with anyone. They’ll shoot the shit with some people, discuss politics with others, listen as well as talk, ask questions, but also will take time to explain things if they’re asked.’
–SassySugarCookie

2.

‘Admitting they’re wrong. Reconsidering positions based on new evidence. Curiosity.’
–Puzzleheaded_Gene909

3.

‘Very quick wit. You have to be smart to process and deliver.’
–Sarahclaire54

4.

‘Someone who can explain a very complex topic to a room full of lay-people is usually pretty good at what they do.’
–lucidzfl

5.

‘The fact that they’re not letting on how smart they are. ‘It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
–901Soccer

6.

‘I’m a substitute teacher, and the difference between the ‘class clown’ types who think they are funny but really just disruptive, and the ones who are actually funny, but know when to shut it down, is very clearly correlated with intelligence.’
–needlenozened

7.

‘Actually taking a moment to contemplate an argument they disagree with rather than just reflectively dismissing it. Smart people are willing to have their assumptions challenged and reevaluate them.’
–Flurb4

8.

‘If they begin their answer to most questions with something like: ‘I don’t really know… I don’t have all the details… I’m sure someone more knowledgeable can enlighten you on this…’.’
–joyful_fountain

9.

‘I feel like a lot of people confuse charisma with intelligence.’
–Omnealice

10.

‘They say what you wanted to say but much simpler and more direct, without really using complicated words.’
–Brief-Resident-Dewon

11.

‘Tina Fey said that you could tell which people in a crowd were smart by what they laughed at. I’ve found that to be true.’
–GreenElementsNW