Making use of a high IQ

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I do realise I'm much better off than many people in the world and I do my best to speak up for the less fortunate and contribute what I can, financially and by supporting campaigns aimed at easing inequality. I'm certainly not under any illusions that I'm not one of the better off people in the world. Also, you say I'm an exception, but I really don't think I'm as exceptional for a WP member as you're presuming.

Whoever said we weren't grateful for what we had anyway. WP is here for us to discuss the issues we've had (and share with other members) and to help one another. I'm speaking about the path my life took. I've never seen a doctor about anything spoken about in this thread, not even about being depressed, because any depression I've had has served a purpose, i.e. made me want to do something about my situation. I'm not a moper, going on about my rubbish life. It's not rubbish, it's actually pretty good, especially now that I have this chance to rethink my career. My life just didn't go the way everyone in my life anticipated and I think it's quite reasonable to speak about it here. Are we not supposed to speak about the ASD issues and how they may have affected our career paths and/or self-fulfillment? That's what this thread is about and that's what WP is for.

OP, your right, it only has so much relevance.

I think the only thing you can do is experiment. I found a book called 'Test Your Own Job Aptitude' that not only showed me what I'm good at (all too many career tests do that) but also pointed out what I'm bad at (something I urgently needed to be able to pinpoint but that 'self esteem generation' tests just wouldn't cover).

You'll know you have something the day you've done your homework, start taking classes, and get almost an athletic thrill from just how far you can take it in terms of taking to it like a fish in water and acing it.

My IQ is 200. Would you believe 170? Would you believe 150? How 'bout 120?

The problem I have is not really being motivated in any direction. I don't want to apply my IQ. Things get too boring too quickly.

Lol, sweet, I was worried for a moment there...

How, out of this entire topic, I picked that to comment on, I don't know.

You sure see a lot of negative things that don't even exist, don't you?

I hate when people consider seeking professional help for depression a personal weakness... Guys, depression can change the way you think and the chemical balance in your brain... You must be talking about minor depression, because you can't just think your way out of chronic depression. But otherwise, I think you have a good point.

Sorry to be off-topic. I just feel strongly about this.

Yeah... If your depression makes you more motivated and better able to solve problems, it's not clinical depression. We don't call any old negative emotion "depression". People naturally feel bad, sad, frustrated, and it needn't be depression. Depression is when your brain literally doesn't function as well as it usually does. It leads to restless, useless movement, or disconnected, tired, dull feelings; it keeps you from planning and thinking as well as you should be able to.

I maintain that it's impossible to have an "intelligent" discussion concerning "intelligence."

People's egos get in the way. "Intelligence" is an emotionally-loaded term.

Anyway, if I do some light googling on "success" and "IQ," I find that there are several studies that seem to suggest that while "high IQ" can be important, things such as motivation, emotional intelligence, social skills, and socio-economic background can all have significant impacts on how "successful" a person can be (however it is you define "success"). And that's to say nothing of all the things that can actively obstruct the advantages of a high IQ, such as attention problems, learning disabilities, substance addiction, a bad childhood, physical/emotional trauma, ect.

Oh, and I recall reading that when you control for academic achievement, you find people with average IQs and advanced degrees enjoy the same level of "success" that people with high IQs enjoy, which would seem to suggest that academic achievement is a bigger predictor of "success" than just "high IQ" by itself.

But IQ is a big, shiny number. People cling to it because it's a simple way to compare themselves with others.

I can relate, well except for peoples thinking I'm stupid part, peoples tend to overestimate my intelligence.

But yeah, I'm neither gifted, or stupid, or average, only "bright". I fell like I'm right into the frontier between giftedness and average, and pretty alone in it.

I agree.

However, I would hope if it were possible to have such a conversation in an intelligent and mature matter, that it would able to happen here of all places.

I wish mine had never been tested for a multitude of reasons, some of which you have just encapsulated. However, it already has been tested multiple times (not of my own choice), but I refuse to speak of what my score was (category is fine, but not the number itself), because I fear it would only be taken the wrong way or used against me. (not to mention I don't put too much stock in it)

I am over the cerebral pissing contest that comes with it when such a subject is brought up, often by those who have NFI of what they are talking about. I think it ridiculous that people assume IQ can express the essential features of something as complex as intelligence so succinctly and easily using a 3 digit number.

Don't know what the experience has been for other folks here, but I grew up with my folks telling me I was stupid. It was a constant message and one that I accepted as true and valid. After finding out my high IQ test result before graduating from high school, I continued to believe into my adulthood that I was stupid.

Later, when other people, including co-workers, would say things like, You know, not everybody is as smart as you, I'd go, What?!

(I guess that's an exhibition of Theory of Mind? Not realizing that folks have different intelligence levels?)

Anyway it's only been the last few years that I've come to believe that I am actually pretty smart. Still for sure I know that there are plenty of other people who are way smarter and more talented than me as well as folks who don't test high and yet enjoy wonderful careers and happy family lives. I don't begrudge any of them. Just wish I could be more like them in terms of career and family happiness.

If our genes determine our Aspie-ness, then I hope with the intelligence that I have to one day be able to cope better as a self-sufficient, thinking and sentient human being (who just also happens to be a little different than most other people).

I am quite confident in my assumptions.

Fine then, give me the statistics to back up your claim.

You are very wise.

you got me