77 Intelligence Quotes (From The Best Minds Ever)

Here are 77 of the best intelligence quotes I could find. The goal? To inspire you and give you some perspective on what intelligence truly is. After all, it’s more than memory and fast cognitive function. Right? Enjoy!

The highest sign of intelligence is doubt. Francois Mauriac

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Albert Einstein

Anti-social behavior is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists. Nikola Tesla

Don’t confuse education with intelligence. Most schools serve to educate us just enough to believe what we’ve been taught and not enough to think for ourselves. Shane Parrish

It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The ability to observe without judgement is the highest form of intelligence. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Intelligence is the ability to adapt. The measure of it is to get what you want out of life. Naval Ravikant

Intelligence is the door to freedom and alert attention is the mother of intelligence. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Intelligence is the ability to decide what’s important and doing it. Maxime Lagacé

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu

Intelligence is the art of getting what we want without creating unnecessary enemies. Paulo Coelho

Knowledge is having the right answers. Intelligence is asking the right questions. Wisdom is knowing when to ask the right questions. Unknown

Simplicity is a sign of intelligence and mastery. Anthony Pompliano

Intelligence comes from meditation, intelligence comes from rebellion, intelligence does not come from memory. Rajneesh

Intelligence is really a kind of taste: taste in ideas. Susan Sontag

Related

• 100 Curiosity Quotes To Increase Your Desire To Learn
• 75 Understanding Quotes To Bring Clarity Into Your Life
• 145 Thinking Quotes To Make You More Thoughtful

More Quotes About Intelligence

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King Jr

It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently. Fyodor Dostoevsky

When emotions go up intellect goes down. Dan Go

An intelligent man is one who knows his limitations. Kamilla (Source)

The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about every damn thing they are doing in their life. Unknown

Intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Timothy Leary

They think that intelligence is about noticing things are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant (avoiding false patterns). Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Intellect is not wisdom. Thomas Sowell

The intelligent desire self-control; children want candy. Rumi

It is not the amount of knowledge that makes a brain. It is not even the distribution of knowledge. It is the interconnectedness. Howard Bloom

Society seems to have voted for intelligence. We no longer admire the sage — not the way people did two thousand years ago. Now we admire the genius. Paul Graham (Related: http://paulgraham.com/wisdom.html)

On intelligence: A lot of it is memory. But a lot of it is the ability to zoom out. Steve Jobs

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. Albert Einstein

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. F. Scott Fitzgerald

Intelligence and education that hasn’t been tempered by human affection isn’t worth a damn. Daniel Keyes

Intelligence uses what is known to solve problems. Creativity uses what is unknown to discover possibilities. Simon Sinek

Consider the average intelligence of the common man, then realize 50% are even stupider. Mark Twain

Degrees have nothing to do with intelligence. Dan Go (Source)

The intellect is always fooled by the heart. François de La Rochefoucauld

Knowledge loves questions. Intelligence loves understanding. Ignorance loves assumptions. Maxime Lagacé

Being calm is the highest level of intelligence. Orange Book

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. Salvador Dali (Source disputed, https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/14/wings/)

A sign of intellect is the ability to change your mind in the face of new facts. A mark of wisdom is refusing to let the fear of admitting you were wrong stop you from getting it right. The joy of learning something new eventually exceeds the pain of unlearning something old. Adam Grant

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. Stephen Hawking

Intelligence isn’t a privilege, it’s a gift. And you use it for the good of mankind. Otto Octavius

The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence. Charles Bukowski

It’s rare for intelligence and drive to intersect in one person. When they do, look out. Naval Ravikant

The smarter you are the less likely you are to work well with consensus seeking groups. Shane Parrish

The intelligent man is one who has successfully fulfilled many accomplishments and is yet willing to learn more. Ed Parker

Intelligence is overrated. Great thinkers are built, not born. Ana Lorena Fabrega (Source)

Intelligence strives to know the answer, wisdom strives to know why the answer matters. Simon Sinek

Intelligence is caring for the right things. Maxime Lagacé

Your work is the single greatest means at your disposal for expressing your social intelligence. Robert Greene

Be dumb enough to try but smart enough to learn. Jack Butcher

It takes intelligence to not jump to conclusions. Orange Book

An intelligent mind is one which is constantly learning, never concluding. Bruce Lee

If you’re going to pick 3 cards in the hand you’re dealt, take intelligence, drive, and most importantly, emotional self-discipline. Naval Ravikant

The smartest people I know don’t think they’re smart, which must be why they keep getting smarter. Jack Butcher

The more easily you get offended, the less intelligent you actually are. Naval Ravikant

Related: 7 Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People (verywellmind.com)

Intelligence follows curiosity. James Clear

It’s usually more important to be in the right room than to be the smartest person in the room. A person with great judgement and average intelligence will usually beat someone with great intelligence and average judgment. Judgment is knowing what room to be in. James Clear

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Changing your mind when presented with new information is a sign of intelligence. Anthony Pompliano (Source)

If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Together with intelligence, self-control turns out to be the best predictor of a successful and satisfying life. Steven Pinker

The real test of intelligence is the degree to which you you are willing to “non-conform” in order to do the right thing. Shane Parrish

Be smart enough to ask stupid questions. Jack Butcher

Intelligent people know how to get what they want. Wise people know what’s worth wanting. Shane Parrish

Intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Once your mind becomes absolutely still, your intelligence transcends human limitations. Sadhguru

Intelligence isn’t about facts. It’s about understanding. Maxime Lagacé

When emotions increase, intelligence decreases. Dan Go

Simpler minds want to think binary. Complex minds want to surf in the nuance. Dan Go

The highest that we can attain to is not knowledge, but sympathy with intelligence. Henry David Thoreau

Intelligence is measured by a person’s ability to see validity within both sides of contradicting arguments. F. Scott Fitzgerald

With themselves as their own enemies, fools lacking in intelligence, move about doing evil deeds, which bear bitter fruits. The Dhammapada

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humility is the root of intelligence. Maxime Lagacé

A lot of emotional intelligence is just not taking it personally. Maxime Lagacé

Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. I think a lot of what people call intelligence boils down to curiosity. Aaron Swartz

The first sign of intelligence is curiosity. The second is staying calm. The third is helping others. Maxime Lagacé

Further Readings

• Topic: Education
• 100 Education Quotes That Will Inspire You To Keep Growing
• 100 Learning Quotes To Inspire You To Learn (Forever)
• 100 Knowledge Quotes That Will Change Your Perspective
• 65 Growth Mindset Quotes (To Improve Your Life)
• 10 Evidence-Backed Ways to Become Smarter (healthline.com)
• 11 Signs of Intelligence Proving There’s More Than One Way to Be a Genius (healthline.com)
• How To Learn Faster (Based on Science)

Hope you enjoyed these beautiful and inspiring intelligence quotes.

And remember:

intelligence is a way to see life and events that happen to you.

It’s a perspective.

A way to ignore what’s unimportant and focus on what’s essential.

It’s a way to zoom out and see how the dots connect.

The more intelligent someone is, the more he gets what he wants out of life.

What’s your favorite intelligence quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.