What's it like to be naturally clever?

[peopleaskweirdstuff]

I know this is daft but I often wonder what it must be like to be really intelligent, you know like just very knowledgeable and very capable of just doing well in exams without really needing to put the effort in.

I'm trying to resit my exams that I should have passed when I was much younger and I'm
Finding it really hard yet some people hardly need to study and just 'get it' must be amazing to just no you are clever

I'm not sure why some posts on this thread are perpetuating the myth that you are either pretty or intelligent.

I was lucky enough to be both in my late teens and twenties. Admittedly some people underestimated my intelligence because I liked to be pretty and glamorous, but I saw that as their problem not mine (and v useful when negotiating deals at work).

I've lost my looks now really thanks to heavy steroids that have bloated by face, and a neuromuscular condition that has mishapen it, but I don't really mind. I would hate far more to lose my mental faculties.

I had no idea people could go for a walk and think about nothing/what to cook for dinner! I think about all sorts, philosophy, politics, economics, art, music, nature...

In one way being intelligent made school a breeze ,but on the other hand I was frequently bored, and also never really had to learn to try at anything. Driving lessons were a revelation. I found driving so hard and gave up several times. Then had my son and realised I needed to drive and so persevered and it was such a shock to realise you can find a skill hard but still master it with practice.

I have found it very alienating at times. My first husband wasn't bright and I didn't notice it to begin with as I was mixing with very bright people at work. But once I went on maternity leave I remember this desperate thirst for intelligent conversation. And just mixing with his friends and family, I didn't think less of them for not being bright, they were lovely normal people, but I knew I was always holding some of myself back in conversation.

its great!

Honestly, don't know! I have done OK as have my DC and DH.

DS2 though is naturally vey clever, so you might have to ask him. Doesn't do a great deal of work, but is in top sets all round. He is 13 and it will be great to see what he makes of his intellect, or doesn't!

Predicted 9's across the board for GCSE, a real wonder to me who scraped 4 o'levels!

I have always found academic work really easy. People in work often comment that I am intelligent. I think it's because I like maths/problems and I use data to back up comments or guide solutions.

I did a mensa test when I was young and scored very highly In the top 1%. The test was logical patterns etc so I must be good at this.

I can also fix things ie. take the hoover/tumble dryer/car apart to fix it.

However, people have strengths in different ways. Dh has amazing people skills. I have an appalling memory and need a satnav to drive to the local shop. I can pick new skills up easily (especially mathmatical/digital concepts) but am not particularly well read. I'm quite lazy. I have an above average earning job but am not career or financially driven. I would happily live in a cabin in the woods!

Seems like quite a few of us here describe ourselves as lazy and/or have struggled to drive. Interesting!

Oh that sounds like me. I used to be shockingly bright, everything was simple and clear, tbh from early childhood. Exams, languages, problem solving, all a breeze. Now I'm in my 50s and over the last 3 years my memory is next to useless, I am losing my words and my children think I'm an idiot. My colleagues think I'm clever but I think it's more reputation than current achievements. Being clever was something I took for granted, but it didn't make me happy or rich. It made me impatient and anxious as I was constantly over thinking and seeing negative potential outcomes. I would prefer to be healthier, fitter and calmer. And more easily pleased.

@FrugalOddball i am sorry you experience this but I am inordinately pleased to know there's someone out there whose brain is just like mine.
I had someone hypnotise me a a few years ago re sleep; it's helped enormously. Not cured but gave me some months of good sleep and when needed I can recall the mental pathway he set up. Otherwise antihistamines (8 hours then a groggy hangover feeling for 4 hours) or diazepam (4 hours then clear) do the trick. Also I did a course on mindfulness and some of the exercises from that can help me go to sleep.

A key thing about hyperfocus is that while you are hyperfocusing, you lose all sense of time. An hour could go by, or a day, and it all feels the same - it’s like going through the back of the wardrobe into Narnia. Not very helpful when you have a deadline. For those of us who can only get stuff done by hyperfocusing, it’s a real problem.

As one of those who found school work relatively easy, I still had problems timing my exam essays. I remember struggling to follow the initial plans I made because my brain would get bored with the plan and insist on thinking in another direction entirely.

Even at university I wrestled with lines of thought that reached dead ends, arguments that looped in on previous paragraphs and ended up in a knot, and worst of all the dull clichéd intros that told me I needed to be writing something else entirely. I had a reputation for being good at English, but TBH essays never have come easily to me, especially not under pressure.

I'm not sure that all clever people hyperfocus, they may well not need to. My brain doesn't shut up tbh. I'm always thinking about multiple things, some boring stuff, life for the next 5 yrs for me and kids, politics, philosophy, planning lessons. But I can't do housework or keep anything tidy. My brain is sort of tidy.

It’s hard to know because it’s the only perspective I’ve had in life. I was academically a good all-rounder. I was also pretty, sociable and good at practical stuff. I’ve had a great career, and found a partner who is good looking and clever. We have our own business and it has been successful.

Like one of the previous posters, it does allow you to think clearly about what you know and what you don’t. I have no insecurity about saying “I don’t know, but I can consult an expert in that.” I’d say that that being considered “intelligent” has probably given me confidence, and that has radiated out in lots of different ways; confidence itself is attractive, so it becomes self-perpetuating.