Living for knowledge and intelligence

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This is something I never talk about with anybody, but I figured that if there's anyone I can talk to, it's probably on here.

Through my life I've wanted to be a lot of things. Mostly these things were related to things I saw other people do: a ballerina, a singer, a movie star, a teacher, a model (Lord knows that was a ridiculous idea), a stay-at-home-mom, a cop, a fire fighter, a radio host, a wood worker, a writer, etc. Or mostly, I just wanted to be the people I know where those things. But then I figured I was never going to be like them.

In the past few years I've gotten so sick of the idea of never being 'normal', that I have completely focused on knowledge and intelligence. This does relate to the fact that my IQ of 151 helped me explore my intelligence. I stopped caring about social life (except for when I need to engage in it) or random topics that other people seem to love. I wake up and go to bed with books, expanding my memory and learning as much as I can about anything available.

I accept myself for who I am (which, aside from not engaging in the social thing, entails embracing my mild germophobia and tendency to constantly think about science, God, the universe and religion, amongst others) and am not ashamed of it - because nobody needs to know. Despite my effort to keep private, people do occasionally find out about it, and they don't understand one bit of it. They call me crazy (for studying excessively for exams, or not shake just anyone's hand).

It is almost as if I'm ashamed to express my knowledge of things or intelligence to others. This is contributed to by the fact that whenever the conversational topic of IQ comes up, people first address with the importance of the number (which I don't, necessarily), and then change opinions when I tell them what my IQ is. Or even what my GPA is.

My question is: have you in some way or another come to terms with your autism and embraced your own spirit, and then realized you might just have progressed your own Asperger's and had people disconnect from you (even more)?

I am VERY curious as to what you guys have to share about this!

151? O_O

It's not too uncommon on the spectrum. Lord knows we have weird brains! 50s and 150s seem as common as 100s for us. But what matters isn't your IQ; it's where your strengths are. Your overall IQ doesn't contain that much information; people with identical IQs could have totally different strengths. If you've studied IQ testing, you know that the overall number is more like a rough estimate.

You know how they list the yearly precipitation total in an area, and all you get is inches of water; and it doesn't tell you whether they get monsoons or snowstorms or whether they're a hot desert or in the tundra? You get total precipitation, but nothing about what said precipitation actually is. It's like that. The general IQ is so rough it's nearly useless (except for getting bored kids into gifted programs). You need specifics to do anything with it. Especially if you're autistic, because autistics are a lot more prone to scattered skill profiles than NTs.

What I'm seeing is you've got a strength in academics--learning. Have you considered going into research? That is what I'm going to do, if I can help it; and it is a very good career, because they basically pay you to learn things. There's not too much that beats that, especially for the logical autodidact types.

Last edited by Callista on 07 Feb 2010, 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I know. I'm somewhere in the 130s. I was just surprised because 151 is well into the genius level. I've done a good deal of reading into IQ, and I know plenty about it.

Anyway, you're a brilliant individual. If you're happy where you are, with your books and philosophy, stay there. I have to agree with Callista as well. Consider going into researching. By the way, how old are you?

O boy, the last thing I wanted was to sound like I want my IQ number tattooed on my forehead, because I absolutely don't. Though, when I found out about it, it made me realize that I might not be as stupid as I thought I was (I was different than others, so therefore I must be dumb). It helped me discover that I could explore my talents. It was sort of like it was saying: "Here, this is an indication. Go out there and see how far along you can really come!"

As far as research - that is what I am focusing on. Once I dipped my toe in the research pool I was completely sold. Even though I'm only starting out with my academic life, I do focus a lot on researching things in and outside of class. My objective in my studies is not 'How high a grade can I get?' or 'What classes do I like?', but rather 'What questions do I have and what can I do in and outside of university to answer them?'. God knows people hate it when I say this, but indeed: I don't feel like I could be any use in a commercial work environment, so therefore I want to get paid to learn things. I don't see any other option for me after university life. And I don't want to end it, I'd like to teach there.

Callista, may I ask what you field of research you are in?

The more I've been myself, and the more I've explored my studies and my interests, the better I seem to get on with others. I'm happy in myself, and I have some confidence, and so I think it's easier for others to "handle" me in all my eccentricity.

Wow, this is truly wonderful for you! I hope I can find ways to have more confidence with others, and show them that I am not crazy, just - indeed - eccentric.

I'm still in school. My major is biomedical engineering, but last summer I got an internship doing toxicology research. I was absolutely fascinated. I think I'd like to develop new assistive technology for a living, especially customized stuff. A new problem to solve with every design? Yes, please!

i tend to get lost in my obssessions and have always leant towards academia since i find so many aspects of life fascinating especially the mind god and the universe etc all i really want to do is to see how much potential i really have so what your feeling isnt odd at all consider it an evolution of self and theres worse things you can do than strive for knowledge

After I was diagnosed with AS I began to learn as much as I could. I was never much of a smart child. I had reading and comprehension difficulties. Then I got glasses which helped with the strain, then the more I read the more I started to understand it. It took about 5 times reading the same paragraph for it all to sink in. At times I do forget what I've read but I remember the gist of it and if I want to go into more detail I can read that part of the book again.
I didn't know enough general knowledge so I bought fact books and read I bit of it a day, so now I know some really random things. Then I looked up certain moments in history and watched documentaries, so now I feel like I am catching up.
I have to thank my IQ test because it had a few general knowledge questions I had no idea about. One was a question on Marie Curie, who, at the time of the IQ test I had no idea, but now I know enough to write an essay on her. I came across information on her purely by chance.

neves,

I know EXACTLY where you are coming from. JOIN THE CLUB! Sometimes, it just drives me nuts how organizations that once had a reputation, that MIGHT have once had merit, have squandered it to such a degree that any claim of intelligence is LAUGHABLE! Just look at the Nobel society, for example! Nobel would be turning in his grave! Yet some STILL claim that it has some prestige. Did you know that their voting method is such that each ridiculous "winner" further degrades the value of the prize(outside of the actual money prize).

