【英文版】據說,有這13個特徵的人都是聰明人!

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來源：中國日報網英語點津

人前誰也不好意思承認自己聰明。說我聰明？哪裡，不過是擅長應試罷了。但是人後就沒必要虛頭巴腦了。如果你不確定自己的智力水平，這裡提供了13項聰明人的特徵，來看看自己可以滿足其中幾項？

註：文中提及的人名，多為Quora用戶，或者是專欄作家。

You're not easily distracted 

不會輕易分心

Frank Zhu says "people who can focus for long stretches at a time and tune out distractions" are highly intelligent. As evidence, he points to a 2013 paper published in the journal Current Biology.

弗蘭克•朱說，智商高的人「有更強的專注力，不會輕易分心他顧。」他的證據是2013年發表在《當代生物學》雜誌上的一篇論文。

The paper describes two small studies that found people with higher scores on an IQ test were slower to recognize large background movements in an image. That's likely because they focus on the most important information and filter out the rest.
那篇論文介紹了兩項小型研究，發現智商測試得分較高的人在識別較大的背景物移動行為時，速度反而較一般人慢。這很可能是因為他們習慣於把注意力放在最重要的信息上，並把其餘部分過濾掉。

The smarter you are, the more you're inclined to stay up into the wee hours of the morning, according to research.

研究發現，一個人越聰明，就越傾向於將睡眠時間推遲到凌晨之後。

One study, published in 2009 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, looked at the link between childhood IQ and sleep habits among thousands of young adults. Sure enough, smarter individuals said they stayed up later and woke up later on both weekdays and weekends.
2009年發表在《個性與個體差異》雜誌上的一項研究分析探討了數千名青年的童年智商和睡眠習慣之間的聯繫。果然，無論平日還是周末，聰明的人都是晚睡晚起。

You're highly adaptable 

適應能力很強

Several Quora users noted that intelligent people are flexible and able to thrive in different settings. As Donna F Hammett writes, intelligent people adapt by "showing what can be done regardless of the complications or restrictions placed upon them".

幾位Quora用戶指出，聰明的人更具靈活性，能夠在不同的環境中茁壯成長。正如多娜•F•漢密特所寫的那樣，聰明的人能適應形勢：「不管情況多麼複雜，有什麼限制條件，都可以有一番作為」。

Recent psychological research supports this idea. Intelligence depends on being able to change your own behaviors in order to cope more effectively with your environment, or make changes to the environment you're in.
這一觀點得到了最新的心理研究的支持。智商高不高，取決於你能否為了更有效地融入環境而改變自己的行為，或改變自身所處的環境。

You understand how much you don't know 

了解自己的不足

The smartest folks are able to admit when they aren't familiar with a particular concept. As Jim Winer writes, intelligent people "are not afraid to say: 'I don't know.' If they don't know it, they can learn it".

最聰明的人能承認自己不熟悉某一概念。正如吉姆•維納所寫，聰明人「並不畏懼說『我不懂』。如果他們不知道，他們可以學習」。

Winer's observation is backed up by a classic study by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which found that the less intelligent you are, the more you overestimate your cognitive abilities.
維納觀察到的這一點得到了賈斯汀•克魯格和大衛•鄧寧在《人格與社會心理學雜誌》上發表的一篇經典論文的支持，該論文指出，智力水平越低的人，越會高估自己的認知能力。

In one experiment, for example, students who'd scored in the lowest quartile on a test adapted from the LSAT overestimated the number of questions they'd gotten right by nearly 50 percent. Meanwhile, those who'd scored in the top quartile slightly underestimated how many questions they'd gotten right.

例如，在一個實驗中，學生參加了從法學院入學考試題改編而成的測試，成績最差的學生把自己答對的題數高估了50%。與此同時，那些成績最好的人略微低估了自己答對的題數。

You have insatiable curiosity 

永無止境的求知慾

Albert Einstein reportedly said, "I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious."

據稱，愛因斯坦曾說過這樣一句話：「我並非天賦異稟，我只是對世界充滿了好奇心。」

Or, as Keyzurbur Alas puts it, "intelligent people let themselves become fascinated by things others take for granted."

