Do you think you are intelligent?
- Thread starter Cromulent
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Would be interesting to see a big pool of random people rate themselves relative to the rest of the population in terms of e.g. deciles. My expectation is that it would be a bit top heavy with people generally having too high an opinion of themselves.
On a geek forum like this I'd expect above average intelligence though.
As for myself I consider myself fairly intelligent; however I also believe my abilities have slipped over the past 20 years. When I was in my teens I regarded myself as highly intelligent and whilst at school it was fairly easy to benchmark yourself against peers. I used to be almost arrogant about my abilities and was confident in academic situations (looked forward to exams etc). There was one pupil in my year who I considered superior to myself and this has been somewhat vindicated in the career success they have had since (MD at one of the largest investment companies in the world). Across my life in general I've probably only spent considerable time with a handful of people I would put on that spectrum, although obviously there will have been some stealth geniuses lurking around somewhere.
I look at myself now and I think I am much more rounded as an individual but I would rate myself as likely to perform worse in an academic scenario than I would have done 20 years ago. I occasionally come across challenges that I cannot figure out how to answer when others can, and expect that I would have been able to tackle it as a teen. This is slightly depressing because it feels like the one 'edge' I believed I had over many people is fading; being a better person overall is boring if I can never truly excel in any given area.
On a geek forum like this I'd expect above average intelligence though.
As for myself I consider myself fairly intelligent; however I also believe my abilities have slipped over the past 20 years. When I was in my teens I regarded myself as highly intelligent and whilst at school it was fairly easy to benchmark yourself against peers. I used to be almost arrogant about my abilities and was confident in academic situations (looked forward to exams etc). There was one pupil in my year who I considered superior to myself and this has been somewhat vindicated in the career success they have had since (MD at one of the largest investment companies in the world). Across my life in general I've probably only spent considerable time with a handful of people I would put on that spectrum, although obviously there will have been some stealth geniuses lurking around somewhere.
I look at myself now and I think I am much more rounded as an individual but I would rate myself as likely to perform worse in an academic scenario than I would have done 20 years ago. I occasionally come across challenges that I cannot figure out how to answer when others can, and expect that I would have been able to tackle it as a teen. This is slightly depressing because it feels like the one 'edge' I believed I had over many people is fading; being a better person overall is boring if I can never truly excel in any given area.
I feel I am average and lucky.
When I was younger I thought I was the next world genius. Turns out that is what happens when you go to school in Gloucestershire and you only have the local stock to compare yourself against
In my career now I have met some truly clever people and I know better.
When I was younger I thought I was the next world genius. Turns out that is what happens when you go to school in Gloucestershire and you only have the local stock to compare yourself against
In my career now I have met some truly clever people and I know better.
You are a good dog. Good boy, who's a good boy?
What ever happened to Castiel, just disappeared into thin air?
Considering my life choices I have no option to think that I am less intelligent than a lot of people. If I were intelligent I would be in a much better situation than I am now.
I spend most of my time learning about things but lack the ability to get any benefit from it.
As another poster has mentioned, joe average and lucky.
If you look at my academic and professional background people would assume that I was more intelligent than I am. It never came easy to me though, and any success I had at school or University was the direct result of my work ethic. I am not saying that my peers did not work hard, I just felt that success came easier for them because they grasped the concept(s) easier.
In respect of luck, I have always felt that I have been in the right place at the right time with the right idea.
If you look at my academic and professional background people would assume that I was more intelligent than I am. It never came easy to me though, and any success I had at school or University was the direct result of my work ethic. I am not saying that my peers did not work hard, I just felt that success came easier for them because they grasped the concept(s) easier.
In respect of luck, I have always felt that I have been in the right place at the right time with the right idea.
Soldato
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I'd say i was above average when i look at most of the dormants staggering around my local city centre
That doesn't mean you're below average intelligence, outside of academia I think many of us would struggle to apply what we've learnt to something that would benefit us.
I mean look at this:
One of the richest men in the world now was still helping people find a shirt in a store until he was 30.
If I compare myself academically to those I went to school with, I'm easily in the top 5%, but at uni I'm now a lot more average. Although when it comes to common sense I'm probably back up in the top 5% among them. I'm smart enough to know when I've been an idiot, but I'm also smart enough to learn from it.
Referring to the Einstein quote above, some people are good at some things while being **** at others, like Fish climbing trees and Monkeys breathing underwater. Not all "smart" people are that knowledgeable outside of their 'area'.
Referring to the Einstein quote above, some people are good at some things while being **** at others, like Fish climbing trees and Monkeys breathing underwater. Not all "smart" people are that knowledgeable outside of their 'area'.
I think I'm above average, I average around 137 on most IQ tests that I've taken. I had a photographic memory when I was younger and managed to get 6 Highers with no studying (Just read the text book once the night before). The memory has definitely taken a major dip as I've got older and my wife would argue that even though I'm intelligent I have sod all common sense 
Soldato
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I have people tell me I'm intelligent on a daily basis, it's my mum and my nan but I think it still counts.
That doesn't mean you're below average intelligence, outside of academia I think many of us would struggle to apply what we've learnt to something that would benefit us.
I mean look at this:
One of the richest men in the world now was still helping people find a shirt in a store until he was 30.
That picture reminds me of why J.K Rowling is one of my heroes. Thanks for that picture by the way. It was very inspiring. I'm 31 now and hopefully by the time I am 35 I will be able to say I succeeded in something worthwhile
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I would rather hide my intelligence, life is more enjoyable that way (for obvious reasons)
I would not class myself as particularly "intelligent" in terms of Academia or niche areas that others may excel. I have however returned to university to study a computer science degree, currently within the top 5% of my year-group.
But I believe that I do have a decent level of common sense; along with a drive to learn and better myself, rather than just sitting idly by and accepting "my lot".
I am a very skilled leader of people & manager, something that must be a natural trait due to my upbringing.
But I believe that I do have a decent level of common sense; along with a drive to learn and better myself, rather than just sitting idly by and accepting "my lot".
I am a very skilled leader of people & manager, something that must be a natural trait due to my upbringing.
Its difficult to judge this as there are many types of intelligence.
For myself...I think a have a bit more raw intelligence mainly because I don't really have a lot of common sense or inbuilt innate social awareness/intelligence. My mind is literally a blank slate when it comes to these types of situations and judgements. However I do a lot of 'cpu processing' on the fly so to speak. Which can be tiring running through a myriad of appropriate solutions/answers in my head and selecting the right one. Ironically I don't have a great memory or maths/numbers skills. For me its like I have all the downsides of AS and no positives..ahh lol.
Never mind ehh...
For myself...I think a have a bit more raw intelligence mainly because I don't really have a lot of common sense or inbuilt innate social awareness/intelligence. My mind is literally a blank slate when it comes to these types of situations and judgements. However I do a lot of 'cpu processing' on the fly so to speak. Which can be tiring running through a myriad of appropriate solutions/answers in my head and selecting the right one. Ironically I don't have a great memory or maths/numbers skills. For me its like I have all the downsides of AS and no positives..ahh lol.
Never mind ehh...
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Soldato
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One thing I can say for certain about Donald Trump. He is either extremely intelligent or extremely stupid. I haven't worked out which one it is yet though.