I am highly intelligent, ask me anything

[nolinkname]

Using standard IQ scales/assessments I am highly intelligent. I have also done some research into high intelligence. Being highly intelligent has advantages and drawbacks. Ask me anything :-)

(Just to preempt some comments: No, I don’t think intelligent people are better human beings than other people. I think qualities such as being kind are more important for example. No, intelligent people are not always ‘better for society’, there is some evidence, for example, that really highly intelligent people carry out proportionally somewhat more crimes (white collar). No, I don’t look down on less intelligent people (sometimes I envy them), but it can obviously be a bit difficult to connect if you have very different frames of reference. No, intelligence does not have any direct links to social skills (positive or negative).)

What advice would you give to a mum with a (potentially) highly intelligent child ?
my child has not had an IQ test but teachers and friends and fanily have always commented on how smart he is and what an extraordinary memory he has - from when he was very young. One math teacher even rang me once to say that he doesnt make calls like this usually but my son gave him an answer to a problem in class that no-one his age would be able to get. The teacher said my son was one in a million.
teenage years are proving difficult, he is almost 16 now. Very little friendships, on the pathway for an autism assessment, self harming and under camhs. Camhs is saying the self harm is a (very unhelpful) way to find new experiences as he is bored intellectually (sorry if i am explaining this badly, im clearly not as smart as my son!!). We are trying to find helpful ways to challenge him intellectually and at the moment this is through independent cinema! And experimental music.
Although he aces maths and sciences - because it comes easily to him - he finds the rest of the subjects hard. I think he gives up far too easily on things he is not good at. If he can’t work it out by himself, then he is not going to open a book to read about it. Any advice appreciated.

Are you a man?

If you arent a man, how do you deal with all the men who carefully explain to you that there are more male outliers for iq than women and implying you cant also be an outlier.

What was pointless about my question?

Do you have and ADHD traits with regard to learning new material, making connections and spotting patterns

IQ is a very narrow definition of intelligence. How does it actually manifest for you? What are your skills? Good memory? Creativeness? High vocab, noticing detail/contradictions?

What is your academic field/s?

What happens when you don't 'constrain' yourself, do people like you less or get annoyed/intimidated?

Do you think you could be neuro divergent?

We did something in school where the whole class could pick traits for their future child. Most people picked 'above average intelligence' almost no-one chose 'highly intelligence'. There was the general consensus that we associated high intelligence with being anti-social and ultimately that it would make someone less happy on average then someone less intelligent. Presumably you know other people like you, do you think the above could be true.

does your intelligence mean that you are good at languages and mathematics and humanities and music? or is it restricted to certain areas.

what is your iq?

Do you believe that trans women are women?

Are you religious?

Do you think that IQ tests are genuinely meaningful indicators of actual intelligence, beyond a very rough and narrow estimate?

I feel similar to you in some ways, I often feel like I am a few steps ahead in a conversation or task however I have just been diagnosed with ADHD and think it comes from that.

Just of note ’AMA’ means just that, you say you will ignore what you feel are pointless questions. I do not feel provoked but you do come across as arrogant.

Lots of questions, I'll try to comment on a few together:

youfunnyDrJones: Yes, I get frustrated too about almost always having to wait for people to 'get it' :-( I don't want to get frustrated, but inevitably I do. For others - think about having to explain everything to a child. Slightly crude, but you get the gist.

@landlordhell , I meant other questions in the thread that were pointless, not yours.

I got a 1 % result on the Mensa test.

I haven't actually had anyone explain to me that I can't be an outlier, only that 'more men are highly intelligent'. Ok? (And more men have very low IQ scores. So what..?)

@Cerialkiller 'IQ is a very narrow definition of intelligence. How does it actually manifest for you? What are your skills? Good memory? Creativeness? High vocab, noticing detail/contradictions?'

Yes, it is very narrow! Extremely good memory in many areas. Very creative, notice many details and contradictions, yes, see outside the box in many situations and can suggest solutions most people haven't thought about.

Why aren’t you answering the MENSA question? Have you done a MENSA supervised IQ test?

