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Is it better to be the smartest person in the room, or the funniest?

Quicken Kristina

I'd probably go with being the smartest in the room, provided that me being the smartest doesn't force everyone else to be dumber. It just seems like it would be the most useful ability, since it would theoretically make it easier to figure out problems and help people.

I'd love to hear which you'd prefer and why!

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Quicken Alyssa

I agree. I’d rather be the smartest person in the room than the funniest.

Being the funniest would require entertaining the people around me, and I prefer keeping to myself for the most part.

That said… You tend to set the bar for both in most rooms!

John_in_NC

What will typically carry you further in life? Being funny, without a doubt.

People enjoy charm/humor all the time. They only appreciate your intelligence when it is beneficial to them. And even then, smart people have to be funny as to not come off as being dull/boring. Being funny is a privilege like good looks-it opens doors not afforded to all.

I know many nerds who wish they were funny/well liked. I can't say the same for the reverse.

NotACPA

I recently declined to run for re-election to the national board of directors of American Mensa, where I definitely wasn't the "smartest person in the room" … but that was a really tough room!

Chris_QPW

It is an interesting stereotype that one assumes the person can't be both.

We have three friends since college with the same name and hence we refer to them by their adjective nicknames: Smart-X, Stud-X, and Fun-X. Although the first two are as interesting, after a while everyone gravitates to hangout with Fun-X. @John_in_NC wins.😁

Quicken Kristina

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20535652#Comment_20535652

Good point. I did not mean to imply that the two are mutually exclusive. It's just interesting to see which one people value more and why.

Frankx

I think that I'd gravitate toward being the smartest, rather than the funniest. It is not because I, don't value humor, it just seems to me that being the smartest is likely to get you farther in life than being the funniest.

Quicken Anja

Depends—smart people get listened to, funny people get remembered... and that can apply vice versa too.

But honestly, the smartest people I know are usually the funniest anyway, which makes the rest of us look like we’re just flailing in slow motion. Smart without humor can make you a legend people respect but secretly avoid. Funny without brains… well, you get invited to parties, but no one asks for your opinion on anything important.

So really, I’d say the goal is to sneak in the smart stuff while keeping people laughing.

NotACPA

@Quicken Anja One of the marketing themes for Mensa is "We get your jokes".

Palace

Neither. It's best to be both; with a "Ton of Wisdom" thrown in to know how to use both judiciously 😉

Langston Holland

Any room I enter I assume I'm the one with the most to learn, so I listen more than anything else.

Jeff76

I always assume I'm not the smartest guy in the room (I'm often not), it's when you think you're smarter than everyone else is when you make poorer investments and discount others input often to your determent. As for humor I try to have fun in every situation, and use humor for breaking ice and making the other person more comfortable vs trying to entertain others (I did way too much of that in High School).

Ray Cosner

Being funny is effective at connecting with an audience that doesn't know you. That benefit lasts maybe five minutes. After that, for the audience to stay connected with you, you need to be communicating information they feel is valuable to them (i.e., "smart").