Ah... I dropped out of high school before my third year, but I see myself as being clever because I can breeze through most of my classes very easily. I sometimes worry about the same thing as you, OP. I recently took the GED exam and I finished "with honors," scoring in the 95th percentile or higher on all of them but writing and finishing before everyone else. This made me happy because it proved (to some degree) that I wasn't totally retarded... I know that some people took the full session to test and a few probably ended up failing, otherwise the test would serve no purpose, but I still worry that I'm just an idiot that sometimes gets lucky. (This is why I love it when people tell me that they think that I'm smart or clever.)

I remember hearing about this test but my short-term memory is awful, even though my long-term memory is fairly good. I tried it out and did poorly. Memory things are just too hard.

I feel I'm smarter than the average person but not smart enough to be anything special

I've never been on par with my peers and I've always scored on the bottom % of my classes, how the fuck I wasn't put in with the retards is beyond me

I ended up dropping out by 11th grade


As a general intelligence I'm pretty sure I'm still on the bottom % of the population, which is fine

I don't know, because I don't believe that IQ tests and the education system can accurately measure intelligence - which in itself is a very open-winded word.

Indeed. There are many different types of intelligence.

I was never very good at mathematics but always seemed to excel at finding practical solutions to physical problems. I could just look at something, think for a bit and come up with a good solution.

Similar with computer stuff.

I just never feel intimidated by any task (unless it is grossly esoteric) because I find it so easy to break it down.

That was always my strong point but I never cared deeply enough to expand on it, it was just a way to get what I wanted at the time, to provide entertainment most often.

I feel I am superior than average because I feel I have merits to prove that. But that is just based on my subjective view of what intelligence is.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

I am either slight above average or way below average. Sometimes I feel just as smart as your typical high achieving college student, but then shit like not handing in easy assignments comes up and I wonder if I am stupider than even the ford drivers that managed to hand it in. It might be a motivation issue.

One thing is certain, I am positively sure these 4-5 years of constant net browsing and sleep deprivation have degraded my mind. I remember when I was 15 I went through a renaissance of sorts- I was very philosophical, wrote lots of things, tried many new things, attempted to create many creative projects. I also then soon found 4chan. Not to downplay the role that my own will had in this, but I unequivocally state that it caused many of my problems and pushed me over the edge for issues which I was vulnerable to but might not have eventuated. I often wonder how I would've turned out had I continued along the initial trajectory I was going through when I was 15 and I honestly wished I never found that site in the first place.

>>10014
I have no clue where I am in terms of intelligence either but my whole life I felt extremely stupid. My stupidity had nothing to do with any chan, I discovered 4chan around 14-15 too but it wasn't till around 17 when I actually started posting in it a little out of boredom after lurking around a single board for a while. I was an outcast right from the beginning when I started school for reasons I couldn't even put my finger on at the time besides being stupid. No one would ever speak to me besides just to mock me or play with me. Whenever I spoke to people it was almost as if I was inferior in some way and everything always went wrong. This went on for many years till eventually when I got to middle school it calmed down and no one would speak to me much for any reasons. When I got to highschool it sort of elevated again for reasons which seemed to be simply because I was alive. I've always had a lingering feeling that everything and everyone wants me dead my whole life because I seem to be too socially and maybe even mentally retarded. Things that happened in highschool confirmed I was going to be alone forever from day one there. That what really pushed me over the edge of sanity. I was a joke to everyone or just something to toy around with to them till they got bored and decided to fuck with someone else. And ever since then in life I've been down some downward spiral that's leading straight to hell. From this stemmed so much mental disease, I'm so damaged in the head now I can't do much of anything but think of this shitty void of loneliness, desire, and pain that is my life. The internet actually became my savior, I found a few people I could call true friends that I follow around like a ghost. If it wasn't for the internet I would probably be dead right now. I feel so hopeless, just lost in hate and sadness. Any happiness I experience is just pure delusion that my brain makes up because it so desperately in need of it.

