Can you bluff your way through anything? It might be a sign of intelligence

There are some people who can just float through any icky situation by making up one explanation or the other on the fly. Researchers have now discovered that such individuals with the gift of the gab may be more clever than they let on.

The study, published in the scientific journal Evolutionary Psychology, claims that bullshitting, defined as communication characterised by an intent to be convincing without any concern for truth, may be a sign of intelligence.

Assessing over 1,000 participants’ ability to produce satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit, the team found that people who were able to come up with seemingly accurate definitions of fake concepts also scored higher on cognitive tests.

The researchers concluded that this could be initial evidence for bullshit ability as an honest signal of intelligence.

While the paper says that the ability to bullshit may be helping some people navigate social systems, more research is needed to say whether a regular practice of bullshitting could make you smarter.

Another interesting finding from the study was that people who are good at bluffing don’t actually engage in it very often. But those who bluffed away frequently were also more likely to fall for other people’s baseless chatter.

So, can you bullshit a bullshitter? The science on that is still unclear.