或者如凱伊祖布爾•阿拉斯所說：「高智商的人會迷上那些其他人覺得理所當然的事物。」

A study published in 2016, in the Journal of Individual Differences, suggests that there's a link between childhood intelligence and openness to experience — which encompasses intellectual curiosity — in adulthood.
2016年《個體差異雜誌》上發表的一項研究表明，童年的智商水平與成年後對各種體驗的開放態度（其中包含了求知慾）之間有一定的聯繫。

Scientists followed thousands of people born in the UK for 50 years and learned that 11-year-olds who'd scored higher on an IQ test turned out to be more open to experience at 50.
科學家們連續50年跟蹤調查了數千名英國人。調查發現，在11歲時獲得較高的IQ測試分數的人們，在50歲的時候也更能接受新鮮事物。

Smart people don't close themselves off to new ideas or opportunities.

高智商的人們不會對新的觀點和機會抱有消極的態度。

Hammett writes that intelligent people are "willing to accept and consider other views with value and broad-mindedness," and that they are "open to alternative solutions".

漢密特寫道，聰明的人「願意用開闊的心胸接受和考慮其他觀點，發現其中的價值」，而且他們「對不同的解決方案持開放態度」。

Psychologists say that open-minded people — those who seek out alternate viewpoints and weigh the evidence fairly — tend to score higher on the SAT and on intelligence tests.

心理學家表示，思想開明的人——那些能夠找出和權衡各種不同觀點的人——通常能在美國學術能力評估測驗和智力測試中獲得更高的分數。

At the same time, smart people are careful about which ideas and perspectives they adopt.
與此同時，聰明的人也會謹慎決定自己採納的意見和想法。

"An intelligent mind has a strong aversion to accepting things on face value and therefore withholds belief until presented with ample evidence," says Alas.
阿拉斯說：「聰明的人不喜歡只看表面來決定是否採納，因此在得到充分證據之前都會持保留態度。」

You like your own company 

喜歡獨處

Dipankar Trehan points out that highly intelligent people tend to be "very individualistic".

迪潘卡•特雷漢指出，智商高的人往往是「非常個人主義的」。

Interestingly, 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.

有趣的是，《英國心理學雜誌》最近的研究表明，聰明的人從社交中獲得的滿足感要比多數人低。

You have high self-control 

自制力很強

Zoher Ali writes that smart people are able to overcome impulsiveness by "planning, clarifying goals, exploring alternative strategies and considering consequences before [they] begin."

佐爾•阿里寫道，聰明的人能通過「計劃——明確目標——尋找多種策略——在行動前考慮後果」來克服衝動。

Scientists have found a link between self-control and intelligence. In one 2009 study, published in the journal Psychological Science, participants had to choose between two financial rewards: a smaller payout immediately or a larger payout at a later date.
科學家們也發現了自制力和智商之間的聯繫。在2009年發表在《心理科學》的一項研究中，參與者需要在兩種獎金中作出選擇：馬上可以得到一小筆獎金，或晚些時候得到更大的一筆獎金。

Results showed that participants who chose the larger payout at a later date — i.e., those who had more self-control — generally scored higher on intelligence tests.

結果顯示，選擇在晚些時候獲得更大獎勵的參與者，也就是自制力更高的人，智商測試的分數更高。

The researchers behind that study say that one area of the brain — the anterior prefrontal cortex — might play a role in helping people solve tough problems and demonstrate self-control while working toward goals.
研究人員表示，人腦的前額葉皮層也許起到了協助人們解決難題並在實現目標的過程中行使自制力的作用。

Advita Bihani points out that highly intelligent people tend to have a great sense of humor.
阿德維塔•畢哈尼指出，高智商的人往往都有很強的幽默感。

University of New Mexico scientists agree. One study they conducted found that people who wrote funnier cartoon captions scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence. Another study they ran found that professional comedians scored higher than average on measures of verbal intelligence.
新墨西哥大學的科學家們也同意這個觀點。他們開展的一項研究發現，能夠寫出更有趣的漫畫解說詞的人在言語智力測試中的得分更高。他們的另外一項研究還發現，專業喜劇演員比普通人的言語智商更高。

You're sensitive to other people's experiences 

對他人的經歷有較強的感受力

Smart people can "almost feel what someone is thinking / feeling," says one Quora user.

