People's I.Q

[vergil96]

I wonder if I should respond? Tbh I fail to understand where the problem lies in someone stating that they have a certain IQ and were exceptional at academics at school. If someone was tall and good at basketball and said that, it wouldn't be an issue - there must be some self-esteem issue at play, a projected self-esteem issue. Never did I say that someone with a different set of predispositions and abilities is inherently worse and a less valuable human being. And tbh I'm a bit sick and tired of constantly overthinking what I'm saying in case it comes across the wrong way, when I don't mean to mock anyone. It's harsh, but it's facts about a certain person's experience and results of a certain test. I think some people might be reading too much into it and projecting.

 

[Mary Terry]

Mediocre people will always be salty at true geniuses. They consider themselves above most people but aren't clever enough to be genuinely recognized for the supposed superiority they consider themselves to posses. They love to project their salt at people who truly have superior intellect, are fully confident and don't feel the need to fake humbleness to please inferiors.

Then why are you here on this website? The rest of us "mediocre people" really don't care.

 

[Jordy]

I wonder if I should respond? Tbh I fail to understand where the problem lies in someone stating that they have a certain IQ and were exceptional at academics at school. If someone was tall and good at basketball and said that, it wouldn't be an issue - there must be some self-esteem issue at play, a projected self-esteem issue. Never did I say that someone with a different set of predispositions and abilities is inherently worse and a less valuable human being. And tbh I'm a bit sick and tired of constantly overthinking what I'm saying in case it comes across the wrong way, when I don't mean to mock anyone. It's harsh, but it's facts about a certain person's experience and results of a certain test. I think some people might be reading too much into it and projecting.

The problem is that people don't want to take responsibility for their own emotions. They won't consider that it's because of their own shortcomings that they feel as bad and insulted as they do, instead they want to blame the other for supposedly having made them feel that way. This way they don't need to change and can let their emotions roar whenever they want. People who get angry over someone talking about their exceptional academic and intellectual abilities are a prime example of this, and then they dare to bring up emotional intelligence lol.

 

[Mary Terry]

Where's that roll eyes emoji when I need it?!

Oh, there it is!

 

[LadyS]

I think the controversy here lies less with someone who shares that they have a high IQ and academic intelligence (which is great, good for you) but the condescending tone that others who don't share the same traits are being compared to "gorillas" and shouldn't be wasted time on to communicate said intelligence. But I'm sure many of us have been there at one point before and have outgrown that way of thinking, so nothing against the OP.

I think because us Aspies are constantly being downgraded in society's social structure we often have to compensate for it by conflating our "superiority" in other aspects. Lest we forget we should know better than to assume others are "lesser" when we know firsthand how degrading it feels.

I think in the end, we all need each other, that whatever each person lacks, there are others who have an abundance of and vice versa. Being an island of high academic intelligence may only serve the individual but since we're a social species it's probably less useful I would think.

 

[Misery]

People are trying to redefine intelligence and are inventing all kinds of new forms like "emotional intelligence" to spare the feelings of people who lack classical intelligence.

Okay, see, this is where this is getting kinda silly.

Emotional intelligence ACTUAL definition:

the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously, and empathetically

Someone could be a super genius in terms of, oh, I dont know, math and logic, but they could be a freaking caveman when it comes to emotional aspects (look, I'm too lazy to come up with a better analogy, just roll with it). Or, the other way around. The term does not exist to "spare anyone's feelings", that's ridiculous. It is a technical term meant to better explain strengths and weaknesses. Rather than just trying to cram the potentials of many separate functions of the brain into one squashed little space.

Which is exactly the big problem with the IQ score as it is. It's trying to squash a lot of disparate elements into one number. This is not useful. What IS useful is to be way more descriptive. Everyone has a list of strengths and weaknesses, mentally, whether they're aware of it or not, and all of those are very important and combine/interact in different ways. And it's hard to give a sense of ANY of that by just saying "oh, 150, that's your arbitrary number".

Why the system is even being used still is beyond me. I remember doing the test and thinking it was stupid. A person's potential is way more than just one number. If anything, it should be more like a list of stats in an RPG or something. Some big long list of 15 separate numbers instead of just one, each describing different very specific aspects. That'd make way, way more sense while being, you know, actually descriptive.

I'll stop ranting about that for now though, I could go on for like 5 pages about it if allowed.

Also, seriously, I'm gonna reiterate what I said earlier about assuming the intelligence level of others. AKA, dont do it. Ya aint gonna hit the target even nearly as much as you probably think you do. And misjudging someone could end up playing to YOUR disadvantage in ways you may not expect.

Where's that roll eyes emoji when I need it?!

Oh, there it is!

I dont even normally use emojis like, at all, but even I was starting to wonder where to look for that one.

