 There are a lot of knowledgeable people out there who are even more intelligent than their age but they don't advertise the fact that they are smart. So because a person is extroverted, opinionated or busy-buddied does not necessarily mean that they are smart. Over the years, researchers have sought the discovery of science to show that a person possesses high level of intelligence. In this video, I will share with you 9 research-based science that you are more intelligent than your age. 1. You are an older sibling. Scientists from Urdenburg University have proved that older children almost always have a small but significant advantage in terms of IQ, usually 3 points higher. First-borns tended to be slightly more intelligent than their younger siblings, who are in turn somewhat more intelligent than their younger siblings. The studies reveal that it is not a result of genetics. Instead, it is a product of the psychological interaction between them and their parents. Their intelligence can also be linked to the fact that they have their fair share of family responsibility. Let's say John and Maxwell are friends, the same age and grew up in the same environment. However, while John happens to be the first child of four kids, Maxwell is the last of three. According to studies, John's IQ would most probably be higher than Maxwell's own with a few points. John is smarter and is likely to act more maturely than Maxwell in every given situation. So also are you likely to be smarter than your peers if you are a first-born child? 2. You are curious. Albert Einstein once said, I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious. A study from the Goldsmiths University of London found that how people invest their time and efforts in their intellect, that is feeding their curiosity, plays a huge role in cognitive growth. However, it is not just learning more that makes you intelligent, it is the desire to want to learn more. Georgia Tech also showed that those with high curiosity are more tolerant of ambiguity, which requires a sophisticated thinking style. Keisabur Arles defines intelligent people as people who let themselves become fascinated by things others take for granted. If you are a kind of individual that gets intrigued by new knowledge and ask intelligent questions, especially those questions that are a bit above your current level, then you are older than your age. Attentively watching older people do things is another pointer that you are smart. 3. You have high self-control. This is an often overlooked sign when it comes to intellectuality. However, your ability to control yourself speaks a lot about your degree of intelligence. A 2009 psychology study from Yale University gave participants IQ tests and offered them reward money they could receive immediately or later for a higher amount. Those choosing to wait also had higher IQ scores, indicating that resisting making impulsive decisions and carefully weighing options correlates with intelligence. Being able to control yourself shows that you are sure of what you want. So Ali writes that smart people can overcome impulsiveness by planning, clarifying goals, exploring alternative strategies and considering consequences before they begin. High self-control also demonstrates rationality and the ability to delay gratification. If you can think critically about the situation before deciding on an offer that anyone in your age range will naturally jump at, then you are indeed smarter than your age. 4. You enjoy your own company. Are you the type of person typically referred to as a loner? Recent research from the British Journal of Psychology suggests that smarter people tend to derive less satisfaction than most people do from socializing with friends, but they also do not isolate themselves. They like to be with friends and they tend to bring life to a gathering when they choose to go out. However, they do not derive their happiness from being with others. For intelligent individuals, being alone is a time to think, meditate and refresh themselves. In line with being alone, astute people are set to tend to talk out loud to themselves. It is a sign of advanced intelligence, not madness. 5. You admit when you don't know. Do you have those friends who are always so quick to speak about a subject even when they don't know anything about it, or the ones who never admit to knowing a particular topic? Well, they are not as smart as you think. Jim Weiner once wrote that intelligent people are not afraid to say, I don't know. Intelligent people can accept not being familiar with a particular concept, because they are curious learners. They see their inability to relate with a subject as an opportunity to learn something new. In one research, students who were scored in the lowest quartile on a test adapted from the LSAT overestimated the number of questions they'd gotten right by nearly 50%. Meanwhile, those who scored in the top quartile slightly underestimated how many items they'd gotten right. If you are not too embarrassed to say, I don't know, even in the front of your recalls, then you are more intelligent than you know. 6. You worry a lot. Psychologists Sashi Indoor, an organ tall from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, conducted a study in which they proved that smart people are more prone to pessimism. This pessimistic attitude is because they come up with various unpleasant situations that can happen to them in their heads. Intelligent individuals are used to analyzing situations of the past, especially errors, hence they pay attention to possible future events. Funnily, they tend to be prepared to handle potential difficulties rather than worry about if things go wrong. 126 undergrads were asked to fill out questionnaires in which they indicated how often they experienced worry. They also stated how often they engage in rumination or thinking continuously about the aspect of situation that upsets them. The people who tended to worry and ruminate a lot scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence, while people who didn't do much worrying or ruminating scored higher on tests of non-verbal intelligence. Do you think about a deep meaning and outcome of things? If you do, then you are probably smarter than your age. 7. You are sensitive to other people's feelings. Some psychologists argue that empathy being attuned to the needs and feelings of others and acting in a way that is sensitive to those needs is a core component of emotional intelligence. Your ability to understand and manage your emotions better than others who are in the same group as you point out that you are more intelligent than your age. Helping others handle their emotions is also another signal of intelligence. If you are that person among your set of mischievous friends who always thinks of putting yourself in other people's shoes before playing a prank, then you probably have a higher degree of intelligence than those of the same age as you. 8. You have a good sense of emotion. 8. You have a good sense of humor. In a University of New Mexico psychology study, 400 psychology students took intelligence tests that measured abstract reasoning abilities and verbal intelligence. They were asked to come up with captions for several New Yorker cartoons and those captions were reviewed by independent raters. As predicted, smarter students were rated as funnier. Intelligent people find it easier to decipher and make jokes. Another study they ran found that professional comedians scored higher than average on measures of verbal intelligence. 9. You are not convinced that you are intelligent. According to Shakespeare, the fool thought he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. That conventional wisdom is backed up by Cornell University study conducted by David Dunning and Justin Kerger. The phenomenon is known as the Dunning-Kerger effect. The axiom behind this effect is that people with a low level of competence will tend to overestimate their abilities or as highly competent people will tend to sell themselves short. The more intelligent informed and skilled you are, the more you realize just how much space there is to improve further and you are not satisfied with your current knowledge or skill level. When you know that no matter how much you know there is more for you to learn and thus surround yourself with people who are more experienced than you to offset your limitations, then the chances are that you are older than your age. It may seem like the number of not-so-smart people supersedes that of those who are intelligent. Well, it is not that there are so many unintelligent people, it's just that they are usually the loudest. Smart individuals are like the Asian philosopher's secretaries. They are wise because they know that they know nothing.