There are many kinds of intelligence: emotional, practical, creative and intellectual to name a few. But there are a few traits that give dumb people away.

Everyone has a different set of personality traits and skills and abilities. That’s what makes the world interesting. Having a high IQ doesn’t make one person better than another. And being an empath is not necessarily better than being very rational and self-contained. Even judging others according to a certain set of criteria can be seen as a dumb thing to do.

However, there are a few traits that have a negative impact on our own lives and the lives of others and these should be avoided if we don’t want to appear to be dumb people.

1. Blaming others for their mistakes

Less intelligent people find it hard to accept responsibility for their mistakes. When things go wrong for them, they wallow in self-pity and blame others. More intelligent people accept that their mistakes were down to them and learn from them.

For example, a student who fails a test can either blame others or outside circumstances or accept responsibility and plan better for the future.

2. Having to be right all the time

In an argument, less intelligent people tend to find it harder to evaluate both sides of the story and take in new information that might change their minds. A key sign of intelligence is the ability to understand things from other points of view and be open to changing our minds. This means dumb people will argue endlessly to hold their position no matter what evidence there is to the contrary.

Intelligent people don’t necessarily agree with others all the time. However, they do listen and evaluate the ideas of others rather than simply dismissing them if they don’t match their own views.

3. Using anger and aggression to cope with conflicts

Everyone gets angry and upset at times. However, for less intelligent people, this can be their ‘go-to’ emotion whenever things aren’t going their way. If they feel they are failing to control a situation in the way they want, they may turn to aggression and anger to force their point.

4. Disregarding the needs and emotions of others

Intelligent people are usually very good at putting themselves in other people’s shoes. This means that they are better able to understand other people’s point of view. Less intelligent people may struggle to understand that others have a different view of the world from them.

However, almost everyone is guilty of being self-centred from time to time. The important thing is to find a balance between looking after our own needs and helping others.

5. Thinking they are better than others

In writing this list, I am wary of falling into the biggest trap of being a dumb person, judging others. Intelligent people try to uplift and encourage others. Being judgemental and thinking you are better than others is definitely not a sign of intelligence.

All of us can fall into behaving in dumb ways from time to time. Whether we do this from fear, stress or lack of understanding, it’s helpful to think about what really makes us humans the intelligent creatures we are.

Many biologists believe that our co-operative nature is the thing that helped us to develop. So perhaps working well with others is the biggest sign of intelligence there could be.


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This Post Has 16 Comments

  1. Andrew Barry

    Just realized how much of a loser I am

  2. Pizzi

    I am a looser too. Erkenne dich selbst.

  3. Viviane

    I agree. Five stars. Sadly, people very close to me have little intelligence, and I have to deal with them on a daily basis. People with zero empathy and all ego,

  4. Frost Wazowski

    Just remember: for every rule, there is an exception. I could easily counter all of these points using that one line five times over …

  5. M

    Yes…I feel like a mean person now….not dumb, but mean.

  6. Daniel

    My Boss is a 5/5 :))

  7. Catherine love

    the word dumb is not a very intelligent word to use if you don’t eat conflict

  8. Rich Bartlett

    Thank you for putting this post together. These traits all have one thing in common: an open mind. And The Golden Rule. Please do not delete this because of this thought: These traits also seem like requisites for becoming a president of the U.S.

  9. Kerry

    Funny thing is all 5 fit a Narcissist perfectly.

  10. Paul Ng

    Being able to create a life balance to attain happiness for others and oneself is the main driving force in getting ourself to be BRIGHT. When comparision still exist, the world may advance but at the expense of social divide that results in the current situation the world are facing now. Peoples are too engross with competitions instead of building a community to rise together for a better future for all.

  11. Rads

    Brilliant post!

  12. Alastair Martil

    @Paul Ng…you said it my brother!! This pandemic was predicted. People wonder why the response is reactive and not proactive. That’s simple, it’s because there was no money to be made in preventing it!!! Just like Global warming…it’s too inconvenient to those who stand to be slightly less filthy rich if they gave a .. Individuals who only care about personal wealth above others.

  13. Cecil whorton

    The world is my oyster, eat seek and be knowledgeable. Amazon.com, YouTube, social media. 
     Yes, I KEEP ON LEARNING at the tender age of 83 yes and so should you.
    (S)safety first(,) always. Accidents don’t happen, they are caused.
    Learn how to use the (B)Bible as a guide book on your journey.
    Learn how to seek help from a few people you can trust and respect.
    Learn the (T)en ©commandments.
    Be happy & thankful for having good friends and parents.
    Always remember and don’t ever forget (that) you learn by asking questions here and at home, (.) (You) can either lead(,) follow or get (out) of the way and be bored and stuck in a rut. ( eliminated words)
    Seek and you will find the person you want to be.

    1. ALVIN

      Hey thanks.

  14. Anders Rehnberg

    You just described Donald ‘Orange’ Trump perfectly!

  15. Glen Stribling

    I believe smart people don’t hate like dumb people. Dump people want to tear down others. Finger pointers if you will. Gossipers.
    Complainers.

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