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AMA

I am highly intelligent, ask me anything

858 replies

nolinkname · 22/02/2026 09:01

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).)

OP posts:
freakingscared · 22/02/2026 18:34

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:29

There are obviously a lot of triggered people. Like you, I found the idea that posters were jealous of someone being a prostitute quite laughable, particularly as they were mainly posters who disapproved of prostitution. I think a lot of people are jealous of highly intelligent people and it makes sense.

I think there's a probably a jealous group and then another group that just thinks nobody should ever 'boast' and that even though OP hasn't been boastful, just her writing that she's intelligent is enough to trigger them. Perhaps they're also very intelligent, but were taught to never mention it to others and it annoys them that OP can somehow get away with that.

Why me ? I was questioning someone being triggered by the op . I agree with you . Just the member in question seemed very triggered .

TippyTee · 22/02/2026 18:35

OP, do you worry that AI may replace jobs in your field, simply because is capable of researching, analysing data as coming to conclusions faster than any human?

And yes it may not give results that are fully accurate. Not yet.

illbetheresunorrain · 22/02/2026 18:38

AgnesX · 22/02/2026 10:08

Have you any common sense. I've met many intelligent people over the years. Specialists and degrees etc coming out the ears but their apparent ability to manage on the same plane as us mere mortals is non existent.

this sounds like autism and people who need an uni job, allowed to be alone in their cubicle, someone dealing with their bills and all sorts

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 18:39

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:29

There are obviously a lot of triggered people. Like you, I found the idea that posters were jealous of someone being a prostitute quite laughable, particularly as they were mainly posters who disapproved of prostitution. I think a lot of people are jealous of highly intelligent people and it makes sense.

I think there's a probably a jealous group and then another group that just thinks nobody should ever 'boast' and that even though OP hasn't been boastful, just her writing that she's intelligent is enough to trigger them. Perhaps they're also very intelligent, but were taught to never mention it to others and it annoys them that OP can somehow get away with that.

Actually, I think a lot of people were just a bit disappointed by the poor quality of the OP's posts. Apart from recycling a few tired old stereotypes about highly intelligent people, what interesting thoughts or insights has she actually brought to the discussion?

I do actually think that it is a really interesting topic that's worthy of exploration, but based on her contributions to this thread, the OP doesn't seem to have much that's interesting to say about it. There are some other insightful posters who have made interesting contributions to the thread though.

MonstrousRegimentRocks · 22/02/2026 18:40

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 18:39

Actually, I think a lot of people were just a bit disappointed by the poor quality of the OP's posts. Apart from recycling a few tired old stereotypes about highly intelligent people, what interesting thoughts or insights has she actually brought to the discussion?

I do actually think that it is a really interesting topic that's worthy of exploration, but based on her contributions to this thread, the OP doesn't seem to have much that's interesting to say about it. There are some other insightful posters who have made interesting contributions to the thread though.

Yes, that's what I was thinking. Not insightful or illuminating.

Uricon2 · 22/02/2026 18:41

illbetheresunorrain · 22/02/2026 18:16

OP, advice: if you suddenly had to go and live under a tyrannical system which there is no escaping from and are given 6h shift doing manual job, how would you keep mind and intellect entertained? This includes what would you do after the shift when you can live your life as you like

Some of the brightest people I've ever met in terms of intellectual curiosity, analytical thinking and the ability to study for themselves were miners, of a generation where it was much more unusual/difficult for people of such a background to do further and higher education.They left school young.

They read books, they went on courses, they educated themselves for nothing other than the love of learning and feeding their own clever brains, after shifts that were physically taxing, down the pit.

None of them ever mentioned their IQ or Mensa or how intelligent they were. At least one of them knew more about Dostoevsky's work and life than anyone else I've ever met. I'd bet lots of money that with different lives, at least some of them could have been tenured professors.

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:42

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 18:28

But that has nothing to do with intelligence, really? Surely that's just different personality types and different interests?

Yes, I have a very intelligent friend who likes Gogglebox, partly because he thinks some of the participants are highly intelligent :)

AgnesX · 22/02/2026 18:43

illbetheresunorrain · 22/02/2026 18:38

this sounds like autism and people who need an uni job, allowed to be alone in their cubicle, someone dealing with their bills and all sorts

That might be the case for some, but for others it's more a form of arrogance as they do what they want to do but don't stop to do the day to day management of their jobs and their lives.

I'm happy to accept autism for some but not for all.

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:44

freakingscared · 22/02/2026 18:34

Why me ? I was questioning someone being triggered by the op . I agree with you . Just the member in question seemed very triggered .

Yes, I'm agreeing with you.

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:46

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 18:39

Actually, I think a lot of people were just a bit disappointed by the poor quality of the OP's posts. Apart from recycling a few tired old stereotypes about highly intelligent people, what interesting thoughts or insights has she actually brought to the discussion?

I do actually think that it is a really interesting topic that's worthy of exploration, but based on her contributions to this thread, the OP doesn't seem to have much that's interesting to say about it. There are some other insightful posters who have made interesting contributions to the thread though.

Well, we're on page 28/29 so I'd argue there's been at least some interest in the thread!

