10 Signs Of A Genuinely Brilliant Person That Can't Be Faked
Brilliance is more than just book smarts.
Miljan Zivkovic | Shutterstock True intelligence is about more than high test scores and good grades. According to a study published in "Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience," intelligence can be defined as the "ability to learn from experience and to adapt to, shape, and select environments."
Psychologist Howard Gardner theorized that there's no such thing as general intelligence; rather, people have multiple intelligences, spanning from mathematical and linguistic intelligence to natural and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. In a similar vein, psychologist Robert Sternberg proposed the triarchic theory of intelligence, which states that intelligence is made up of three skill sets: analytical, creative, and practical.
While some people pretend they're smarter than they really are, the signs of a genuinely brilliant person can't be faked. Facts can be memorized and opinions can be repeated, making it appear as though a person has high intelligence, but expressions of genuine brilliance operate on a different, more elevated level.
Here are 10 signs of a genuinely brilliant person that can't be faked
1. They're open to being wrong
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An indication that someone is genuinely brilliant is their attitude towards making mistakes.
People with low intelligence tend to insist they're always right, because they think of admitting mistakes as an act of weakness. They put so much stock in their own brain power that they believe being wrong is a judgment call on who they are.
In reality, being wrong is an inevitable part of life that displays a person's brilliance. Most exceptional ideas are born from past mistakes. People who create things the world hasn't seen before don't get it right on the first try. Mathematicians who uncover new formulas start by not solving what they're working on. Inventors make mistakes over and over. It's just part of the process, until they find the solution they were looking for.
Admitting wrongness requires people to accept that they're imperfect. It's an act of true humility to stand up and say, "I was wrong." Yet that's the exact point in time where change can really begin.
Genuinely brilliant people know that their mistakes don't define them. They keep an open mind when it comes to being wrong because they believe in their own capabilities. They know that great things don't arrive out of thin air, and that it takes a lot of tries to get something right.
A person who accepts that they can't always be right is genuinely brilliant, in a way that can't be faked.
2. They're insightful
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A genuinely brilliant person has more than just superior cognitive abilities. They also have high emotional intelligence, which guides them to be insightful.
They understand and have compassion for people's emotions and perspectives, even when they disagree. They're able to parse out the underlying meaning of what someone is saying and make a connection with them.
Having high interpersonal intelligence means that someone easily relates to others. Their skills include figuring out the motives for people's behavior and the subsequent emotions related to their actions. They can navigate social situations with ease and are skilled at conflict resolution. Intrapersonal intelligence is associated with how we understand ourselves. It's the foundation of knowing both who we are and how we can change.
Someone who's genuinely brilliant seeks out self-reflection. They process their emotions and use that information to show up as their most authentic selves.
3. They rise to meet challenges
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Meeting hardships head-on and getting back up when they've been knocked down are signs of a genuinely brilliant person that can't be faked.
According to a 2010 journal article, resilience is defined as "Positive adaptation despite adversity." Researchers have noted that developing resilience requires three processes: Building a positive sense of self-image, reducing the effects of risk factors in an adverse environment, and breaking the cycle of negative situations to open new possibilities.
Resilience isn't a static trait, but rather, a developmental process over time. A person can exhibit various forms of resilience. Someone might be socially and emotionally resilient but lack resilience in other areas.
Native American educator Iris HeavyRunner described resilience as "our innate capacity for well-being." HeavyRunner wrote, "Resilience is the natural, human capacity to navigate life well. It is something every human being has — wisdom, common sense. It means coming to know how you think, who you are spiritually, where you come from, and where you are going." She then concluded, "The key is learning how to utilize innate resilience, which is the birthright of every human being."
A person who's genuinely brilliant fosters resilience by listening to their intuition and believing in their inherent sense of self-worth.
4. They don't accept the status quo
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People show signs of being genuinely brilliant by pushing back against social and cultural norms.
While a person with low intelligence won't question the world around them, a genuinely brilliant person doesn't just accept the status quo. They wonder why things are the way they are. They recognize that some rules benefit certain people and harm others, and they devote their lives to creating positive change.
A genuinely brilliant person doesn't only ask "why" and leave it at that. They offer alternative solutions and ideas that might be seen as ahead of their time. They're always working toward a future that benefits everyone. They strive to build a world that's inclusive and justice-oriented.
They can zoom out and see the big picture, while prioritizing people's individual well-being. They make connections that others miss.
Most importantly, their interrogation of the status quo comes from a place of compassion. They don't want to destroy anything without creating something better in its place. A genuinely brilliant person wields curiosity with equal amounts of empathy, which is something that can't be faked.
5. They ask deep questions
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It's a common misconception that having high intelligence equates to telling everyone else about it. Yet in reality, a truly intelligent person keeps quiet about the way their mind works. Displaying intellectual humility is a sign that someone's very smart, even if they try to hide it.
