5 Signs Someone Is Faking Their Intelligence, NOT GENUINE

Have you ever met someone who could fake their intelligence to fool everyone? They dazzle others with big words and lofty ideas, convincing everyone of their vast brainpower, but eventually, it all turns out to be a ruse, leaving you none the wiser. They’re called pseudo intellectuals, where “pseudo” means “false” and “intellectual” means “an intelligent person.” How can we spot pseudointellectuals before we get sucked into their false persona?

If you’re interested in more about intelligence, check out five genuine signs of intelligence no one can fake!

DISCALIMER: This list is based on personal experience and is not meant to be a professional diagnosis. If you recognize these traits in yourself, please do not take this as a personal attack.

Writer: Brian Cham
Script Editor: Isadora Ho
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
Animator: Sam (new animator)
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

[NathalieLazo]

“When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. Encouragement should come from the inside.” – Jay Shetty ✨

[theonlyswangeo]

Been guilty of this in the past. Watching this is a reminder of who I was and what not to be or do. Thank you kindly.

[oswald]

Timestamps!
1. 0:34 They overuse and misuse advanced vocabulary
2. 1:30 They brag about their intelligence ALL the time
3. 2:15 They always repeat profound quotes
4. 3:03 They derail conversations with pointless intellectual questions
5. 3:45 They act like they have everything figured out

LOVE the Berdly cameo in this one, thank you Psych2Go! ❤️

[mayo_nnais]

I love how you used Berdly from Deltarune as an example. It's a perfect example of false intelligence.

[khalilahd.]

I hate when people brag and pretend to know everything. It’s such a turn off and so unnecessary 🤦🏽‍♀️

[joshuaanthonyaquino]

Honestly with age and experience it becomes blatantly obvious when someone is faking their intelligence. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when someone is trying to passively assert they believe they’re smarter than everyone else. Intelligent people want people to understand them so they they turn complex concepts/conversational topics into simple and easy to understand points because they’re able to draw parallels into something else that would be easier for the listener to absorb.

Truly intelligent people will make it seem like big things are easy to understand and learn. People who are faking it will intentionally make it more difficult for you to understand or just not make any sense.

[Warshuk]

" Trust takes years to build, seconds to breaks and forever to repair"
That's an amazing quote right there 🥰.

[aksheee]

0:37 They overuse/ misuse advanced vocabulary (1)
1:33 They brag about their intelligence all the time (2)
2:15 Always repeat profound requests (3)
3:05 They derail conversations with pointless intellectual questions (4)
3:45 They act like they have everything figured out (5)

[weirdghost]

I'm quite guilty of this. When I was younger, there were some kids in my neighborhood that I *tried* to play with. Sometimes I would and sometimes I wouldn't. I wouldn't because most of them wanted to hang out with the "cooler kids" instead. I was basically back-up for them if the "cool kids" weren't outside. In my own childish way, I was fed up and pretended to be so smart to either impress or bully them. My plan did nothing except maybe make the kids dislike me more. When my parents noticed what I was doing, they told me that my plan was not be the best way to handle the situation and I understood. I regret acting this way because
if no one had told me, I would have probably bullied others more.

[robertzaucha]

I like how this makes me feel like I'm actually smart instead of faking it! I sometimes point out that I'm stupid, but maybe I'm not? Thank you Psych2Go!

[gaijinkishin]

The language parts were definitely an interesting topic I bring up a lot. I tend to prefer easy, straightforward, easily understood language because I want to reduce assumptions and increase clarity of understanding. Some of my roles in life place me around people who are the opposite and it can be frustrating to listen to them talking down to everyone around them. Good video.

[tjable]

Made it to the end. 👍You described an ex friend of mine to a tee in this. She constantly says everyone is "ignorant" while she feels she's "so intelligent". She did everything you listed as well.

[silicon]

In my experience, truly intelligent people have a growth mindset - they're always learning and they never take an infallible, rigid stance on anything. They're always open to experience and change, if the change is warranted for the situation at hand. On the other hand, people who want others to think they are intelligent will have a fixed mindset - why should I learn anything else when I know all there is to know? Your #5 touches directly on this. With this in mind, it's very easy to spot the 'posers'.

[abigelannakennedy]

I actually love this kind of videos. I love the way we can learn and can spot the people. I appreciate it so much. Thanks💫

[mr.wicksnamelessdog]

I want to request a video on "If I like this specific person or I'm just lonely". But my anxiety is at ease when I'm with them!

[blessessess]

timestamps!! <3

1) 0:35 they overuse and misuse advanced vocabulary

2) 1:31 they brag about their intelligence all the time

3) 2:17 they always repeat profound quotes

4) 3:03 they derail conversations with pointless intellectual questions

5) 3:45 they act like they have everything figured out

[Alex-bluh]

I am a pseudo intellecutal, but I am not because I want to show off, so the signs stated in this video dont really match me, which makes sense because I dont actively want to fake it, but I have interests in topics intelligent people are more likely to be interested in or are more associated with intelligent people. like chess, reading factual books, being quite rational about life decisions, facts before emotions when deciding what to do, wanting to live a optimised life, having really deep conversations about life and the universe ect. Lots of people, regardless of their age, told me that I was smart.

And its really annoying because people beginn to think that I am quite smart, but eventually find out that I am not. I dont know how to stop this, since it really hurts seeing them being dissapointed after a while.

I mean mabye I subconsciouslly want to let them think that way about me. I dont think so, but who knows. Though that are the interests I also persue when I am alone so that cant totally be it.

if anyone has an idea how to fix this, please tell me.

[nishellbennett]

Tbh we're all smart in different ways and shouldn't make anyone feel less than us in anyway

[ScourgeofShadows]

Something I noticed from the video:
When I was in middle school, I related to 3/5 of the pseudo intelligence traits described in the video. That's years ago thankfully and I am proud of who I ended up, looking back at how I've outgrown some nasty habits (I used to waste time cringing at my younger self, but not as much anymore since I can be using more of my time to continue healing myself mentally).

Back then I bragged that I'm the smartest in my grade level team simply over a teacher noting I had the highest grades (sheesh). I kept showing my grades off to flaunt my braincells (that I lacked thereof since I had a massive amount of naivety and had no knowledge of what intelligence really is other than assuming it means I'm the best at school subjects).
That and I actually used to lash out whenever someone says an answer before I get the chance as well as having the wish to remember as much vocab and quotes as I can to be as lexical as possible (my poor memory prevented me from that), though I don't really care much about it now unless I want to make a joke about it, try to understand what someone else says in a conversation, or use it in a story for whatever reason. That's more important than fitting in an encyclopedia along with other famous people quotes in my head so I can randomly say them out loud in meaningless moments to show off.

*I realized that although I haven't commented frequently from this channel's videos, when I do, it's mainly comparing myself past vs present or how I currently relate to what's described in videos. It's nice to discover more about myself from watching videos describe traits of some things and how I overcame some of them.

[katielangsner]

Two other signs of a pseudo-intellectual: 1) They judge others' intelligence by social/cultural cues (dress, accent, manners, etc) & 2) They shut down real inquiry rather than ask or answer real questions, with statements like, "Why does anyone care?" or "Why don't you find out instead of flaunting your ignorance?" Real inquiry is the bane of pseudo-intellectuals but the breath of truly intelligent people.