Paul Brian
Deeper thinkers aren’t always easy to notice.
After all: they’re busy thinking and considering things quietly, often out of the spotlight.
But if you look closely you’ll be able to see these key behaviors of very thoughtful people.
1) Book reading
People who read books tend to be deep thinkers.
There are exceptions to that, namely people who just read the exact same books as other people at the exact same time because everyone on TV is telling them to.
But generally speaking, a person reading a specific and unique book because they actually want to do so is going to be of far above-average intelligence.
Whether it’s a new mystery novel or a treatise on geopolitics, you can be quite confident that this individual is a sharp cookie.
2) People watching
Smart people are often very observant.
For this reason, they like to watch people and see the sights and scenes of life around them.
If you see a guy on a bench watching people go by, there’s a very high probability that this man is a thinker under that placid surface.
If you see a woman at the mall who’s standing watching people go by while she sips her latte, she’s likely got a little philosopher’s streak in her blood.
Deep thinkers watch. And drink coffee.
3) Getting lost in thought
The deep thinker can be noted by his or her intense look and seeming “far away.”
We tend to think of somebody who’s absent-minded as being unintelligent or clumsy.
The clumsy part may sometimes be true, but deep thinkers are folks who get lost in thought at the most spontaneous times.
For this reason you may be standing in the line at a hardware store and wondering what in the world the dude in front of you is doing with his slack-jawed expression and a bag of screws in his hand.
Little do you know he was actually thinking about how the universe was created and the ideas of Stephen Hawking.
4) Expanding on a subject
Another clue of a deeply thoughtful person is somebody who talks a lot about a subject and gets in-depth on it.
For example, if you’re taking a tour of a museum and the tour guide starts telling you about the history of the development of railroad track design and how it actually goes back to ancient Rome, and chariot riding you are likely to perk up.
For one thing it sounds too crazy to be true, but it is…
For another thing, this person is front of you is going much further back in the past and thinking much more deeply than you might have expected.
This is one smart lady! She’s obviously researched and thought a lot about the background of things that many of the rest of us take for granted.
And you’d be right…
5) Noticing subtle details
Highly thoughtful people often notice tiny details that others miss.
If there is a crime, you’d rather have a deep thinker there any day.
I mentioned earlier about the habit of getting lost in thought that highly intelligent people sometimes fall into, and that’s true…
But they also have a general habit of being very observant under the surface.
Even if a person is standing there all slack-jawed and dazed looking, if he’s a deep thinker he’s taking in far more of his surroundings than the average person.
He’s not just noticing the hint of cologne coming from the restaurant server, he’s also picking up on a tinge in her accent and the state of the rug near the swing doors indicating the restaurant’s been highly busy today.
This brings up the next point…
6) Unique situational awareness
Deep thinkers notice tiny details that others miss, while sometimes zoning out of the “bigger picture.”
This is why a deep thinker may appear out of it and not notice that he’s next up in line at the hardware store, but may notice the peeled and yellowed barcode on a product the next person is buying and observe this likely means it’s been sitting on the shelf a long time.
Whether that fact is relevant or not is another matter, but he notices.
While the deep thinkers does have a tendency to get lost in details, he or she is uniquely aware of situations and often has analyses and breakthroughs about what to do in crisis or confusing times.
7) Waxing poetic
Deep thinkers are often a cultural well of knowledge.
They quote Homer and Shakespeare and wax poetic about the sight of the moon on the waters of the bay.
You don’t get this kind of artistic, soulful input from just any random person.
It comes from a deep thinker, the kind of man or woman who engages deeply with life and lives it with their whole heart and mind.
What defines a deep thinker?
Deep thinkers can be defined by what goes on inside their heads.
Every deep thinker is different, which makes sense, since there are so many things out there to think about.
The deep thinker is a person of any age or background who wants to go below the surface.
Whether that surface is a contentious topic, academic research, a hotbed political issue or an important lifestyle matter, he or she will demonstrate the enthusiasm and will to look at it from all angles.
The deep thinker is someone who’s not only able to think more deeply about what’s going on and the meaning of something, but genuinely wants to do so or even feels sometimes compelled to do so.
Connecting with deep thinkers
Deep thinkers have a tendency to get lost in their own world.
You may wonder about how to get through to them and find a way to connect that’s meaningful and worthwhile for both of you.
The key is to find some subject or interest you can both share ideas on or tell each other about:
The best subject to pick is something that the deep thinker indicates an interest in, in order for you to spark up their passion and get them talking.
