Are you smarter than average? 11 signs that confirm it

What is intelligence? Many theorists have tried to define intelligence, and it is not easy.

Different theories propose different ways of measuring our intellectual capacity, from the Howard Gardner's model of multiple intelligences until G factor theory developed by Charles Spearman, passing through others that emphasize more some aspects of our intellect.

Intelligence: more than just an IQ score

Although many scholars have tried to question the way we tend to think about intelligence, the truth is that even today the main intelligence tests They measure our intelligence quotient, also known as CI or IQ.

The I.Q It is often criticized for being a score that does not take into account the complexity and the different manifestations of our intellectual capacities. Why are there people who find it difficult to solve relatively simple math problems but They have a great capacity to be creative or to convince their clients with perfect arguments. interlocutor? The creativity and expressiveness are concepts that have little or no influence on conventional intelligence tests, but which are fundamental skills for an individual to develop and survive in society current.

Habits and tastes that can make you smarter than average

Be that as it may, and while academics investigate the different manifestations of human intelligence, what is clear is that there are people who are better able to cope successfully with certain challenges of daily life, while there are others who show more difficulties.

What differentiates people with above-average intelligence? Obviously the genetics influences, but actually environmental variables play a very important role. People who do certain stimulating activities and have good habits are more likely to develop superior intelligence. There are also other conditions and coincidences that make us more likely to have a superior intelligence.

Through various scientific studies on the subject, today we have collected a total of 11 signs that you are smarter than average.

1. Be the older brother

Although it seems to be a variable of little interest, science has shown that being the older brother gives you a better chance of having an IQ above average.

How is it possible? The trick is twofold: there are certain biological factors that “reward” the older brother, since he was conceived and gestated by a younger mother (and usually also a father), and therefore in slightly better health compared to younger siblings. In addition, there is also a factor of interaction and psychological stimulation between parents and children, which would provide the firstborn with greater resources. In fact, a Norwegian research team found that, in a sample of 250,000 men born between 1968 and 1977, the older brother had an average IQ of 103, the second brother 100 points and the third brother lowered his score to 99 quotient points intellectual.

• More information about this: "Older brothers are smarter than younger brothers"

2. Being left handed

Are you left-handed? Using the left hand preferentially correlates with a higher score on IQ tests. This does not mean that being left-handed you have to be smarter “yes or yes”, but science has found that, as a trend, left-handers are a bit more intelligent than right-handers.

In fact, the psychologist Maria Konnikova, collaborator and scientific communicator of New Yorker, explained that lefties are more adept at using the divergent thinking, which she defines as "that form of creativity that allows inventing new ideas from a symbol." Konnikova also points out that "lefties are more apt to combine several ideas to build a third". Considering what has been seen, it seems that lefties have a special talent to innovate and create.

• Know more: "Brain and psychological differences between left-handed and right-handed"

3. Worry

Are the people most concerned about their lives the ones who tend to have the highest IQ? Well, it seems so.

The psychologist Alexander M Penney conducted an investigation of 100 students from the University of Ontario (Canada). Each student responded to an intelligence test, and then they were asked for their level of concern. The students who said they used to have a worry in their head most of the time were those who had better scores on tests of verbal intelligence. On the other hand, another study at SUNY Downstate in New York she also reported that patients with severe anxiety disorders had higher IQ test scores, statistically, to patients with less severe symptoms.

4. Have ever used soft drugs

Be careful, this does not mean that consuming soft drugs is good for your intelligence: rather it is just the opposite. But yes that it seems to have been found that people with high IQs in childhood tend to sporadically try some drugs soft in adulthood.

To this conclusion a research conducted in 2012 by James W White and his collaborators. White himself commented: “There is a clear relationship between a high IQ in childhood and trying soft drugs as an adult. A Ci above the average could incite to adopt risk behaviors in adulthood, surprisingly ”. Either way, much better to avoid drugs.

5. Have attended music classes

There are lots of research that point out that learning music helps us develop our cognitive and intellectual abilities, especially during childhood.

After an investigation carried out in 2004, it was found that six-year-olds who attended singing or piano lessons for six months experienced an increase in their quotient score intellectual. These data were compared with other children who attended drama and acting classes, or no similar extracurricular activities.

6. Drink alcohol often

Another curious correlation that must be qualified. Although some studies have found that people who drink alcohol frequently tend to be a little smarter, This does not mean that drinking alcoholic beverages makes us smarter.. In fact, it is exactly the opposite.

There is study conducted at the London School of Economics and Politican Science led by Satoshi Kanazawa who reported that there is a relationship between the IQ level and the consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. But we must insist: these are correlational tendencies that, both for our physical and psychological health, we must reject. Healthy lifestyle!

7. Living with a cat

Another curious correlation, but true. Or at least this is what several scientific studies say: people who live with a cat tend to score higher than average on intelligence tests.

Are you more of a dog or cat? If you are more of felines, you can feel satisfied, since a study led by Denise Guastello in 2014 it found that cat owners score higher statistically on IQ tests. It is also true that dog owners differed in their personality profile from cat owners, scoring higher in extraversion.

8. Have been breastfed

Many books and studies coincide in pointing out the importance of breastfeeding during childhood for the correct cognitive development of the child.

Neither more nor less than 7 points of difference in IQ between breastfed children and others who were fed by bottles, according to various investigations carried out in the UK and New Zealand.

9. Essential: have a sense of humor

Is intelligence and having a great sense of humor related? Well, it seems so, at least that's what science says.

A University of New Mexico research, in the U.S, found a statistically significant relationship between sense of humor and IQ. To obtain these results, the scientists conducted a test on more than 400 university students to measure the IQ of each of them. Later, these students were asked to add a comment to satirical cartoons of an acquaintance. newspaper, and the quality of the comments (in terms of humor, of course) was rated by subjects anonymous. Thus, it was found that the smartest students were also the most ingenious and fun.

10. Know how to read at a young age

At what age did you learn to read? It is not a trivial fact, since science has shown that there is an important trend: the earlier we learn to read, the smarter we will be when we are adults.

A team of researchers he carried out various tests and tests on more than 2,000 identical twins in the UK. It was detected that the brother who first learned to read had greater intelligence in the future, expressed in his score on intelligence tests. As is easy to imagine, learning to read at an early age increases our verbal and logical skills.

11. Is it possible to increase intelligence?

Yes, it is definitely possible to stimulate and enhance our intellectual abilities. I explain it to you in the following article:

• "The 5 key tricks to increase your intelligence"