Skip to content

Intelligence Quotes - 40 Sayings About Cleverness, Thinking Power And The Mind

Looking for inspirational intelligence quotes and exciting sayings about the mind? Then you've come to the right place! Intelligence describes our ability to think rationally and abstractly in order to act purposefully. Intelligent people find their way around new situations more quickly. They are cognitively more efficient and can use this ability in combination with their existing knowledge more purposefully to solve certain problems.

Science agrees that a person's intelligence and perceptiveness are significantly influenced by family genes, but also by external factors throughout life. Alcohol, drugs and smoking, for example, harm it, while exercise and Knowledge acquisition promote them. Time to get a little inspired.

In this article, I would like to give you the most valuable quotes on the topics of intelligence, cleverness, thinking skills and common sense. Let's go!

My please: If you use any of the quotes about intelligence on your website, I would be very happy if you would link to this elaborately compiled collection of sayings. Thank you for your support!

40 Quotes And Sayings About Intelligence, Thinking Skills And Street Smarts

Just because someone knows a lot does not automatically make them intelligent. Intelligence is generally defined as The totality of knowledge and skills that individuals use to solve problems., defined. Knowledge, on the other hand, is data and information that can theoretically be used to solve a problem - but it does not represent or leave open a derived action.

Intelligence is divided into different forms. For example, there is also the logical-mathematical, spatial, linguistic, naturalistic or emotional intelligence..

How great our mental capacity is, however, does not simply depend on the intelligence quotient (IQ), as is often assumed. Insight, creativity, enthusiasm, communication skills and, last but not least, our stamina also play a decisive role.

As promised, I would now like to share with you some valuable quotes about intelligence, intellect and thinking skills.

Good to know: You've probably heard of artificial intelligence. It describes the process of transferring human learning and thinking to computers and letting them act intelligently in this way. However, the following sayings should preferably refer to human intelligence or human brain power.

Intelligence Quotes 1 - 10

  1. "The highest form of intelligence is the ability to observe without evaluating." (Jiddu Krishnamurti)
  2. "Genius is the ability to renew one's emotions in daily experience." (Paul Cezanne)
  3. "In anger, man loses his intelligence." (Dalai Lama)
  4. "The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing." (Sigmund Freud)
  5. "We are bred for intelligence, but not for humanity." (Konstantin Wecker)
  6. "To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect." (Oscar Wilde)
  7. "There is no great genius without some touch of madness." (Aristotle)
  8. "Have courage to use your own reason." (Immanuel Kant)
  9. "The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence." (Charles Bukowski)
  10. "Natural mind can replace almost any degree of education, but no education can replace natural mind." (Arthur Schopenhauer)

Tip: I have also brought you a collection of the best Sayings about education compiled. Please feel free to take a look there as well.

Intelligence Quotes 11 - 20

  1. "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (Henry Ford)
  2. "Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms." (Groucho Marx)
  3. "It is abhorrent to me when a fine intelligence is paired with an unsavory character." (Albert Einstein)
  4. "Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings." (Salvador Dali)
  5. "What do people like to call stupid the most? Something sensible that they can't understand." (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
  6. "A great mind is a magnet that attracts the significant in the world." (Johann Jakob Mohr)
  7. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." (Plutarch
  8. "Tolerance is the charity of intelligence." (Jules Lemaitre)
  9. "I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing." (Socrates)
  10. "It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently." (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky)

Intelligence Quotes 21 - 30

  1. "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." (George S. Patton)
  2. "Being bored at the correct time is a sign of intelligence." (Clifton Fadiman)
  3. "Man is an intelligence, not served by, but in servitude to his organs." (Aldous Huxley)
  4. "We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon." (Konrad Adenauer)
  5. "To see things in the seed, that is genius." (Lao Tzu)
  6. "Clever people are always the best conversations lexicon." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
  7. "The disadvantage of intelligence is that you are constantly forced to learn." (George Bernard Shaw)
  8. "Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary." (Blaise Pascal)
  9. "A gram of intelligence is worth a pound of education, because where there is intelligence, education sets itself." (Louis Bromfield)
  10. "Intelligence combined with compassion is basis of global responsibility." (Dalai Lama)

Tip: We just spoke of the "totality of knowledge and abilities of individuals" - because humans, but also animals, have intelligence and the ability to think. Not least, their ability to feel emotions such as pain or pleasure is among my personal reasons to live vegan.