And some such people still have the audacity to belittle someone for making simple, harmless, cheap mistakes (like saying potato has an e on it), or merely not follow their propaganda. Interestingly, if someone says something REALLY funny, like talks for a couple minutes about how the US has 60 states(57+3) (we only have FIFTY(48+2)) or claims CO2 is super bad, and generates more CO2 in 6 months than the average person may do in DECADES(That may be a REAL understatement!), they are still lauded for being "highly intelligent", only because they are a member of the group. BOTH examples are REAL! One probably became world famous. The other is one that even SNOPES finds it hard to justify. They claim it is because of being tired and/or getting the country wrong, though the country theory conflicts with another claim they made, and the tired deal doesn't fly in my books(pun not intended), Besides, they didn't give their opponents such a benefit of the doubt.

Although the polltics of this drives me just as nots, I figured this would be a good example of the problem. One truly has to wonder where this planet will be in 100 years. Will the human race even still be around?

Anyway, continue improving your situation, and don't listen to the silly perceptions of others about your abilities.

I haven't "embraced my spirit". However with accepting my AS I haven't connected or disconnected with anymore people than before I came to terms with my diagnosis. I like to keep a lot of my thoughts to myself as well but when people do discover what I'm thinking about, like what happens with you they don't understand. They don't understand why anyone would think of those things voluntarily. This has nothing to do with my IQ though. As far as I'm concerned, it's a different thing altogether.

Interesting topic Neves.

IQ tests mean very little to me. It is simply a metric used to infer a processing speed. I would imagine that if you were sick and took the IQ test it would be thirty points off. It is not a static or consistent number.

The integrity and intent of an individual is what I focus on. I see the genius in everything, even the learning disabled people I work with. Everyone has a comfortable niche and a story to tell.

Emergent Behavior is a splendorous thing, no?

Supposedly my IQ is 153. That is what I have been told. You know what? If I was so smart then why do I end up in these situations? I should be 'rolling fat' or whatever these whippersnappers call it these days.

I should be prosperous but I am not. Intelligence is not everything. At times I forgo my intelligence to let the creativity run free.
RUN CREATIVE JUICES, RUN!! ! Sop the floors so that we may have to clean it up with a mop and bucket.
o_0

anywho, Academia is my bag too. I eat nonfiction. I like that you eat nonfiction too. Give us some fiber-laden nonfictional porridge so that we are able to have great thoughts.


OOOOoookaaaaye...... goodbye.

I have experienced jealousy from others and some flat out deny I have any intelligence at all. The idea that I might be able to out think them tends to eat them up inside. I never understood this. It's not universal. Some people can out think others and earn their respect and admiration at the same time while I muster their disgruntled disgust more often than not because I am not 'supposed ' to be that smart. I mean, I don't look that intelligent. It is a serious descrepancy that hinders me in every aspect of my life.
What is it about IQ that brings out the worst in others? Should people who profess to have such stately IQs be so backwards, narrow minded and petty? What is the true mark of intelligence, anyway?

Our society looks down on intellectualism. Partly this is because of the (justified) stereotype of intellectualism as making a person an elitist twit. It is also because of American society's religiousness, in the minds of Evangelicals intellectuals are agents of Satan and "Godless Communism". if you don't have "practical" skills you are insulted, demeaned, and called a lazy slacker with no work ethic. If you disdain conventional conceptions of success you are labeled a hippie or a communist.

I haven't had a formal IQ test done but have done one from a website that is rather good, on that one I got around 130 or 131, which on the standardised bell curve was part of the outside 10%, I assume to mean that my score was in the 95th percentile or such.

Thing is I am terrible at remembering numbers and formulas. I am excellent at problem solving and also excellent at the rules of written English. Funny that I am also terrible at conveying my thoughts onto paper!

I have a tremendous thirst for knowledge however. Of course I am bad at exact numbers and equations and the like but the amount of general and extremely obscure knowledge/facts I know is large. My intellectual interests are general astronomy, psychology and how the mind works, some maths (infinity for example), also biology but that was mostly when I was younger. However I learnt sarcasm and now use that as a crutch for social interaction. I guess that means I probably come across as a bit silly. Though sometimes I will explain something or say something really obscure such that people are WTF'ing and wondering how I knew that.

I guess because I present myself badly (using sarcasm in all situations) and are not so good at communicating myself I don't come across as smart as I am. I use the sarcasm and humour as a mask to hide my real geeky interests and social ineptitude.

By the way wikipedia is evil, whenever I look something up I invariably follow some links and end up spending our just reading. A couple days ago I went from looking up an anime to reading about the peer system in England

Intelligence tests are more tests to measure cognitive ability. Your ability to understand a problem and work through it, ability to recognise a problem and find a solution, ability to see information and infer different information from it. Genius can come in many forms- Tiger Woods is a good example of a golf genius. He isn't just good at golf, he knows the course layouts, the effect of wind on different shots, how ground slope affects the ball, what each club is suited best for. If you really got him talking I bet he could talk about golf for hours. Doesn't mean he is a genius on IQ tests. IQ tests are useless for social ability, management ability, physical ability, etc.