 

[Jordy]

It doesn't matter how high one's IQ is if they have zero social skills. Basic functionality within everyday life is profoundly compromised. It is the working definition of a handicap. It is the difference between the medical and social approaches of the word.

Also For highly intellectual people, who don't have autism, the chief source of their social dysfunction is caused by the fact that their environment is incapable of adapting to them, not the other way around. It's an unrewarding one-way street that doesn't motivate them to continue seeking out social interactions.

 

[vergil96]

Ah, I see, thank you, so it's about the gorillas and similar comparisons and not wasting time on communicating. I honestly read it as someone being in an explosive mood and saying something they would regret later rather than an illustration of their views in general. Different interpretation.

Being an island of high academic intelligence may only serve the individual but since we're a social species it's probably less useful I would think.

I think on the other hand, that there is a trope in this thread that people have low self esteem, think they are worse and think their academic skills are useless etc. If someone is an engineer and contributes to making some devices, buildings etc., they're also contributing to society. It's not worse than being for example a school teacher. Nor is it better. It's not that all possible value comes from social skills either. People aren't commodity and don't have value.

 

[AspieChris]

Also For highly intellectual people, who don't have autism, the chief source of their social dysfunction is caused by the fact that their environment is incapable of adapting to them, not the other way around. It's an unrewarding one-way street that doesn't motivate them to continue seeking out social interactions.

Our world was definitely built for the masses, so it makes sense to ‘normal’ people but confuses many of us. It is frustrating at times that I’m expected to learn and adapt to their way of life, but they have no interest in adapting to my needs.

It was always annoying to me in school because I was usually the first to finish a test or call out an answer in class. Afterwards I would be scorned by my peers for making them look stupid.

Why do I have to pretend to be average when there’s no expectation that they work harder and have some answers? And why is it normal to bully a kid just for being smart?

 

[vergil96]

Also For highly intellectual people, who don't have autism, the chief source of their social dysfunction is caused by the fact that their environment is incapable of adapting to them, not the other way around. It's an unrewarding one-way street that doesn't motivate them to continue seeking out social interactions.

Well, there is a question of small talk. Many aspies don't do small talk. I do small talk. I do it without realising. No problem with that. Maybe the problem that many aspies have with "dumb conversations" is that - small talk. In my experience, identifying a problem can make someone less angry at it than if they don't know where it lies.

There is another dimension. I'm generally a nice person, but no matter how much I watch out to say only nice things and no matter how polite I am, I'll never be a part of certain groups, because we just don't bond over shared experiences and interests. People bond when they have things in common. Maybe I'm reiterating, but I find it important to reiterate that. "Being nice" and having a positive attitude won't fix everything. People get angry for a reason. It's really frustrating to not fit in. But it's important to find the source of this feeling and address it, instead of getting caught up in the content of thoughts it's causing. Feelings are informations about whether a situation is good or bad for you. Acting on them in a rushed manner isn't good, but repressing them and dismissing as invalid and "just a negative attitude" is also destructive. Okay, rant over.

 

[Vindiesel]

My iq score is 133.5486 and I identify as a gorilla...

This obviously is the best opening statement for meeting new people.

Make sure you say it with a flat affect on your face. Then follow up that you have top tier emotional intelligence that has yet to be measured by science. Then ask are you intimidated by me?

 

[Jordy]

Okay, see, this is where this is getting kinda silly.

Emotional intelligence ACTUAL definition:

the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously, and empathetically.

You see we already had terms for all of this. And in order for emotional intelligence to be valid they have to be strongly correlated, which they aren't. Of course all the supposed sub components of the intelligence an iq test measures are highly correlated, with only a minority group of the population, even a minority in the group of people with autism, having a spikey disharmonious intelligence profile.

 

[AspieChris]

There is another dimension. I'm generally a nice person, but no matter how much I watch out to say only nice things and no matter how polite I am, I'll never be a part of certain groups, because we just don't bond over shared experiences and interests. People bond when they have things in common. Maybe I'm reiterating, but I find it important to reiterate that. "Being nice" and having a positive attitude won't fix everything. People get angry for a reason. It's really frustrating to not fit in. But it's important to find the source of this feeling and address it, instead of getting caught up in the content of thoughts it's causing. Feelings are informations about whether a situation is good or bad for you. Acting on them in a rushed manner isn't good, but repressing them and dismissing as invalid and "just a negative attitude" is also destructive. Okay, rant over.

Well said

 

[Jordy]

Well, there is a question of small talk. Many aspies don't do small talk. I do small talk. I do it without realising. No problem with that. Maybe the problem that many aspies have with "dumb conversations" is that - small talk. In my experience, identifying a problem can make someone less angry at it than if they don't know where it lies.