Intelligence Quotes 31 - 40

  1. "Common sense is not so common." (Voltaire)
  2. "Much learning does not teach understanding." (Heraclitus)
  3. "The faculty to think objectively is reason." (Erich Fromm)
  4. "Intelligence is the ability to accept one's surroundings." (William Faulkner)
  5. "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
  6. "The principal point of cleverness is to know how to value things just as they deserve." (Francois de La Rochefoucauld)
  7. "Nothing develops intelligence like travel." (Emile Zola)
  8. "Ordinary people merely think how they shall «spend» their time; a man of talent tries to «use» it." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
  9. "The advantage of wisdom is that you can play dumb. The opposite is more difficult." (Kurt Tucholsky)
  10. "A gram of intelligence is worth a pound of education, because where there is intelligence, education sets itself." (Louis Bromfield)

Can you think of any other sayings about an intelligence, acumen, cognition, reasoning ability, or the gray matter? Then just share them with me in the comments column.

Was ist typisch für intelligente Menschen?

Intelligente Menschen zeichnen sich oft durch Neugier, Lernbereitschaft, Problemlösungsfähigkeiten und die Fähigkeit aus, komplexe Zusammenhänge schnell zu verstehen. Sie können auch in verschiedenen Situationen kreativ und anpassungsfähig sein.

Wann spricht man von Intelligenz?

Von Intelligenz spricht man, wenn eine Person die Fähigkeit besitzt, Wissen zu erwerben, zu verstehen, anzuwenden und aus Erfahrungen zu lernen. Intelligenz umfasst auch kognitive Fähigkeiten wie logisches Denken, Planung, Problemlösung und Sprachverständnis.

Welche 7 Intelligenzen gibt es?

Die Theorie der multiplen Intelligenzen von Howard Gardner teilt Intelligenz in sieben Hauptkategorien ein. Diese sind…

  1. Sprachliche Intelligenz: Also die Fähigkeit, mit Worten umzugehen und die Sprache zu nutzen.
  2. Logisch-mathematische Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, logisch zu denken und Probleme mathematischer Art zu lösen.
  3. Musikalische Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, Musik zu verstehen, zu komponieren und zu performen.
  4. Räumliche Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, die Welt visuell wahrzunehmen und räumliche Beziehungen zu manipulieren.
  5. Körperlich-kinästhetische Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, den eigenen Körper geschickt zu nutzen und Objekte handhaben zu können.
  6. Intrapersonale Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, das eigene Innenleben zu verstehen und daraus zu lernen.
  7. Interpersonale Intelligenz: Die Fähigkeit, die Emotionen, Motivationen und Absichten anderer Menschen zu verstehen und darauf zu reagieren.

The Best Quotes About Intelligence And Using The Mind As A Constant Source Of Inspiration

Intelligence can probably be described as one of the most desirable characteristics in our society. Fortunately, however, one does not have to be a highly gifted genius or a child prodigy to be considered intelligent, clever and smart. Intelligent people are simply able to quickly see, understand and comprehend and thus master certain challenges through their thinking.

I really hope that this small collection of quotes about intelligence has inspired you and brought you further. Do you have any questions, tips or can you think of any more appropriate sayings? Then just write me a comment as always.

Stay smart,

Christoph from CareElite - Plastic-free living

PS: Intelligente Menschen denken logisch und rational – und nicht emotional. Sie sind dementsprechend auch nicht anfällig dafür, Conspiracy Theories to expire. You can learn more about this now in the linked article.

Coffee box Suggestions for improvement

* Links with asterisks are so-called affiliate links. If you click on it and buy something, you automatically and actively support my work with CareElite.de, because I get a small share of the sales revenue - and of course the product price does not change. Thank you for your support and best regards, Christoph!

Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.