Top 10 Ways to Seem Smarter than You Are
Published on October 14, 2007 - 50 Comments
We all want to seem smart around workmates and acquaintances, but we often don’t have the time to put in to further study to achieve this. Luckily, there are a few ways you can make yourself seem smarter with a minimum of effort. This is a list of the ten best tips for appearing smarter.
10. Learn a topic to debunk
The majority of “hot topics” are debated by people with very little knowledge of the subject. A good example of this is global warming - the majority of people you speak to on this subject will tell you how we must change our habits to prevent global warming, but few will know what “anthropogenic global warming” is. Spend a little time learning what the real experts on these faddish topics say and you simply can’t go wrong. Try to remember some of the names of authors so you can quote them.
9. Improve your Vocabulary
The simplest way to do this is to subscribe to a “word a day” emailing list. Remember to ensure that you memorize the correct pronunciation and spelling of the new word or phrase. Perhaps you can start with mesonoxian, or any of the words on the Top 10 Weird English Words.
8. Obscure Knowledge
By developing knowledge in a very obscure area, you are very unlikely to meet someone else with the same knowledge. This means you can wax lyrical for hours and it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make - no one will know, and you will seem ultra-smart. You might, for example, spend some time studying the early Egyptian dynasties (or an interesting character like Smenkhkare,) or the writings of early Christian writers. You can be sure that even the most staunch Southern Baptist fundamentalist has never heard of most of the “fathers of the Church”, let alone read anything they wrote. Saint Igantius of Antioch is a good start; you can follow up with Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Origen, Novatian, and Polycarp. Great subject matter for the Atheist who wishes to debate against fundamentalists.
7. General Knowledge
This can be done very easily. Buy a Trivial Pursuit (Genus Edition) and memorize one card before going to bed each night. In no time you will have a fount of general knowledge so immense that no one will dare debate you at Friday night drinks. The other thing you can do to improve general knowledge is to read “This day in History” articles. Luckily, the List Universe prints a “Today in History” list on the right hand side of every page (underneath the latest 10 comments) with links to Wikipedia to get you started. Good Lord! I feel smarter just thinking about it!
6. Ask Questions
The best way to use this trick is to ask questions when you already know the answer. This is a form of Irony when used in the right way; when the person you are questioning answers, you can ask a related question which will make it appear that you have taken in what they said, absorbed it, and wish to clarify an aspect of the topic. Additionally, when you are discussing a subject with someone who clearly knows less about it than you, you can ask questions that you know will make them stumble. This is particularly good if you have a large audience as everyone will be in awe of you. Make sure you are humble when the person’s weakness shows.
5. Learn About Good Books
Sparknotes. I repeat, sparknotes. Use the short notes found on this site to get a broad overview of famous classic novels. You only need to learn enough to make it seem that you have read the book. For a decent classic you should be able to do this in 30 minutes or less. And who knows, you may find that you want to read the book and gain some real intelligence.
4. Watch Movies
Watch some classic movies that are both good and bad. These movies don’t have to be silent movies, black and white, etc. Just good movies, fulfilling movies. Also, watch some bad movies. Someone who can spout off one or two good movies will sound either smart or fake. But someone who can state both good and bad movies, and justify why each is classified that way, will sound intelligent.
3. Learn Quotes
A great writer once said: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elses opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” - while this is amusing, it is not entirely correct when trying to appear smarter. People will be utterly in awe of you if you can quote a famous line from poetry, a great play, or a witticism by a literarary master. There are a million sites on the internet that will help you to find quotations. Learn one a day. If you wish to learn a few lines of poetry, I recommend starting with Plath, Ginsberg, or Whitman; everyone knows who they are, but few will be able to quote them. Oh - the quotation I used here is by Oscar Wilde.
2. Use Words you Know
Nothing makes you looks more like an idiot than fumbling language. Stick to what you know! People will argue that tapes and books can teach you new words, but you still risk a terrible mistake. Learning new words can broaden your thinking and amplify your ability to communicate. However, doing so will open you up to appearing stupid, so you should stick with words you are 100% positive of pronunciation and meaning. Even if it takes you an entire extra sentence to explain a concept that one word would have clarified instantly, it’s totally worth it.
1. Be Quiet
Quite simply, the less you say, the less you can say wrong. Oh, and smile and nod knowingly.
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1. Ravyn - October 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Cute list. I may try some of these.
2. lydia - October 14th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
A fantastic list, this is why I can’t wait to read your site every day.
3. Yarr - October 14th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
#11: Just read. As much as you can, all the time. Read novels, nonfiction, magazines, blogs, cereal boxes, catalogs…
Anything! Everything!
Just read. You will collect so much passive knowledge that you actually will be smarter than you are.
Turn off the TV and just read something.
4. Juggz - October 14th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Nothing like being a know-it-all, I approve.
5. jfrater - October 14th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Yarr: I completely agree - but that is not a way to seem smarter - that is a way to BE smarter
6. Ravyn - October 14th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Yarr: To add onto what you just said…
#12:Pick a topic a week and study about it as much as you can when you have time. Even if it is 5 mins a day. Sometimes studying one topic will lead you into another topic of interest that you can work on in the following week. These topics do not have to deal with something happening in your life. But if it does it will give you a better understanding of what is going on.