「高智商的人幾乎可以感受到他人的想法和感覺。」 一位Quora用戶說。

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.
一些心理學家表示，同理心是情商的一個核心要素，聰明人能夠理解他人的需求和感受，並且貼心地作出行動。

Emotionally-intelligent individuals are typically very interested in talking to new people and learning more about them.
情商高的人通常都很願意與新朋友交流並且更多地了解對方。

You can connect seemingly unrelated concepts 

超凡的聯想能力

Several Quora users suggested that smart people are able to see patterns where others can't. That's because they can draw parallels between seemingly disparate ideas.

一些Quora用戶指出，聰明人能夠看到其他人看不到的模式。那是因為他們能找到兩個看似不沾邊的想法的相通之處。

As April Astoria notes: "You think there's no relation between sashimi and watermelon? You'd be wrong. Both are typically eaten raw and cold."
就像阿普裡爾•愛斯託利亞所說：「你認為生魚片和西瓜之間沒有關係？你錯了，這兩樣東西都可以冰鎮後生吃。」

Interestingly, journalist Charles Duhigg argues that making these kinds of connections is a hallmark of creativity (which can be closely linked to intelligence). Duhigg studied the process through which Disney developed their hit movie Frozen and concluded that the movie only seems clever and original because it "takes old ideas and pushes them together in new ways".

有趣的是，記者查爾斯•杜希格認為，建立這種聯繫是創造力的標誌，而創造力也和智商緊密相關。杜希格研究了迪斯尼的大熱影片《冰雪奇緣》的製作過程，並得出結論說，這部電影給人感覺機智又新穎是因為它「把老故事重新組合」。

You procrastinate a lot 

拖延症

Mahesh Garkoti says smart people are likely to procrastinate on quotidian tasks, mainly because they're working on things that are more important.

馬赫什•戛克提說，聰明的人可能會拖延日常工作，主要是因為他們正在處理更重要的事情。

That's an interesting proposition — but some scientists would say that smart people procrastinate even on work they find meaningful. Wharton psychologist Adam Grant suggests that procrastination is key to innovation, and that Steve Jobs used it strategically.

這是一個有趣的看法——但是一些科學家會說真正聰明的人甚至會拖延他們覺得重要的工作。沃頓商學院的心理學家亞當•格蘭特認為，拖延是創新的關鍵，並指出史蒂夫•賈伯斯曾使用過拖延戰略。

As Grant told Business Insider, "The time Steve Jobs was putting things off and noodling on possibilities was time well spent in letting more divergent ideas come to the table, as opposed to diving right in with the most conventional, the most obvious, the most familiar."
格蘭特告訴商業內幕網說，「史蒂夫•賈伯斯會把項目一推再推，反覆思考各種可能性，等待各種不同的觀點浮出水面，而不是直接選用最傳統、最顯而易見和最熟悉的方案。」

You contemplate the big questions 會考慮真正重大的問題

According to Ram Kumar, intelligent individuals "wonder a lot about [the] universe and meaning of life." What's more, Kumar writes, "they always [ask] what's the point of everything?"

拉姆•庫馬爾說，聰明的人「對宇宙和生命的意義有很多的想法」。庫馬爾還寫道，「他們總是對一切追根究底」。

That existential confusion may be one reason why smart people are more likely to be anxious. As David Wilson reported in Slate, intelligent people may be better equipped to consider situations from a range of angles, meaning they're always aware of the possibility that things will go awry.

這種存在感的混亂也許是聰明人更容易焦慮的原因之一。大衛•威爾森在網絡雜誌Slate的報導中寫道，聰明人可能會更好地從多種角度考慮情況，這意味著他們總是能意識到事情出錯的可能性。

Perhaps their anxiety also stems from the fact that they consider a given experience and wonder: Why bother going through it in the first place?
或許導致焦慮的原因也常常來自他們的自我反省：一開始為什麼要這麼做？有必要嗎？