But there is another measure of intelligence that is often overlooked: the ability to be wrong. A doctor named Emma Jones, MD<\/a> (self-described hospice doctor and \u201cburnout coach\u201d) has recently gone viral on social media for a video wherein she talks about intelligence. The clip is entitled \u201cHere\u2019s how you know someone is highly intelligent.\u201d In just a couple of minutes, she lays out ways you can easily spot someone who is ultra-bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quoting Oscar Wilde, she says, \u201cConsistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.\u201d She then explains that he meant, \u201chighly intelligent people know how to change their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s where the phrases of (most likely) highly intelligent people come in. She says to listen for sentences like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI used to think\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a good point.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me reconsider.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve changed my mind.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She adds, \u201cMost people double down to protect their ego. But intelligent people update their beliefs. They get more curious instead of more defensive. And they ask things like \u2018what am I missing?\u2019 instead of trying to win an argument. They don\u2019t tie their identity to being \u2018right.\u2019 And they treat being wrong like data, not humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also quotes Albert Einstein, who once said, \u201cThe measure of intelligence is the ability to change.\u201d She notes that the \u201creal flex\u201d is being able to have your mind changed \u201cwithout shame.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comments, and there are thousands in just a short amount of time, support the notion. One (somewhat sarcastically) writes, \u201cSo in other words, you\u2019re saying that intelligence correlates with a combination of critical thinking skills and the humility to know that oneself doesn\u2019t know everything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another jokes, \u201cI used to say that my \u2018need to be right\u2019 is so strong that if someone shows me a better path, or shows me that my thinking is off, I will quickly recalibrate and change my mind so I can be \u2018right\u2019 again.\u201d Jones responds to this: \u201cThat is quite a strong and intelligent reframe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another Instagrammer backs it up with a book they love, writing, \u201cOne of the best books I have ever read is called But What If We\u2019re Wrong<\/em> by Chuck Klosterman. I base most of my life on the assumption that some part of the system is built on inherently incorrect information. It makes it easier to be flexible and make connections to other information that may have otherwise been missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, of course, admitting there\u2019s usually room for debate and the ability to change one\u2019s mind is just one of many signs someone is intelligent. Writer and reviewer Jordan Cooper shared his subtle signs someone might be intelligent in an article for VegOut<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among eight examples, his first is \u201ctalking to yourself out loud,\u201d which I mentioned in a recent Upworthy<\/em> article<\/a>. He adds, \u201cA 2012 study in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology<\/em> showed that talking out loud can actually improve focus and object recognition. Why? Because verbalizing engages additional sensory channels. When you speak your thoughts aloud, you\u2019re not just thinking\u2014you\u2019re hearing yourself think, which reinforces memory and decision-making. Einstein did it. So do a ton of high-performers who swear by this trick for brainstorming, debugging their code, or preparing for presentations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"richard](\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/origin_984cb9.gif?w=1200&quality=80\")
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