8 Things That Are Easy If You're Smart, But Very Challenging For Normal People
Some things just come easier to those with superior intellect.
blvdone | Shutterstock There are many different ways to be successful, but having high intelligence is often a major part of people finding success. Psychologist Howard Gardner believed there are 8 types of intelligence across various subjects, and that an individual's learning style correlated to their intelligence type.
There are certain things that are easy if you're smart, but very challenging for normal people. Smart people are usually able to pick up new skills quickly, whereas people with average levels of intelligence might find that to be more difficult. Oftentimes, the parts of life that come easily to smart people are hard for people without superior intelligence.
Here are 8 things that are easy if you're smart, but very challenging for normal people
1. Multitasking effectively
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If you're smart, it's easy for you to effectively multitask. Your high levels of intelligence allow you to juggle various complicated tasks while still producing quality work. You're a high-performer on the job, as you're able to handle many projects at once.
You're able to stay calm when faced with stressful situations, which ties into your multitasking skill set. You don't experience the same levels of tension as normal people when multitasking, so you're able to get a lot done in a short amount of time.
While normal people might find it challenging to complete their work in a linear fashion, being very smart lets you work on many different things at once. Smart people know which tasks to prioritize in terms of their level of importance as a way to manage their time.
While normal people might feel overwhelmed at the prospect of doing more than one task at the same time, smart people are able to do so with ease.
2. Speed reading
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Another thing that's easy if you're smart but very challenging for normal people is speed reading with strong comprehension. If you're smart, you can both read quickly and retain the information that you're reading. Normal people might struggle with actually holding onto the topic that they're reading about, if they read too quickly.
In a research article by psychologist Keith Rayner, speed reading is defined as "reading at an increased speed without any loss of comprehension." Rayner noted the inherent challenges of reading at a fast pace and retaining information at the same time, explaining that "the way to maintain high comprehension and get through text faster is to practice reading and to become a more skilled language user... because language skill is at the heart of speed reading."
If you're smart, your ability to understand difficult vocabulary is heightened, making it easier for you to fully comprehend what you're reading.
3. Explaining complex topics in simple ways
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Another thing that's easy if you're smart but challenging for normal people is being able to explain difficult topics in a simple way. It's one thing to understand complicated information, like the rules of physics or chemistry, and it's something else entirely to be able to explain that information to people who might not grasp it as easily as you.
A marker of being highly intelligent is your ability to make hard topics easier to understand. Being very smart means you can break down complex pieces of information into simpler concepts, and explain them using straightforward language, so that people with lower levels of intelligence can understand what you're talking about.
4. Following difficult instructions
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Following complicated directions is another thing that's easy if you're smart, but very challenging for normal people. If you're very smart, it's easier for you to process and absorb a lot of information at one time, while a normal person might get stuck or confused.
For normal people, simple instructional tasks are more challenging. For example, they might have a very hard time understanding the steps for putting together that IKEA dresser they bought, and have to restart the process multiple times until they get all their pieces in place. Yet a very smart person would find that task easy, and be able to get their project completed without breaking a sweat.
5. Time management
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If you're very smart, time management probably comes easily to you. You're able to list out what you need to get done in order of importance and keep your focus on the task at hand, so that you don't get distracted or wander off course. You can streamline what needs to get done in a day, which makes you a highly productive person.
Time management can be very challenging for normal people, even though it's easy if you're smart. According to Harvard's Division of Continuing Education, there are various ways to work on your time management skills to improve them.
The first step to better time management is to write out a calendar and check it daily. Setting reminders and prioritizing certain tasks are also important parts of time management. It's also important to remember that you're a human, not a machine, and you need to carve out some time for your mind to rest and recharge.
6. Mental math
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Yet another thing that's easy if you're smart but very challenging for normal people is being able to complete complex math problems in your head. If you can do math quickly without the use of a calculator, it's a sign of high intelligence that can't be faked.
One type of intelligence, according to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, is logical-mathematical intelligence. A person with this intelligence type has strong reasoning skills and is able to recognize patterns and logically analyze problems with ease. They can solve complicated computations without having to write them out, making them adept at performing mental math.
7. Learning a new language
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Another intelligence type listed among Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is linguistic-verbal intelligence. People with this particular type of intelligence are especially adept at writing, reading, speaking, and memorizing new information, all of which are necessary for learning a new language.
Learning a new language is easy if you're smart, but very challenging for normal people. You have to be able to hold a lot of complicated information in your head, like rules for grammar and syntax, along with new vocabulary words. For people who are smart, picking up a new language and holding conversations in that language are easy, but those same things prove challenging for normal people.
8. Remembering long lists of information
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If you're incredibly smart, it's easy for you to remember a lot of information at once, but doing so is very challenging for normal people. Someone who has high intelligence also has strong memory retention and ability to recall information. They can hold long lists of complex information in their head and repeat that information out loud if needed.
They can synthesize difficult topics, which is another sign of being very smart. They make connections between disparate pieces of information, something that can be challenging for normal people. Being able to remember information can help someone perform well in the workplace, which can pave the way for success throughout their life.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.