Our society has been setting standards of what’s proper and what’s not on almost any given topic — marriage, religion, school, work, and the list goes on. Do you like to swear? Do you go to bed late? Are you disorganized? It seems these are just some of the many things most people typically disapprove of.
However, if you do any of those three things, rejoice! Scientific studies revealed that sleeping late, having a messy desk, and swearing a lot could actually be a sign of high intelligence.
1. On people who swear a lot:
In almost every country around the world, swearing is a practice labeled as improper. Some people even associate swearing to ignorance, believing that a person who curses a lot doesn’t have adequate communication skills or isn’t smart enough to communicate formally. But, different studies debunked this myth.
Both the study done by psychologists from Marist College and the research from University of Rochester in the US arrived at the same conclusion — people who use profanity possibly have higher fluency and broader vocabulary than people who don’t use swear words.
Instead of viewing swearing as a liability, the studies suggest that profane words are, in fact, a part of language that people truly fluent in communication can take full advantage of to express themselves more effectively.
2. On people who go to bed late:
Going to bed early is also one of the most common norms taught to us from childhood. However, if you are naturally a night owl, you just can’t help it. And, chances are, you have a higher IQ than people who sleep early.
Numerous research such as the ones done in University of Madrid, University of Liege in Belgium, and Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Miami (to name a few) discovered the connection between being intelligent and being nocturnal.
The study from the University of Madrid revealed that people who are used to staying up late did better at academic tests compared to people who go to bed early. Not only that — the same study even linked being a late sleeper to the tendency to get more prestigious professions and higher salaries.
In the research from the University of Liege in Belgium, it was discovered that night owls tend to maintain faster brain activities and are more alert for a longer period of time when compared to people who sleep early.
Additionally, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart study found out that a person who stays up late is usually more creative than a morning person.
3. On people who are disorganized:
In Hollywood movies or even in typical television series, it’s quite common to portray the genius lawyer or the brainy professor having a clean, organized desk — well, that’s fiction. In reality, science says that smart people usually have messy desks.
According to the research from the University of Minnesota, smart people often have cluttered work-space because their minds are busy focused on more important thoughts than cleaning and organizing. The messy atmosphere can inspire creativity, whereas an organized and orderly environment indicate safe and conventional thinking.
Almost everything around us have progressed through the years, and maybe it’s about time that we avoid thinking stereo-typically, maybe it’s about time that we refrain from judging others, and maybe it’s about time that we respect others’ preferences, especially if their preferences are different from ours.