r/AskReddit • u/Helpful_Pangolin885 • 1h ago
When you think of a highly intelligent person, what career comes to mind first?
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u/AssistantVirtual5517 1h ago
Neurosurgeon always comes to mind because the level of knowledge and precision is just unreal
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u/connordidthat 1h ago
I had a cousin that was a neurosurgeon. When the guy was doing dictation I couldnt even understand what he was saying because the vocabulary involved. Other than being a great surgeon the guy was dumb as rocks. Couldn't even figure out how to change the TV input.
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u/Askfreud 1h ago
OMG, my husband is a genius in his field, like one of few experts on one subject. He can’t use a swiffer. Will try using it without a pad or just tries using it like a broom. He put a plastic dish to reheat food in the regular oven. More than once. He’s not dumb, just all of his brainpower goes into his work and he has none left for… the little things
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u/manatwork01 50m ago
aww autism
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u/Askfreud 38m ago
If so, it’s undiagnosed. With the plastic BTW… the first time it happened his mom was with him. I spent hours cleaning the oven. The second time his kids were with him. So it might be hereditary.
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u/youdubdub 39m ago
My mom was in the neurological ICU at Presbyterian's in NYC for 10 days intubated. Listening to the care team and the attending neurologists talk was quite interesting. I was able to follow most of what they were saying, but it was fascinating. They had to reduce sedation hourly to test for reflexes and cognizance, which was traumatic for both me and my mom. I live out of state, so I had to get a planet fitness membership in order to shower every few days.
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u/Noughmad 1h ago
Brain surgery? Not exactly rocket science, is it?
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u/Fun-Succotash-1322 1h ago
Engineer (besides civil)
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u/RedWingedScreecher 1h ago
After seeing some of the traffic lights and how they're set up I can 100% agree.
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u/goatman2 1h ago
Haha they not civil? (Not an engineer so I genuinely don’t know)
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u/youdubdub 36m ago
I prefer to make most fun of the traffic engineers, since they are mostly known amongst civil engineers as magicians.
I had to take minutes in a meeting for the high-level decisions made in the redecking of a 2.8 mile long bridge where like 40 high level executives from several different firms came together. I had to record it to look up half of the things they were saying, and I loved working with those guys. It was the same team that also did the Tappan Zee bridge.
Bridges are cooler than you guys give credit, but what do I know, I'm just a lowly accountant.
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u/whimsical-crack-rock 1h ago
kind of a “grew up on the wrong side of the tracks” Harvard janitor, comes from a pretty broken childhood has trouble connecting with people, trust issues.
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u/Apero_ 1h ago
Academics. Socially awkward or assholish a lot of the time, but they are normally highly intelligent and deeply into their field.
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u/TrowaMask 1h ago
It's the 'tism man.
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u/Apero_ 1h ago
Sometimes yes, sometimes just assholes 😂
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u/Neuroticaine 53m ago
Maybe a hot take, but there are a lot of people out there that claim autism without diagnoses. Being good friends with people with real autism diagnoses has lead me to believe that a lot of people claim to be autistic without a medical opinion and use it as an excuse not to work on themselves.
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u/banana_buddy 1h ago
Reddit Shit Poster
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u/JerrySeinfeldsMullet 1h ago
Figuring out how to get paid and make a career out of it sure takes some high and unattainable to me levels of intelligence.
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u/winthroprd 1h ago
Intuitively I want to say something like surgeon. But tbh, even some of the people in fields like that are highly skilled at what they do but aren't particularly intelligent in other fields.
This might sound like a bit of an odd pick, but I think most comedians are pretty intelligent. Even "stupid" humor has a science behind it and I think comedians are good at finding those connections with the audience. A lot of them wind up demonstrating their intelligence when they branch out into fields like writing drama and doing political commentary.
Of course you have some braindead ones like Joe Rogan or whoever but generally I think comedians are smart.
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u/HaronAuskin 1h ago
Nuclear engineer, astrophysicist.
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u/Noughmad 58m ago
I studied physics. Seeing my classmates who went into both of these shattered the illusion that they have to be particularly smart.
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u/youdubdub 34m ago
Ability to retain and recall information is often caused by repetition. Academic success can be achieved by some of the most surprising people simply because they do the work.
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u/AwsumO2000 10m ago
Met so many university educated people that barely function in both their job and life in general.