ETA: cross post, these have now been answered. The following still stand:

What is your IQ? Do you realise that a lot of what you describe as your life experience is more due to personality than your IQ? (I have a top 1% IQ and I’m a member of MENSA and don’t relate to the experiences you’ve shared).

Do you watch High Potential? The main female character is highly intelligent and I wonder how her representation chimes with real people with high intelligence.

My mum has a high enough IQ to join Mensa (she did the tests once) but she didn’t bother. My dad would probably score quite highly too. My brother and I are distinctly average!

I would like to know this too OP

@babylone , there is a lot of advice available for parents in this situation, check out Potential Plus eg. Personally, I'd say don't focus on his abilities too much but on having fun and being a happy human being. It is quite common that people who 'don't learn to work hard' early on give up, so it's good to learn to work, even if it's not necessary all that often.

If school is difficult socially, try to find other outlets outside of school where he can get a sense of belonging. I was quite bullied at school but had friends that I met elsewhere.

Intelligence currently gives huge advantages in many life outcomes.

What do you think AI will do to this?

@Cerialkiller

I'll skip commenting on my academic field here. Re constraining myself - I don't think most people notice it, it's just difficult for me.

Yes, myths that high intelligence is linked to being anti-social are common. I don't think it is, and there is little research to support that hypothesis. However: most people are most at ease in groups where they feel comfortable, and many people who are highly intelligent feel slightly uncomfortable in groups where they cannot be themselves entirely. That may feed this view.

I said something about happiness above, and definitely think there is a high likelihood that being highly intelligent means lower chances of being happy in life, unfortunately. Fitting in is the most important thing for many/most people and when you don't fit in with most people, it is difficult

How do you know you are highly intelligent? Has this been assessed? What qualifies as being highly intelligent?

@nolinkname was this an official MENSA test or just one online. You're still not answering the IQ question.

My thoughts are there are people commenting on this post a lot more intelligent than yourself!

I also have a brain that processes like this, I’m able to process information very quickly, identify trends, foresee future possible outcomes, retain and link large sets of data and relate it back to the context I’m working in to apply it easily. It’s been very helpful in my career, I work in cybersecurity so it’s constantly evolving and very varied which keeps my mind active.

i do find it very awkward when people notice and comment though. I’m currently working on a very significant opportunity who is highly detailed, thousands of pages of requirements and contract language and am in meetings it’s obvious I can recall details other haven’t gotten around of reading yet or haven’t understood and people keep making these surprised comments asking if I’ve really read everything and understood it, or how great it is to have a human encyclopaedia working on the case. I’m never sure how to respond.

Personality is of course a hugely important factor in life. I maintain that IQ, defined as 'ability to understand things quickly, getting logical connections easily' etc etc contributes a lot. Obviously not everyone is the same, so I can only share my experience and it's not surprising that you, for example, feel differently.

Are your closest friends all intelligent? Presumably they realise your skills so do you think it can affect the relationships in some way ?

Is intelligence a bit of a prerequisite in your relationships ? I'm thick as a post so can't quite picture how it affects things.

"Yes, I get frustrated too about almost always having to wait for people to 'get it' :-( I don't want to get frustrated, but inevitably I do. For others - think about having to explain everything to a child. Slightly crude, but you get the gist."

How often are you discussing very erudite things that other people don't 'get'? Surely it can't come up that often in day-to-day life? Do you ever wonder if perhaps you're just not very good at explaining things? After all, 'high intelligence' doesn't automatically mean 'good communicator'.

You seem to have a poor understanding of the meaning of ‘emotional intelligence’ by giving examples that are nothing to do with it. EI is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.
Also, you come across as quite arrogant, claiming all sorts without the evidence to support your claims. A ‘highly intelligent’ person would surely know that backing up claims with evidence is the most effective way of getting your point across.
Whai IS the best was for a giraffe to wear a tie though?

Do you believe that sex is immutable?

I think that’s nonsense. It’s not that difficult to find other highly intelligent people in adulthood. I met many of my closest friends during my (three) postgraduate degrees and while working as an academic. (I married someone fully as intelligent as I am, but slightly differently so, and we have a clever child.)

What’s your favourite puzzle app, if you have one? I’d like to start doing some IQ style puzzles but can’t find a good one.