Galatine · 22/02/2026 18:50

OrangeCrushes · 22/02/2026 09:06

What made you decide to start this thread?

Could be that the OP has a high opinion of herself.

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 18:50

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:46

Well, we're on page 28/29 so I'd argue there's been at least some interest in the thread!

Yes, there has been interest in challenging some of the rather tired stereotypes put forward by the OP - but that has more to do with the interest that people feel in the topic than the value of the OP's insights. Which is one of the reasons why the thread is still going even though the OP appears to have left a while ago.

cassandre · 22/02/2026 18:50

I haven't read the whole thread, but this reminds me of an OP who posted recently about how frustrating it was that there were no resources in the UK to help her analyse her brain. She described herself as highly gifted and talented.

As with this OP, some of the posts came across as rather boastful, but I wondered if that was partly down to cultural difference, since she wasn't from the UK. British people, even highly gifted and talented ones, tend to be self-deprecating, so posts with people describing themselves as a genius aren't likely to go down well on a UK-based website.

I would also note (as I'm sure others have noted as well!) that there are many different forms of intelligence. I'm an academic and I've met (and worked with) some extraordinarily clever people. However, some of the cleverest people I've met have not been academics. They're remarkable for their emotional intelligence, their creativity and so on.

I think of Mensa as a kind of self-indulgent vanity project. I can't take it seriously.

scottishgirl69 · 22/02/2026 18:50

Uricon2 · 22/02/2026 18:41

Some of the brightest people I've ever met in terms of intellectual curiosity, analytical thinking and the ability to study for themselves were miners, of a generation where it was much more unusual/difficult for people of such a background to do further and higher education.They left school young.

They read books, they went on courses, they educated themselves for nothing other than the love of learning and feeding their own clever brains, after shifts that were physically taxing, down the pit.

None of them ever mentioned their IQ or Mensa or how intelligent they were. At least one of them knew more about Dostoevsky's work and life than anyone else I've ever met. I'd bet lots of money that with different lives, at least some of them could have been tenured professors.

My grandpa was an electrical engineer and did badly in school due to nerves but did a lot of home education courses after he left school - he was very clever

My gran had to leave school at 15 which was normal in those days to work and help support her family but she was a grade 8 pianist and very well read

scottishgirl69 · 22/02/2026 18:51

cassandre · 22/02/2026 18:50

I haven't read the whole thread, but this reminds me of an OP who posted recently about how frustrating it was that there were no resources in the UK to help her analyse her brain. She described herself as highly gifted and talented.

As with this OP, some of the posts came across as rather boastful, but I wondered if that was partly down to cultural difference, since she wasn't from the UK. British people, even highly gifted and talented ones, tend to be self-deprecating, so posts with people describing themselves as a genius aren't likely to go down well on a UK-based website.

I would also note (as I'm sure others have noted as well!) that there are many different forms of intelligence. I'm an academic and I've met (and worked with) some extraordinarily clever people. However, some of the cleverest people I've met have not been academics. They're remarkable for their emotional intelligence, their creativity and so on.

I think of Mensa as a kind of self-indulgent vanity project. I can't take it seriously.

I would get a low score in an IQ test. My brain doesn't understand the way that they work

illbetheresunorrain · 22/02/2026 18:55

CamillaMcCauley · 22/02/2026 10:34

Also not applicable in New Zealand. C’mon, OP, why don’t you really lean into an answer instead of spouting dull generalities and dazzle us with what that super-intelligence looks like on full beam?

O observations, 0 detailed content showing off her great thinking capability. People are making her thread interesting

thedramaQueen · 22/02/2026 18:55

Gwenhwyfar · 22/02/2026 18:46

Well, we're on page 28/29 so I'd argue there's been at least some interest in the thread!

Interest in the thread but not necessarily in asking the op questions....

MonstrousRegimentRocks · 22/02/2026 18:55

illbetheresunorrain · 22/02/2026 18:55

O observations, 0 detailed content showing off her great thinking capability. People are making her thread interesting

This ⬆️

OtterlyAstounding · 22/02/2026 19:08

NeverDropYourMooncup · 22/02/2026 14:28

The trouble is that high intelligence is as much a part of them as their height, eye colour or blood group (and all of those can at least change temporarily with more or less physically intrusive interventions). To disregard the possibility that it is their intelligence making it difficult apportions blame onto them when it is not their 'fault' their brain works in that way.

I'll take out the abusive angle (although it is worth bearing in mind that the same abusive parent could very well absolutely adore another child in the family for not being 'too smart', being sporty, being the child that they actually wanted to have - meaning that it is very possible that had the highly intelligent child not been so, they would have experienced a completely different family).

My MIL is absolutely lovely. She's kind, she's caring, hasn't got an ounce of malice in her. But, much as I adore her and as much as DP loves her, it is so hard to have a conversation with her. The best I can do is ask her about her most recent holiday or what colour she's thinking of for when her living room is redecorated. And she'll answer 'it was very hot' or 'they made a really nice salad', 'Yellow'. I've tried.