This is pretty much what I do except a bit more. I study a point in a topic til I feel saticfied with what I have learned (usually not everything there is to know but a good base understanding) or til I get distracted with another topic. I just had a topic change. I am now taking a good amount of time to learn about Asperger’s Syndrom. Mostly because that is what my son just got diagnosed with. I would have studied it at some point or another anyways.
7. jfrater - October 14th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Ravyn: I do the exact same thing - I get obsessively interested in a topic and thrash it out until I am done, then I move on to another one. It is a great way to increase general knowledge.
8. Cyn - October 14th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
#11. quote listverse!
and #1 ..be quiet and smile knowingly…my fav
9. Kelsi - October 14th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
You know, some of these tips may *actaully* make you smarter than you are, not just seem so. I need to put #1 into practice…somehow, depsite knowing that what you said there is right, I just can’t shut up.
10. Diogenes - October 14th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I once knew a girl that would look inquisitivly and squint her eyes a bit and shake her head knowingly at me, everytime I said something with a backing fact of knowledge or was just waxing something philosophical
..and she would reply with the word “interesting” drawn out simi-slowlike. It took me a while to realize that she wasn’t smarter or knew something more that myself (or maybe she did and thought me a complete moron) and that I had been repeatedly duped, mainly because I was intrigued and self gratifying myself with her ways.
And this is why us men should stay away from women.
11. JMurf - October 14th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
If you’re going to read anything to try and be smarter, read A Short History Of Everything, by Bill Bryson, You’ll be able to correct so many scientific myths
12. Judy - October 14th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Silly question, but how do these things only make one seem smarter? Wouldn’t engaging in some of these activities really make you smarter?
13. Monkey - October 14th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Amusing list, but I’m afraid a lot of these activities would make you seem, not necessarily smarter, but instead, kind of like an assh*le, especially if you happen to come across someone who really is smarter
14. Yarr - October 14th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
A good friend of mine reads pretty much nothing but ‘The Bathroom Reader’, and quite literally only reads them in the bathroom. He knows a lot about a whole lot of stuff…
I get stuck on stuff. I read everything I can about just about everything.
I don’t know if it makes me smarter, and I long ago stopped trying to impress anyone with my brain… (guitars are much better for impressing ladies than knowledge of ancient Rome)
But the world is really freaking fascinating, isn’t it?
And you can’t learn anything by watching ‘King Of Queens’ reruns. (except that ‘Fat Guy and Wife’ seems to be THE go to idea for studio execs nowadays)
Just read a book. You’ll thank me for it!
15. Hannah - October 14th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
# 10 is Biblical ! Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”
16. Hannah - October 14th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Oops, I meant #1
17. Hannah - October 14th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
One more- in regards to #10 and the so-called “global warming issue”, I just found this excellent article:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/env.....38792.html
18. Vahid - October 14th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Seems you’ve forgot the last one: Read the list universe every day!
19. jongleur - October 14th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I would modify number 1 - “Talk less and listen more.”
Not only will you seem smarter, odds are you’ll learn things as well, things you might not have learned if you were busy talking.
20. jay - October 14th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I’ve got one - Don’t be born stupid. If you are one of these unfortunates, try not to breed..
21. drb0b - October 14th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
It’s true that “few will know what “anthropological global warming”” is but that’s because there’s no such thing. I think “anthropogenic” is the word you’re looking for here.
22. MojoRisin - October 15th, 2007 at 12:24 am
How about “Reverse any question that is asked at you.” Here’s an example:
“So why does he rebel against the establishment?”
“I think the real question is ‘Why does the establishment rebel against him?’”
It doesn’t have to make sense, it just makes you sound smarter.
23. PaintedBySorrow - October 15th, 2007 at 12:35 am
Fantastic list. I’m going to try some of these. To be honest, it is my dream to be a smart guy
Btw, Frater: What if users could also add their own lists here? The website would grow in power much faster, then. I’d surely like to get involved into advancement of this site, since I love the lists posted here and have my own ideas that could be turn into lists.
I’m sorry for my poor English
24. jfrater - October 15th, 2007 at 1:16 am
drb0b: Of course! I was just testing….
Okay - I wasn’t. Thanks for the correction.
Hannah: Thanks for the biblical quote - I was trying to find it but couldn’t. Oh - and excellent article - I have said all along that we will look back and it will be a fad - and all the people perpetrating it will pretend they were not. The worst thing is the huge amount of money being lost through foolishness like the Kyoto Protocol.
PaintedBySorrow: http://listverse.com/contribute - you can contribute lists to me for publication
25. just me - October 15th, 2007 at 8:17 am
im not going to say somthing i might sound silly
26. Sean the pyro - October 15th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Dead on the money there Yarr. Like Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine said, “chicks dig the long ball”.
Smart never got me anywhere with the ladies but a good guitar riff does wonders.
