The words that reveal how smart you aren’t
Does using more filler words mean you’re dumb? Or actually…smarter? Today we’re diving into some of the most controversial words.
Check out our Sidenote Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/sidenotepodcast
Written by: Mitchell Moffit
Animated By: Mitchell Moffit and Luka Šarlija
Edited by: Luka Šarlija
Sources & Further Reading:
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.60.3.362
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-68606-x
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0261927X14526993
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275005568_Um_Who_Like_Says_You_Know
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163853X.2021.1924000
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/sali-atagliamonte-language-detective#:~:text=Commonly%20held%20assumptions%20about%20how,elderly%20speakers%20in%20the%20UK).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38819033/
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.25.24303329v3
@guaxary
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
You've all heard Slavoj Zizek speak, right?
@RICKYDICKYDOOOOO
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
🎉 words Like: Bro & epic are used wayyy too commonly today.
Average Human vocabulary was: 70,000 words in 1975.
today 😂😂
67-67 x squibbidy toilet = an i.q. Below 90.
@KFCJones
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
Anecdotally, I bet if you factored in the initial "So…" that people from the sciences use when answering a question or explaining an idea, you could improve their filler word scores. 😊
@Century_Chandra
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
Interesting that there's no fillers in this video outside of examples
@unanimoustuba_
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
I thought it was because I’m a stoner good to know I’m just smart 😎
@d-m.n_--2
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
idk why, but the lack of a thumbnail from a quality channel got me to click pretty quickly.
@rooka_killa
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
a PI i work with says um uh after every sentence. it might just be a tick but she’s hella smart.
@MrEinJulian
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
i did like this eeh vidio
@LudwigRohf
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
I think I use more filler words when speaking any language other than my mother tongue. I don't use “like” at all because it doesn't exist in my first two languages in the way English speakers use it. I’m wondering if there is a difference between languages.
@xxportalxx.
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
The worst is when you use a filler word, and then draw a complete blank and can't find the word you want lol
@eze2k
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
the change of thumbnail made me click, congrats
@bamba_bamba
September 15, 2026 at 9:50 pm
English is not my first language 😭😭😭 leave me alone
@BradTech.
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
That's because their 0:21 recall neurology cannot keep up with 1:21 how many more columns their cortex activates ..yet most mistake recall rapidity for reasoning superiority
@lijmoo
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
5:20 makes me feel seen! I really struggle to follow when like's are dropped in every other turn of phrase. It soon becomes the only thing my mind focuses on, and the one thing I know logically doesn't matter!
@maplebob23
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could fill those gaps with something ear pleasing like a fill on the piano? If we could arpeggiate our “ums?”
@losing_mana
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I just realized that I began using more filler words as my multiple sclerosis progressed and my word recall declined. It happened so slowly over time that it became normal, I even use them in informal texts. I used to be worried that people would think I was unintelligent, but in my old age I'll just stop and say gimme a minute, it's there, I just gotta find it. Or I'll perform an elaborate pantomime 😂
@Serkunny
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Some people use the f word in every sentence…
I dont understand why
@bob1234881
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
4:27 going to right but like shouldn't be used in any other context than you like something. Otherwise it just sticks out like a sore thumb
@Eminetics
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Gender also plays a role.
@explorinatoms
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
6:20
@marshallmkerr
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Intensely disappointing to discover "cognitive load" isn't actually one of the many neologisms introduced by Shakespeare.
@NoahJoeKing
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
military made me stop ums and uhs for the most part. basically learn to throw the question back while you think. can you say that again, can you rephrase that, etc… if youre giving a class or presentation and use ums or uhs, that means you didnt practice. should be like a movie script…
@Purelychem
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Cool video! I’m an avid listener of the pod (and highly recommend it). One word I notice Mitch uses a lot is “obviously.” I’m not sure if it counts as a filler word, but he uses it even when the topic about to be presented may not be obvious to the listener. Maybe that’s more of a verbal tick(?). The topic of verbal ticks could be another cool video idea
@plpGTR
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Nah man if like someone like uses words like like a lot that is like nothing highly like intelligent or like sth.
@phantasmic9656
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
So flamefrags ain't cooked?🎉
@PiyanistMC
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
You may not have high language skills, which would actually increase your umms and uhhs .
@estebangutierrez160
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
So does this mean Shaggy Rogers from Scooby Doo is a very intelligent person then?
@brandonlopez3414
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Hmmm…
@AlanMGross
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I listen to a lot of online interviews, lectures, and podcasts, mostly about relating to academic topics. I've noticed that a lot of presenters, especially British academics, studder at the start of sentences. I don't think they studder in normal speech, but as an affectation or perhaps as a filler while they gather their thoughts. Has anyone studied this?
@alldaygaming9965
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I like that I say like a lot because the left side of my brain actually is “damaged” and not just because I am a less intelligent girl that overuses the word. 😂
@sogghartha
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
5-12 likes per minute is very low. a lot of people will use at least 2 per sentence
@Viper6332
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
So the forced pauses by so called smart people are just wasted bullshit and not a sign of intellect then thanks for the update
@a.m.7438
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
A common thing I noticed from different people, and please take this in good faith I don't mean this offensively:
Lots of individuals who I noticed that struggled with thinking often struggled with self-correcting and recognizing their mistakes, refused ownership of behavior and had very short attention spans/memory. They struggled with correctly naming things and take a long time to complete tasks they do frequently.
You can tell the difference between someone simply not knowing something and someone not knowing something because they struggle to retain information enough to act on that info timely and effectively.
There's a sort of posture to the way intelligent people use words compared to lesser intelligent people. They're more direct and focused on the topic and their clear use of language lacks the clumsiness someone less intelligent might possess. You can almost hear intelligence, or at least, recognize a level of education behind how someone presents themself in social settings.
@gtabro1337
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I promise you the people that use “umm”, “like”, etc. are on a bell curve – both the dumbest and smartest people are in those categories. And unfortunately many dumb ones think they’re on the other side…
@twelveraccoonsinatrenchcoat
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I usually have a very specific word I'm trying to think of which is why I pause and use filler words, which to anyone else probably doesn't matter but we end up playing 20 questions trying to help me find it, and then sometimes I end up teaching someone a new word lol. I also say "y'know?" somewhat frequently because I want to make sure I'm communicating clearly, and "like" to clarify that it's not an exact recollection. It is similar to, it is like this. Like, y'know?
@Jennifer-o6h8v
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
I did not come here to be, uh… like… attacked in this manner.
@maddummel
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Like, I really like like the word like
@venus7877
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
So, I like.. think you guys are great and stuff. Um, like, really.
@palpytine
September 15, 2026 at 9:51 pm
Have there been any studies on people who say "less resources" when "fewer resources" would be technically more accurate?
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