“Crankiness” May Be A Sign Of Intelligence | LifeTwo — Oh brother. Even I have trouble with this one. That said, I do know older people who are genuinely too nice. And indeed, most of them are out-and-out idiots.

New research has come out correlating a “disagreeable attitude” with “increased intelligence.” More specifically, older people with above-average intelligence tend to be more disagreeable than those of lesser intelligence. Interestingly, when above-average intelligent people are younger, they tend to be more likely to be open to new situations, rather than being disagreeable. Something happens in the middle where these young open minds become far less agreeable.

According to co-author Jacqueline Bichsel, an associate professor of psychology at Morgan State University, in Baltimore, “…when we get older — and this hasn’t been found before — it appears that openness to experience is no longer as important, and what is important is a disagreeable nature.”

found by Barton McKinley