27. Diogenes - October 15th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
2 words for you 2 ; Sean the pryro and Yarr: Trans and Am! See dudes! I IS the smartest! and you put your guitars in the trunk, or better yet, learn to play while drivin.. oh man. what happened? i feel woozy..I think my brain just lapsed back into the eighties..or the seventies..maybe it was the sixties..where am I? wha? huh?
28. Hannah - October 15th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
JFrater- on that note, maybe you should do a top 10 list of Nobel Prize Winners that take away the prize’s credibility…if you know who I mean (and I can think of at least 3).
29. inanytime - October 16th, 2007 at 6:30 am
hello can i get the rss feed for “Today in History” list on the right hand side of every page .
okthxbai.
30. Dan - October 16th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I think actually reading the books is better…don’t know if someone said that, but that’s just my two cents.
31. jfrater - October 16th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
inanytime: I actually write those manually every morning - I will see if I can learn how to write an RSS feed proper so you can subscribe - give me a couple of days
Hannah: hahaha! Brilliant - and what perfect timing (if you know what I mean - and I think you do!) Can you email me your three suggestions for a starter? jamie@frater.com
Dan: I agree - and that would be number one on a “Top 10 ways to be smarter”
32. Bonnie_ - October 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I know I’m brilliant: I get drunk, start arguments, accuse people of acting like Hitler, and then vomit on my shoes.
Just kidding.
This site is great fun and very informative, too. You should have included this website on your top ten list.
33. ben - October 16th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
yea i love reading obscure stories or things most people dont know, like yarrs friend who reads bathroom readers might (theyre all really good, check em out at your local library if possible)
34. Diogenes - October 16th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
dont kid around like that –Bonnie–, I was seeing around my head , little hearts with arrows pierced in them, for a flash of a second.
35. jfrater - October 17th, 2007 at 1:46 am
ben: I love them too - which is why I try to do as many lists on those kinds of topics as possible.
Diogenes and Bonnie up a tree….!
36. jfrater - October 17th, 2007 at 3:57 am
inanytime: you certainly can’t say you don’t get what you ask for on this site! I have now set up an RSS feed for the today in history - you can access it from the [RSS] link by the title for today’s items.
37. inanytime - October 17th, 2007 at 7:23 am
thanks! you sure do listen to your readers!
38. milander - October 18th, 2007 at 7:25 am
You silly bugger jfrater. RULE ONE: never let the other team know your secrets….
I’m dissapointed in you
39. Tarla - October 18th, 2007 at 11:57 am
#11. Use a spellchecker. Nothing makes you look dumber than to be writing a list about looking smarter, and misspelling one of the words in the list…right next to where it is clearly spelled correctly. (persuit vs. pursuit)
40. jfrater - October 18th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
milander: heh - I must have missed class that day
Tarla: thanks for pointing that out - I have corrected the error. To be honest I rely too heavily on the built in OS X dictionary and occasionally it doesn’t highlight an incorrect word. Ah the irony!
41. Mathilda - October 18th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
The Sparknotes are really cool! Now I can go read the study guide to books I’ve already read and find out that I missed the entire point to the book.
I have to agree with Monkey that you might come across as a know-it-all, but then again, I’m astonished by the number of people who assume that anyone who is arrogant enough must know what they are talking about.
So, that’s my tip: Be arrogant, condescending, rude and never admit that you don’t know something - just make up an answer! If you do have the misfortune to run into someone smarter than you who corrects you after you’ve just announced that Da Vinci discovered America in 1847, just eye them up and down and haughtily say “Well, of course Columbus discovered America in 1492. I thought that the question was about the name of the leader of the expedition who discovered the shipwreck of the wooden sailing ship America.” It will be almost impossible to for them to prove you incorrect again at that point in time, so just make sure that you are never stuck in conversation with that person again.
42. borut - November 9th, 2007 at 7:50 am
This might come handy for me being foreign as I’m meeting girlfriend’s middle class parents for the first time tomorrow. ha ha ha some one wish me luck please
43. dvhann - November 9th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
you know, i wonder if my friend read this list, because this is exactly what he does
44. ld - November 10th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Proper grammar is key in seeming smarter…I’m no English major, but people people who do not understand how to implement proper grammar (along with those who cannot spell) sound like absolute fools!
45. Jim - November 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Regarding no. 1, “It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth
and remove all doubt.” — Mark Twain
46. caboose - December 4th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I’ve been doing just about 8/10 of the list almost everyday, without even realizing I was even doing it.
47. copperdragon - January 6th, 2008 at 12:08 am
to seem (and sometimes actually BE smarter), I read the newspaper (usually USA Today) every single day. I don’t read every article, but enough so that I have a tidbit at hand for most any subject.
48. warningdontreadthis - May 11th, 2008 at 5:38 am
This is one of my favorite lists
49. Vera Lynn - June 19th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I read everything, anything always, all the time. I see a word, it’s mine. I cannot can’t read. It’s reflexive and involuntary. I have no control over it. I read in my dreams. That, by the way is fun and cool.