Anyone feel they are not smart?

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I'm thinking, Ezra, that something sensory is interfering with your ability to learn school subjects "in real time."

However, I believe you do, indeed, soak up the material eventually. It might come out in "odd" ways, but it does come out.

How do you do in standardized tests? It's possible that you might do better in them than in classwork, because you've had time to absorb the material.

I type very slowly and have to make lots of corrections. It only looks good because I am obsessive about making it turn out right.

I don't do very good on most tests. Except writing.

I also wonder the same thing about myself.

At this point, I think being street smart is the only way to be truly smart. Everything else usually associated with intelligence is trivial in comparison and can be achieved with enough determination and self-discipline by people, like me, who would never survive in the wild, which would be the only truly fair competition.

I often underestimate myself, but I'm a learner at heart and I know it.

All I can say is I can make myself look and sound stupid, as much as I can make myself look and sound smart. I prefer the former because I don't do "Keeping up" with anything.

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I'm not as smart as a lot of people around me because I seem to struggle more than they do and it really frustrates me.

I've been losing my temper a lot lately because of it but it's a good thing that i work in an environment where its ok to lose your temper.

I have a penchant for memorizing useless trivia and a semi-decent command of the English language, which many people often mistake for intelligence, but truth be told, I feel like a f*****g idiot.

I'm overly negative, I have self-destructive habits, I'm lazy, I'm overly self-righteous, and I'm just not very good at thinking on my feet or paying attention to things. I also struggle with a whole host of things that other people my age seem to have no trouble with, such as basic math, passing job interviews, staying on task, doing artwork, completing large tasks... I don't know, I just feel dumb. I'm kinda talented in a few areas, but this belies my true strength, or rather my lack of.

What defines smart ?
your IQ / EQ / SI ?

Does academically excellence puts you above the rest? apparently not, there are a lot of leaders, politicians/lawyers/teachers with high IQ but low EQ which doesn't makes them successful, perhaps in career but not among their colleges, friends or family.

On the other hand, there are a lot of successful people with low IQ, special skill set, high EQ and SI. for example makeup artist, painter, graphic, models, dancers, actors...

Intelligence comes in many form, as for me I'm highly excel in visual and logic/pattern intelligence.

My IQ is around 120 - 130, my EQ is low and SI is non existent (still picking up)
I am not very educated and did not attend university
my strengths are
- long term memory (able to retrieve something u said very long ago, which frightens people)
- able to self teach
- visual thinker

my cons are
- bad short term memory (thats why I fail terribly in exams for memorising facts)
- poor speech skills (unable to articulate my thoughts into speech)
- poor people skills

I can get along in what selflessness and Ishi express above; while I too was tested at an IQ of 132, in terms of how I navigate through society, one wouldn’t necessarily say I'm all that intelligent.

I used to do very well in school, I was a grade A student. But I think my 'skill' was mostly based on my ability to retain information. I was good at putting lists and graphs into my head, like all the nation's capitals/flags, the geological timescale, the family tree of Greek gods, etc.
But in terms of creativity, originality, improvisation, and actually USING any of my knowledge for practical purposes, I was never that adept.
Eversince coming of age, I have been struggling with adult life. And even learning new things hasn't come as easily as I once thought it would have. I enjoy linguistics for example, and I've read many a grammar, but somehow it won't stick anymore, and I only gain a marginal understanding of any language.
Same with pretty much all other subjects.
I quite often feel unintelligent, even though sometimes people tell me 'You're so smart', which is a misinterpretation of my dropping bits of knowledge on my special interests. Often, I'm burned out by the first conversation with someone, and by the second I have a lot less to say.

I should add I did not attend university, and I'm usually working in a warehouse.

At least you're working somewhere.

I think it's a good idea to drop the idea of whether one is smart or not. Most of us are smart in some ways, dumb in others.

To the OP: it may be that certain strengths you have will match certain programs in a technical college. If you learn better through doing, or visually, or some other way, you may be able to acquire a trade or a tech certificate in something, which will help with finding a job. I suggest you register with your state's Voc Rehab, because often if they see an occupational area that might fit you, they will pay your whole tuition! As well as your transportation!

A person who is not "book smart" may be perfectly okay working as a hairdresser, or a floral designer, or something of that sort. It's worth looking into.

Indeed....without the people to build the buildings, the verbal geniuses of the world would be stuck outside in the cold.

I tend to view myself as stupid unless I've just had a good result with something I've been working meticulously on - at such times I wonder whether I'm some kind of genius.

There is a cliché which is extant: Everybody is a genius at SOMETHING.