The best conversations I've had with her have resulted in a recipe for pasties (you get pastry, meat, swede, potatoes, carrot and put it in the oven - she did this for a living for 15 years) and that her parents had a dog when she was a kid (it died) and she'd like a little dog but won't because it would want to get on the sofa and she wouldn't like that. Brutally, I get more intellectually challenging and rewarding conversations from a 4 year old with ADHD. Unless it's about one of her soaps - she can tell you all about those and I learned more about Coronation Street in one hour than I ever thought possible - or ever wanted to. But unfortunately, that's fake, I'm not interested in the slightest, I just want to make her feel good and happy.

Her life seems to be very linear - get up, walk somewhere, walk back, eat, watch TV, go to bed - with very little colour, movement or distraction along the way, whereas in my head, everything is swirling around me in three dimensions and every step has infinite diversions and interactions. That's on me. It's something about me that makes it feel claustrophobic and so very, very difficult. She's lovely. I'm not. But I'm not about to be directly unkind to her or tell her she's at fault when it is just how she is. Most people are nice to her - the occasional one who isn't because they can see her intellectual vulnerability tends to get the full wrath of others down upon their heads - I feel an utter shit for finding her incredibly hard work because she might as well be from a different planet to me.

The fault isn't that I am intrinsically a bad person. It's not because my mother was abusive - if anything, the contrast makes me like MIL even more and I feel guilty about the inward sigh at the prospect of having to spend more than about 40 minutes with her (I'll generally make excuses so that she can spend more time with her son without my getting in the way, but at times there is no reasonable excuse and I just have to accept it for her benefit and that of her son).

The fault is that my brain does not occupy the same space as hers. But FIL (they separated twenty years ago because he couldn't face another 40 years of not being able to have any sort of conversation), he's easy to talk to, easy to get him onto a new subject he wants to talk about, easy to leap to and fro and drop in new things - even since he's had two strokes and early onset Parkinsons has taken a lot of his words, you can still see the spark, the work his brain is doing to make the connections and find at least related words. So it is me. Not my personality, not because I think I'm better than MIL - I know that I'm intellectually very, very different, but I'm also six inches taller than her, which I also cannot change - but because of an integral part of me.

Bloody wish I could switch it off occasionally, though. I'd love to have her ability to decide 'I'm going to going to sleep now' and not have another five hours of random thoughts, connections and ideas all going on at once. Because whilst it feels really good when everything's going well, it's damn tiring at times.

Well, it certainly wasn't very intelligent of your FIL to marry a woman who is less intellectually stimulating to talk to than a 4-year-old, was it?

But then, I imagine he didn't mind that so much when she was young, attractive, and raising his children Confused Gross.

Pineneedlesincarpet · 22/02/2026 19:09

SerendipityJane · 22/02/2026 18:06

"Not that kind of intelligent"

Ok so what kind of intelligence does the OP suffer from because thus far it's tricky to tell.

Uricon2 · 22/02/2026 19:12

scottishgirl69 · 22/02/2026 18:50

My grandpa was an electrical engineer and did badly in school due to nerves but did a lot of home education courses after he left school - he was very clever

My gran had to leave school at 15 which was normal in those days to work and help support her family but she was a grade 8 pianist and very well read

My Dad passed 11 plus in the 50s but his family couldn't afford the kit to send him to grammar school. He was apprenticed, ended up (an electrical engineer) as Works Engineer at a big firm, supervising people with PhDs.

I salute him and your grandpa, they did it the hard way.

winnieanddaisy · 22/02/2026 19:21

My IQ was measured at 142. I didn’t do very well at school , partly because I didn’t know that I was especially clever and mostly because I I have a terrible memory and found studying subjects very difficult because it went in one ear and out the other .
I did pass the 11 plus and went to a top girls grammar school in the 1960s . I trained as a hairdresser when I was 16/18 . Married at 19 and had 3 children by the time I was 22.
I did an entrance exam to nursing when I was 35 and this is what showed my IQ . So in my mind it is pointless having a high IQ with a really poor memory.
My 2 brothers have similar IQ to me .

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 19:24

winnieanddaisy · 22/02/2026 19:21

My IQ was measured at 142. I didn’t do very well at school , partly because I didn’t know that I was especially clever and mostly because I I have a terrible memory and found studying subjects very difficult because it went in one ear and out the other .
I did pass the 11 plus and went to a top girls grammar school in the 1960s . I trained as a hairdresser when I was 16/18 . Married at 19 and had 3 children by the time I was 22.
I did an entrance exam to nursing when I was 35 and this is what showed my IQ . So in my mind it is pointless having a high IQ with a really poor memory.
My 2 brothers have similar IQ to me .

Sounds like you were probably let down by the school system failing to recognise your ability.

CraverSpud · 22/02/2026 19:26

I am generalising but why do the really intelligent people seem totally socially inept & unable to form normal relationships, have few friends and end up the sort of person you dread sitting next to on the bus?

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 22/02/2026 19:27

CraverSpud · 22/02/2026 19:26

I am generalising but why do the really intelligent people seem totally socially inept & unable to form normal relationships, have few friends and end up the sort of person you dread sitting next to on the bus?

You are generalising.

And they aren't.