Genuinely brilliant people don't speak as much as they listen, and when they do speak, it's often to ask questions, not share their own opinions. They let their innate sense of curiosity guide conversations, as they truly want to know why the other person feels the way they do. Being a good listener requires a person to provide emotional validation to whoever they're talking to. Genuinely brilliant people acknowledge lived experiences that differ from their own, as they understand that no single worldview is the absolute right one.
It's easy to spot a genuinely brilliant person by the way they ask incredibly thoughtful questions. They're the ones exploring the deeper meaning of life, the ones wondering how the world operates. They're not scared to seem like they don't know the answer, because they accept that everyone has their own version of the truth.
6. They're comfortable with uncertainty
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A genuinely brilliant person feels comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. They recognize that life is more uncertain than not, so they practice staying in the present and being mindful.
Genuinely brilliant people hold space for complex emotions without letting those feelings define them. They know that nothing is permanent, which allows them to accept how they feel without forcing that feeling to change.
Authentically brilliant people are able to sit in ambiguity. They might not enjoy being in the gray space, but they know that there's always a certain amount of distance between where they are and where they want to be. They don't rush to find a solution. They let things unfold as they should, because they're aware that quick fixes don't actually help.
A sign of genuine brilliance that can't be faked is staying grounded, no matter how much turbulence there is. Someone who is genuinely brilliant knows that the key to creating lasting relationships is to meet people where they're at, which they do for themselves as well.
They don't push their own boundaries or ignore what they need. They show up for themselves and others by accepting uncertainty as a constant while letting their moral compass pave their path forward.
7. They have an active imagination
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Another time-honored sign of being a genuinely brilliant person that can't be faked is having a vivid imagination.
An article from the journal "Human Brain Mapping" declared that the "processes of imagination are central to human psychological function." Our imaginations influence how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world. Having an active imagination is more than an indication of creativity. It's also a sign of a brilliant mind at work.
Psychology Today noted that imagination serves multiple purposes in human development. People use their imaginations to interpret information and understand how other people feel. Imagination helps people solve problems and inspires works of art.
Daydreaming, also known as mind-wandering, has a bad reputation, but it's actually connected to having high intelligence. When a person daydreams, they enter an information-processing state that combines imagination with knowledge. The more imaginative someone is, the more they come up with creative associations and unique thoughts. Researchers believe that daydreaming indicates superior intelligence.
Genuinely brilliant people cultivate their creativity by letting their imaginations run free.
8. They learn from failure
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Failing might not make us feel good, but genuinely brilliant people aren't scared to fail. They keep a growth mindset, which allows them to see failure as an open door to a solution they haven't found yet. They take their failures and learn from them, confident in the knowledge that the only direction they can move is back up.
According to Amy C. Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, the fact that we learn from failure is beyond dispute. Yet she revealed that the way most leaders think of failure is incorrect. "Failure is not always bad," she explained. "In organizational life, it's sometimes bad, sometimes inevitable, and sometimes even good."
Edmondson noted that many organizations haven't created the culture of psychological safety that's needed for people to truly learn from failure. She emphasized that being open about failure actually tends to boost people's performance. "A culture that makes it safe to admit and report on failure can — and in some organizational contexts must — coexist with high standards for performance," she added.
Edmondson posited that failure is inevitable within complicated work organizations, and once the possibility of failure is directly recognized, only then can people correct their mistakes and learn from them.
A genuinely brilliant person can't fake their belief that failing is, in fact, more than fine: It's often the first step on the pathway to success.
9. They're adaptable
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Being adaptable is a sign of a genuinely brilliant person that can't be faked. They use their high levels of cognitive flexibility to fit into new or unfamiliar environments. They can easily adjust to challenging situations, even when the learning curve is steep.
In an article published in 2021, psychologist Robert Sternberg analyzed the concept of adaptive intelligence. He believed that intelligence isn't a fixed trait individuals have inside them, but rather, a mutable scenario that includes a person, a task, and a situation interaction.
"Intelligence is not a fixed set of internal abilities, but rather a match between abilities and a set of related situations on a particular range of tasks," Sternberg wrote. He gave the example that some people are high-performers under intense stress, while others are not. "Intelligence in context is different from intelligence in the abstract," he concluded.
Someone with genuine brilliance is able to take what they know and adapt it to real-life situations, then act accordingly.
10. They inspire others
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One essential hallmark of genuine brilliance that can't be faked has more to do with other people than the brilliant person, themselves.
A genuinely brilliant person inspires the people around them. They have an ineffable quality that makes them the most magnetic person in the room. Their passion and dedication motivate people to be the best versions of themselves.
Steve Jobs is a notable example of a genuinely brilliant person whose visionary commitment to what they believed in changed the world. It's no wonder that people look to him for inspiration in their own lives.
People who have true intelligence, positive energy, and emotional depth can motivate others to think beyond limits, set goals, and bring their dreams to 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.