The Value of Judging A Book By It’s Cover
Image Credit: Christian Dior by Chris von Wangenheim
Accurately and quickly being able to tell someone's intelligence level is both an underrated and overrated life skill. Underrated in the sense that nobody talks about it, but overrated in the sense that people think it requires some magic potion. News flash - it doesn't and it's quite easy if you know what to look for. Good thing you have us to teach you.
I agree - judging a book by its cover is inherently bad. But in essence, the practice has some kind of utility to it if viewed from a different lense.
Think of it as less judging and more evaluating.
It’s human nature to do so. Think about it - whenever you see somebody there is an internal dialogue within yourself that is evaluating that person and how they may fit into your life. Usually the amount of importance the role they are bound to play in your life and how hardcore you ‘evaluate’ them is a positively linear relationship. If it’s a stranger on the train in passing, you may think that they are wearing a pretty top and go about your life, never thinking of them again. But if it’s your only daughter’s new fiancé - that’s a whole different story.
Some people judge out of insecurity, others out of protection, others out of boredom - there are a million reasons why and basically all are selfish. We want to be surrounded by smart people we like and admire and in order for us to decide those things we must figure it out for ourselves.
You can’t go wrong surrounding yourself with highly intelligent people. There’s a misconception that you can’t really tell someone’s intelligence level based off of a first impression, surface level interaction - but I disagree. Obviously, almost all people are redeemable and sometimes even you are wrong (shocking, I know), but there is a lot you can gauge from a first impression if you pay attention.
There’s a reason they are so important.
Don’t ignore or make excuses for things that are obvious red flags. Obvious daily habits are a very valid and telling measure of someone’s intelligence and personality, no matter how minuscule they may seem in a fleeting moment. Do they tip well? Do they say please and thank you? Do they pay the garbage man the same respect they would their boss? Do they respect a woman even if they aren’t physically attracted to her?
A very timely indicator of higher intelligence is someone’s ability to wear a mask without complaining about that asthma attack they had at that one soccer game in 3rd grade.
Does someone think in the long term or the short term? Statistically, those who play the long game have a larger scope of thinking and can look past the short term in order to better themselves for the future. If we are getting economically correct - do they understand and apply the science of opportunity cost to their lives? Does somebody order the same $12 top from a fast fashion retailer 10 times over because, for some totally odd and not obvious reason, the top keeps breaking or do they invest in a nice, sustainably made staple piece that will last them a lifetime?
People with high intelligence want to learn. Do they ask you questions and more importantly, do they listen to your answers? This is an easy one to misconstrue because a lot of people who want to come across as highly intelligent really just want to hear themselves talk and make others around them feel inferior. Actual intelligent people listen as if they are a sponge soaking up information, admit when they are wrong or don’t know something, and normally stay off of their soapbox.
How many times have you taken bad advice or changed something that was working for you because of a criticism from someone you listened to without a second thought. And then when you do think about it you realize you only listened because they were the loudest person in the room.
Especially with social media, it is SO easy for anybody to pretend to be anything. An expert, a guru, whatever they call themselves. We seldom question any of it, but it is important we do. Make sure you actually like someone before worrying if they even like you and never take criticism from somebody you wouldn’t ask for advice from.
Some of these things may seem futile, but are they really? A lot of these little quirks mixed with tuning into your own intuition are what makes up your gut feeling on someone and very rarely, if ever, is your gut feeling wrong. The hard part isn’t evaluating somebody. The hard part is trusting yourself enough to trust that evaluation.