17 Surprising Signs You’re Smart Even if It Doesn’t Feel Like It

The irony about intelligence is that people who don’t have much of it think they have a lot, while those who actually are smart don’t think they’re not all that intelligent.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect which is named after a study conducted by David Dunning and Justin Kruger from Cornell University.

So if you’re not sure if you just think you’re smart when you’re actually not or if you actually have a realistic view of your intellect, here are a few things you might want to consider. These are subtle signs that you’re smarter than you think.

1. You don't always try so hard.

According to a Vanderbilt University study of highly intelligent people, there are certain innate abilities that intelligent people have that can’t be learned, thus the lack of need to strive to learn how to effectively do even complex things.

2. You're funny.

Smarter people are able to come up with funnier responses, according to a study. Participants were asked to give captions to New York cartoons, and those with higher intelligence came up with funny responses, as judged by independent raters.

3. You're awake at night.

In a study published in “The Official Journal of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences,” it was discovered that night owls are often smarter than early birds. Evolution plays an important role here, as our ancestors didn’t stay up late. Why is that a sign of intelligence? According to the study, it’s because intelligent people were less likely to just go with what evolution dictates.

4. You're a drinker.

According to evolutionary scientist Satoshi Kanazawa, adults who scored higher on IQ tests in their childhood tend to drink more as adults.

5. You've used recreational drugs.

In a 2012 study of over 6,000 people from UK, it was shown that there’s a link between high IQ and using illegal drugs in adulthood. Not that we’re encouraging this, of course!

6. You waited until after high school to have sex.

According to a study from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, high schoolers with higher IQs are more likely to be virgins than those with average to lower IQs.

7. You're not very neat.

In a study by Dr. Kathleen Vols of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, it was shown that a messy workspace can fuel creativity. This was done by giving 48 participants a pingpong ball, which they were asked to think up of unusual uses for. Those in messier rooms had much more creative responses than those in neat rooms.

8. You're a worrier – but it depends.

In a study, 126 undergrads were asked to fill up questionnaires about how often they worry. It was shown that those who had high scores in verbal intelligence are those who worried more, whereas those who didn’t worry too much were the ones who had high scored in nonverbal intelligence.

9. You learned to read at a young age.

In a 2012 study conducted on identical twins, it was shown that the twin who learned to read early tended to score higher on cognitive ability tests.

10. You took up music lessons.

In a 2011 study , 4- to 6-year-old children were given an intelligence test, wherein their scores rose after just a month of music lessons. In another study, it was found that 6-year-olds who took 9 months of music lessons had an IQ boost compared to those who took drama lessons or no lessons.

11. You were breastfed.

In a 2007 study, it was shown that children who were breastfed scored up to 7 points higher in IQ tests.

12. You're left-handed.

Maria Konnikova writes, in response to a 1995 paper, that left-handed people were more adept at finding solutions and excelled at grouping lists of words into as many alternate categories as possible.

13. You're slender.

In a 2006 study, scientists gave 2,200 adults an intellegince test over the course of 5 years and they found that those who were thinner tended to score higher in cognitive ability. Also, another study found that 11-year-olds who scored lower on verbal and non-verbal tests were more likely to be obese in their 40s.

14. You're curious.

According to a study by the Goldsmiths University of London, how people invest their time and effort in their intellect (i.e. curiosity) plays a major part in their cognitive growth.

15. You have a pet cat.

In a 2014 study of 600 college students, it was shown that those who identified as “cat people” scored higher in the cognitive ability scale.

16. You're the eldest.

In a New York Times report, it was said, “that eldest children had a slight but significant edge in IQ — an average of three points over the closest sibling. And it found that the difference was not because of biological factors but the psychological interplay of parents and children.”

17. You're tall.

In a Princeton University study, it wa shown that taller children performed significantly better on cognitive tests, and in adulthood, tend to earn more money.