TL;DR
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Bolde published an article arguing that people it describes as highly intelligent often stay quiet about routine social topics, from gossip to workplace promotions. The piece offers anecdotes and references research on thinking preferences and conversation, but the supplied material does not establish that high IQ reliably predicts silence about these subjects.
Bolde has published a lifestyle article claiming that people with high IQs often hold back during conversations about subjects such as dating gossip, weekend plans and reality television. The piece presents this as a pattern of preference, but the supplied material does not establish that IQ itself causes people to avoid those topics.
The article’s central argument is that some people prefer conversations that offer more room for analysis and are less interested in routine social exchanges. It describes them as listening quietly rather than judging others, and says they may rejoin a conversation when it turns to a subject they find more engaging. These descriptions are the article’s characterization, not evidence that all or most people with high IQs behave this way.
The material lists eight topics in the portion provided: who is dating whom, weekend plans, reality-show recaps, workplace promotions, the cost of possessions, advice about other people’s problems, secondhand drama and one’s own accomplishments. The headline promises nine, but the supplied excerpt ends during the eighth item; the ninth topic is not available here. The examples are written as scenes and generalizations, rather than as findings from a reported survey of people with measured IQs.
Bolde cites Josephine Zerna, identified as a researcher at Dresden University of Technology, in connection with need for cognition—a tendency to seek and enjoy effortful thinking. It also refers to psychologist Matthias Mehl’s study of recorded everyday conversations. The excerpt does not provide publication details, methods or results sufficient to check how either source supports the article’s claims about IQ and social topics.
How Conversation Preferences Are Framed
The story speaks to a familiar question: why do people differ in what they want from casual conversation? Its account may resonate with readers who prefer substantive discussion, but it risks turning an individual preference into a broad personality rule. Being quiet about gossip is not a reliable measure of intelligence, and enjoying popular entertainment does not show that someone lacks curiosity or analytical ability.
That distinction matters because IQ is a specific kind of measured cognitive ability, while conversational habits can reflect many influences, including mood, culture, familiarity, social setting and personal interest. The article’s examples describe possible behaviors; they do not establish a diagnostic checklist. Readers should treat the list as lifestyle commentary rather than a validated way to identify high intelligence.
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The Research Cited in the Article
The article connects its argument to need for cognition, a research concept about how much a person tends to engage with effortful thinking. The source material says this trait correlates with intelligence and suggests that people high in it may seek more complex material. It does not give a specific study citation or explain the strength, limits or direction of that relationship. A correlation between two traits, by itself, would not show that one causes a particular conversational habit.
It also cites Matthias Mehl’s work recording 20,000 snippets of daily conversation and says the happiest participants had twice as many substantive conversations and one-third as much surface-level talk as the least happy participants. The excerpt supplies no study title, date, participant details or definitions of those categories. The figures therefore should be understood as the article’s report of a research finding, not as proof that high IQ leads people to avoid small talk or that changing conversation style causes greater happiness.
“Not out of judgment and not out of superiority.”
— Bolde article
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What the Excerpt Cannot Establish
The supplied material does not show that the listed habits are common among people with high IQ scores, or that they occur more often in that group than among other people. It includes no sample size, measurement of IQ, comparison group or survey results. The relationship between IQ and these specific topics remains unsubstantiated in the excerpt.
The text also stops midway through the section on personal accomplishments, so the promised ninth topic and the rest of that discussion are missing. The research references lack enough citation information to assess their methods and relevance here. It is also unclear whether the claims are intended as humorous generalizations, practical advice or research-based conclusions; the piece blends anecdotal scenes with references to academic concepts.
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What Readers Can Verify
The immediate next step for readers seeking to evaluate the claims is to consult the full Bolde article and the original research it names. The supplied excerpt does not provide a publication date for the lifestyle piece or complete citations for the studies. Without those details, its claims should remain attributed to Bolde rather than presented as settled scientific conclusions.
For now, the confirmed development is the publication of an article offering a list of conversation topics it associates with high intelligence. Whether the list reflects a measurable connection between IQ and everyday conversation would require evidence directly testing that relationship; the excerpt does not provide that evidence.
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Key Questions
What does the Bolde article claim?
It claims that people it describes as highly intelligent often stay quiet about common social topics, including dating gossip, weekend plans, reality shows, promotions and other people’s conflicts. These are claims made by the article, not established facts in the supplied material.
Does the excerpt prove that high-IQ people avoid small talk?
No. It provides anecdotes and references research concepts, but no direct comparison of conversational habits among people with measured IQ scores. The claimed link is not demonstrated in the excerpt.
What is need for cognition?
It is a research concept describing a person’s tendency to seek and enjoy effortful thinking. The article invokes it to explain interest in complex material, but the excerpt does not establish that it predicts silence about the topics on the list.
Why does the headline say nine topics when only eight appear?
The source material provided here ends during the eighth item, about people keeping quiet about their own accomplishments. The ninth item is not included, so its subject cannot be confirmed from this excerpt.
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