Some people are smarter than others — intelligence, scientists believe, is the result of a combination of complex factors, including everything from our genetics to the environments in which we grow up.
But that doesn’t mean anyone can’t appear to look more intelligent than they actually may be.
In fact, there are plenty of science-backed ways to convince others that you’re a modern-day Einstein as soon as you meet them.
We rounded up 15 of them so you can impress your boss and buddies with your seeming brainpower.
SEE ALSO: 9 everyday behaviors that make you look dumber than you really are
Walk at the same speed as everybody else.
A study led by Boston University marketing professor Carey Morewedge found that if you walk faster — or slower — than the people around you, they might think you’re stupid.
For the study, 49 undergrads watched films of three different people walking at either slower-than-average, average, or faster-than-average speed. Then they indicated how competent and intelligent that person appeared.
Results showed that people were perceived as smarter and more competent when they moved at the same speed as everyone else.
Put on thick glasses.
Research suggests that if you’re wearing glasses, you’ll appear less attractive but more intelligent.
In one small study, researchers at the University of Vienna had 76 participants look at 78 images of faces — some without glasses, some with full-rim glasses, and some with rimless glasses — and rate them on a number of traits, including intelligence and attractiveness.
According to the researchers’ findings, people wearing glasses — rimless or with rims — were rated as more intelligent than people without glasses. Yet those without glasses were seen as more attractive than those with full-rim spectacles.
Go hipster, look smart.
If you’re going to hold something, make it something other than a beer.
People often do idiotic things after they’ve had too many drinks.
No wonder that even holding a beer can make you look less intelligent, according to a joint study by the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“People who hold an alcoholic beverage are perceived to be less intelligent than those who do not, a mistake we term the imbibing idiot bias,” write authors Scott Rick and Maurice Schweitzer.
In one of five experiments the researchers conducted, 300 managers saw photographs and read transcripts from a hypothetical dinner interview. Results showed that the managers perceived the candidates who ordered wine instead of soda as significantly less intelligent and less hirable.