I don't judge people for doing small talk and talking about the weather, the same way I don't judge an animal for doing what comes naturally to it, as dumb as it may be. Perhaps we are all dumb animals in our own way, me just less so than the rest .

 

[Mary Terry]

I don't judge people for doing small talk and talking about the weather, the same way I don't judge an animal for doing what comes naturally to it, as dumb as it may be. Perhaps we are all dumb animals in our own way, me just less so than the rest .

 

[AspieChris]

I don't judge people for doing small talk and talking about the weather, the same way I don't judge an animal for doing what comes naturally to it, as dumb as it may be. Perhaps we are all dumb animals in our own way, me just less so than the rest .

I agree, I don’t judge a dog for chasing it’s tail. But I get pretty angry when he pisses on my shoes.

 

[Darkkin]

Reasonably speaking a car cannot drive itself, no matter how superior a machine or fancy its label.

A person can be as smart as they come and still struggle with most basic aspects of life due to inflexibility, extreme self worth, and/or poor attitude.

Life is what we make of it. Book smart intelligence is a single aspect of the human experience and too often it becomes a problematic focus.

e.g. Having to outsmart everyone else around them...being the smartest person in the room, no exception. Certain types of people spend their lives trying to out do everyone else in the arenas they are good at.

I've met folks like this, they are a trial to be around, often condescending and entitled. They are inflexible in perspective and do not look for potential in anything that isn't their own idea. They have no capacity for compromise on anything.

Flipside I know others who are extremely bright, but they don't make a point of proving intellectual superiority to those around them. They have excellent people skills and adaptive reasoning capabilities that enhance their problem solving skills. Book smarts in balance with common sense and social integration. Great people to be around, who are comfortable with themselves and take things in stride instead of perceiving every differing opinion as a personal insult or criticism.

These are the type of people who foster objective or lively discussions because they allow space for others, they are not the be all, end all who shoved the discussion into a corner and proceeds to sit on the ball.

A flexible collective of reasonably smart people have the statistical probability of greater creative and productive capacity than the self proving smartest guy with a superiority complex.

Real world example:

My dogs Rue and Zwi. Rue knows how to spell, count, and has a hundred different tricks. Flipside is Rue is highly people selective, requiring a slow, treat backed introduction. If he doesn't jive within that first initial contact, he will never warm up to that individual. He is also too smart for his own good and requires a huge time commitment and enrichment to keep him off a path of destructive boredom. I'm able to provide it. He has just as many vices as virtues. In terms of shelter placement, he would rate a difficult, but I understand his needs and shortcomings and we work with both aspects.

Zwi barely understands his own name and about four basic commands. He's the sweetest natured dog and never gets into trouble. (It doesn't occur to him to do so, that he could simply because of his sheer size. He doesn't have the mental capacity to consider it.) He loves everything that has a pulse and is a friend to everyone. He is popular everywhere he goes because he is just so mellow. He is a ridiculously easy dog to have and is no trouble. He also bores me to tears, sweetheart that he is.

Our cat, Potato, treats Zwi exactly like he does the coffee table. Just a piece of furniture that moves...and Zwi doesn't know the difference.

My high demand, high energy drama queen who requires five times the time and energy of Zwi is by far and away my favourite simply because he requires continuous effort. He is a challenging dog and not a good fit for most folks. But he doesn't live with most folks, he's my dog. He's a perfect fit, but is far from perfect. He is worth effort he requires. Being a favourite of Rue is a whole different level of loyalty. His respect isn't easily earned, but once you have it his willingness and learning capacity are startling.

Zwi does not have that learning capacity, but has such a mild temperament he is universally liked. They are a dichotomy of personality and capability types, and as such have different needs.

Personally, I have several vices in common with Rue. I am very people selective in terms of those I allow into my social circles. I can be perfectly civil, but I won't invest anything more than basic politeness requires. I don't turn 'On'. I don't share the reality of what goes on in my head or what I can do when I chose to actively engage.

Being able to read those around you well enough to know when it is effective to engage or when you know it will be a waste of time is a skill set in itself. One of those balance aspects that is taken for granted, much like simply kindness often is.

 

[Judge]

You know, comparing people to 'stupid animals' isn't a sign of great intelligence.

I always thought author George Orwell made such a comparison in quite a novel fashion. A clever and profound metaphor about some very real humans expressed through farm animals.

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." - And it wasn't intended as a compliment.

 

[Mary Terry]

I don't think anyone ever wished they had more IQ points while lying on their death bed.

 

[Judge]

I don't think anyone ever wished they had more IQ points while lying on their death bed.

LOL. I doubt it would have helped in much of any job interview either....

Though I must admit, an Air Force recruiter once gushed over me regarding my ASVAB test score. But I politely declined his "offer". Good call on my part, long before I became aware of being on the spectrum.