>>10011
This. Even as someone who received very high marks in school/college, I realize that effort, not intellect, is the main governing factor of how well you do there. And IQ tests are so flawed it's not even funny: they measure an extremely limited range of subjects, there's nothing stopping someone from re-taking the same test again and again until they get better scores, there are dozens of different versions of the test floating around that can affect your score drastically, and many such versions even feature nothing but multiple choice questions (at which point luck can become a factor). I could go on, but I'll spare everyone the rant. Suffice it to say that I've never considered IQ to be an even remotely reliable way of measuring intelligence.

And in all honesty, I believe intelligence is virtually impossible to measure. I've met people before that struggled with concepts that I find elementary, but I also had trouble with fields they excel in. The Albert Einstein quote that the other Anon posted really hits the nail on the head: nobody is going to be good at all 'intellectual' pursuits. Einstein himself was a good example of that. Likewise, I don't believe it's possible for a single number to ever represent someone's overall or 'total' intelligence.

All of that being said, I believe myself to be more intelligent and rational than the majority of my peers...but that's really not much of an achievement in this generation. Besides, I'm sure a lot of Ford Drivers feel the same way towards me too.

I don't know.
Everyone always says I'm smart, but online a lot of people seem smarter than me.
I'm a huge procrastinator as well. My end of year project was a 3 credit class I had an entire semester to work on, and I put it off until the last three days. I seriously thought I was going to fail, since I hadn't even started research on it.
I ended up finishing a better paper and presentation than the rest of the class anyways though.
I've noticed I do great under pressure like that, although it feels detrimental to my health. I had panic attacks for a few nights before that project due date.

Times where there is plenty of easy work I know I can do, I end up not doing it at all or just forgetting about it with zero pressure.

I used to think I was very smart, and too fucking intelligent for school and all that bullshit.
As the years passed, I just realized that I'm actually a dumbass and my mind is a train wreck, I'm not fit anything involving theory and shit like that.

Teachers at school would always say I was very intelligent and that I was spoiling my potential. I never understood why.
Today I'm 23, poor, still living with my parents and I can't land any job. Would an intelligent being end up like me ? Fuck no.

>>10914
If you ask me, I think that "success" doesn't entirely depend on intelligence. I'd say there are other factors involved, such as whether you have anyone to support you.

>>10914

Intelligence isn't the same as "success". You could be a great philosopher or writer and be a homeless bum.

>>10914

You just described myself.

That said, intelligence doesn't have much to do with it. People have bad luck, or, in my case, lack motivation.

>>10915
>such as whether you have anyone to support you

Partly this, but it's more about motivation. Support is only good to give you a boost, get you the connections you need to make it - you have to do the rest on your own. Have goals, take the initiative, keep your nose to the grindstone and all that. That's what's really necessary for success.

I used to have a serious motivation problem. I now have a lot more than I used to as a result of increased caffeine use and a desire to make money and move out. However, I don't have any goals.

If you think about it, there are only two "normal" goals people work towards in life: entering and succeeding in a certain career path and having a family (everything else, like owning a car, a house, etc. are just consequences of these.) There's no particular career I want to go into. I really don't care what kind of job I work as long as I get enough free time to pursue the things I enjoy. And naturally, having a marriage or a family is out of the question, so that's not something I have to work towards.

I'm still happy to be working, though. I've found that I enjoy working, because when I work I'm not thinking about what a piece of shit I am - I have to concentrate on my job instead. It's something to consider. If you're intelligent, I'm sure there are some skills you have that you can offer to a potential employer; you just have to know how to "package" yourself. Hell, even if you're average. I don't think I'm that smart.

I found this interesting: http://4-ch.net/personal/kareha.pl/1168008255/l50

I used to think I was intelligent because my parents told me I was. But now in adulthood, looking back, I worry that they might have been lying to me and that I was only slightly above average all along and now I have been left with delusional unrealistic expectations from life due to me thinking that I'm more intelligent than I really am.

Also, being a hiki for a decade has not been good for my brain I suspect. I can barely type properly now when before I used to be able to touch type accurately.

>>11539
This is pretty common. It's how I feel as well.
http://tomweston.net/RaisingSmartKids.pdf

I was definitely above average when I was a kid, always got among the highest test marks in class. I had some kind of intelligence test in middle school and got the opportunity to move into a special class for gifted students in high school but I told my parents I just wanted a normal education (what was I thinking?)

