Quantifying 'smartness' is no easy task. In fact, even the most common measure we use to quantify a person's intelligence - the IQ test - has been subject to a whole lot of scrutiny over the past few years, with research suggesting that a person's IQ score doesn't actually mean anything. "There is no such thing as a single measure of IQ or a measure of general intelligence," a team from the University of Ontario in Canada concluded in 2012. "When we looked at the data, the bottom line is [that] the whole concept of IQ - or of you having a higher IQ than me - is a myth."
But scientists have come up with a bunch of traits that appear to indicate intelligence, as the Business Insider video above explains. For example, if you come from a smart family, there's a good chance you're smart too, as studies conducted on identical and fraternal twins have shown that the way certain areas of their brains were constructed - particularly those areas associated with language and cognitive skills - were very similar. This suggests that the make-up of our brains is influenced heavily on our genes, which we get from our parents.
And eldest siblings - guess what? You guys seem to have an intellectual advantage over the rest of us, but rather than being biological, this could actually be the psychological effect of being the first-born child. (And yep, they quantified their intelligence using relative IQ scores, so make of that what you will.)
Have trouble getting to sleep at night? It's the worst, but according to the video above, research has linked this eternal struggle to higher intelligence. And playing an instrument, taking drugs and drinking alcohol? Yep, all indications of an intelligent person. Watch above to find out why, while I stay up late playing a violin, drunk, while preparing some psychoactive drugs on my nightstand.
Source: Business Insider