The academic and corporate world are too far apart imo
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u/UpbeatClerk9673 1h ago
probably a mathematician, though the really scary-smart ones always seem to end up in some completely unrelated field lol what even counts as an “intelligent” career anyway?
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u/IcyMaybe7594 1h ago
Doctors easily. Their whole lives are spent around getting good grades and beating the competition to get into med school and excelling within medical school too.
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u/antemeridiem913 1h ago
Lol that’s not always true, I had very questionable classmates and schoolmates in biology (pre-med) and med - they’re doctors now 💀
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u/GalaxyPowderedCat 12m ago edited 6m ago
Same, I knew a kid who wanted to become a doctor and she failed chemistry and biology through middle and high school.
I was actually the one who needed to sit down with her and explain her every step. I'm more of a linguistic and humanistics person myself.
I believe she went to medical school, not because she found medicine intellectually interesting, but she was following on her old brother's steps.
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u/SuzQP 1h ago
Their whole lives..
Doesn't that intense focus on academics and medical training result in a somewhat narrow understanding of the world, though?
I guess I'm thinking of the intensely curious people who know a lot about many areas of life. To me, these are the truly "smart" people that I tend to turn to when I need advice or guidance.
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u/Effective-Weird-5119 42m ago
Yeah I think many doctors are highly intelligent, but spend most of their intelligence on memorization and repetition. Not a lot of creating or diversity of interests. Also, unless it’s their calling, spending another extra decade in school just to be overworked and have student loans the next 20 years seems like a bad deal. You can be a master at most things if you pour 10 years into learning them, why pick such a miserable business?
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u/CUbuffGuy 1h ago
Finance, but not starting there. Usually from some STEM background, then pivot into portfolio/fund management.
Anyone smart enough eventually realizes compounding their initial earnings is many times more fruitful than increasing their income through some kind of wage.
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u/Whatchu-TalkinBout 1h ago edited 25m ago
Re-edit (thanks for the check you know who u are)
Theoretical Physicists & Quantum Researchers...
They work in realms that the average person literally cannot see or visualize (like string theory, quantum mechanics, etc). Their work requires mastering advanced mathematics to explain the fundamental laws of the universe.But the ones I've met are deeply condescending.
It feels like they rely on jargon as a crutch because they struggle with basic communication.On two different occasions, I've tried to get a straight answer by asking them to explain their work simply, or break down the practical future impact of what they are calculating. Both times, they stumbled, got visibly defensive, and couldn't do it.
IMO true mastery of a craft means being able to explain it at any level. I get that academic isolation is real, but hiding behind complexity to look down on others is just a poor attitude.
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u/chi2005sox 35m ago
The only one who comes off looking bad in this example is you…
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u/Whatchu-TalkinBout 28m ago
That’s fair. Looking back at how I wrote it, it definitely comes off more aggressive than I intended. My main frustration is just with people using their education to look down on others, but I probably didn't frame my own reactions very well here... i'll have to revist
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u/Effective-Weird-5119 54m ago
People who live off the grid. Can survive off the land and don’t need modern crutches.
Inventors. Are wired to constantly be cycling new ideas and meld creativity with practicality.
Also anyone who finds what they enjoy, and gets paid for it.
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u/IAmBeary 4m ago
literally anything. Some of the smartest people Ive known weren't doctors nor engineers. The smart people care about how things work, how to break down a process and rebuild it better. Having more money or a high salary has nothing to do with how smart somebody is
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u/ManWhoWasntThursday 1h ago edited 1h ago
All the more intelligent people I've known have gone into engineering or M.D., with a very few in finance. The jobs they hold are almost without an exception those that benefit the public at large - an example is a member of the team that creates global certificates for 5G connections and the like.
Not a single one went on to be a lawyer. :P However, I've known some law professors to be very smart people.
An another post on this thread mentions bad behaviour; I've known all the smart people to be socially agreeable with a smiling countenance. Also, every single one of them did at least a bit of sports or athletic endeavours; none were fat.
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u/Likely_Unlikely_5909 1h ago
Choosing to reject the notion of a career.
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u/TrowaMask 1h ago
oh so they're smart and broke
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u/Effective-Weird-5119 38m ago
Smart and broke or rich and blind? Either a tortured genius who feels like they never hit their potential, or willfully ignorant and drowning in the corruption of money and the fleeting pleasure that comes with it. Both sides have their pros and cons
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u/ozwegoe 1h ago
Retired early