Honestly, I feel slightly mentally retarded in general. I just couldn't live all by myself because I don't understand how a lot of things work.

Still, I may be above average in rationality (that is, holding beliefs that are actually true and updating them when needed, among other things). So I come off as smart to most people I meet in person (which makes me feel uncomfortable because they are wrong. I can't stand wrongness).

I also got a very good result on an IQ test but then again, those don't actually measure what I would really consider general intelligence. They were not even designed as "intelligence tests" back when they were made, they were created to check for mentally disabled children so that they could be moved for special education.

I do think IQ tests measure some cognitive abilities and a good score is obviously better than an average one, but they are not the same as intelligence.

One of my main "wishes" right now is to become more intelligent so that I can get away from these people and do...um...stuff.

(PS another reason people would think I was intelligent at school was that everyone else was absolutely, hopelessly idiotic and nearly unteachable)

Post edited on 21st Sep 2012, 11:48pm

>>11934
I know what you're saying and how it's almost impossible to put into words as demonstrated by that post. I guess I would just call it general life intelligence. You know a lot about how life works and the human mind. You can't really put it to much use but your head is more clear than the average person. At most if you know how to use language as a tool very well you can get yourself out of sticky situations and manipulate others easily in your favor.

Low overall intelligence

- very bad memory ...feels like dementia

- very bad at linguistic (verbal and written wise)

- not good with fine motor skills

- not creative

- bad at maths

etc. pp


IT IS JUST MY FUCKING WHOLE BRAIN SUCKS, ALMOST EVERY AREA.
TO ADD ON TOP OF IT , I HAVE A SMALL SKULL, AND THUS A SMALL BRAIN.

FUCK YOU Haruhi FUCK YOU!

>>11938
That pretty much describes me. My eyesight is also getting worse gradually as I get older.

I really wish that I was never born or was killed as an infant/child.

Post edited on 22nd Sep 2012, 5:36am

>>11938
>>11941

I am totally hollow, empty-minded.

Many do drugs, consume mangas, anime or whatever...they have expertise in their fields.

For me...it's not the case.
I simply exist and i mean it.

>>11946
may we be friends?

>>11950
Meh, i am a social recluse.

Imageboards are our "friends", as in an anoymous social platform.

That's enough interaction for me.

I am sick of it.

I actually watch quite a few documentaries on TV, but i can't remember any information.
And with taking notice whilst watching won't help me to remember later on.

Some people watch, remember and process the information immediately.
I guess i only watch it for the visuals.

Also i am so dumb that i can't sing along in songs.

Fucking psychologists and psychiatrists don't care about enhancing the intelligence of people.

Instead it's rather all about behaviourish stuff and feeding them pills.

>>11961
The answer is all too simple: usually it's down to something physiological like an endocrine hormone disbalance or vitamin deficiency, but these people like to make up neurochemical hypotheses to make the problem appear more complicated than it is, all to conceal the true problem and in doing so ensuring people are 'mentally ill' enough to continue downing their pills. I'm pretty much a victim to this system and can relate. Turned out I was never depressed: was just severely B12 and D3 deficient due to gastric parietal antibodies.

Define intelligence.

No matter how many teachers and family members complimented my intelligence, I always had reality in check. My poor skills in math are a constant reminder that I am too retarded to function in society.

I made a post about this on 4-ch's personal a while back, so this is something I've given a lot of thought.

I've always wondered if my only problem was laziness, but the thought occured to me that I might be lazy because I'm unintelligent. I don't have the capacity to think in the long term or deny pleasure to myself for self-improvement.

I wish I could take smart pills.

>>9986
Wow, your story is similar to mine. I dropped out of high school and took the GED and got similar scores. When people tell me I'm intelligent I secretly love it.

>>11965
you are not

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change."

― Stephen Hawking

>>11980
I guess we're all retarded!

>>11980
>Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change as a function of time."

Fixed

And now it is complete.

>>11980

A slug can merely adapt. If this were true, bacteria would quality as geniuses. It's a will-denying attitude.