i'm stupid, but i'm smart???

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a friend in class told me today that i'm stupid, but i'm smart. she compared my mental ability to that of einstine(WOW)but commented that i have no common sense what so ever, and others agreed. then they wanted to know my I.Q.(147 as of 3rd-145 to 148, somewhere around there-)and said that proves her point. can someone explain this theory of hers to me?i dont get it, and when i told her she said"exactly". i am at a loss.SEPRATE QUESTION COMMING UP- also, i heard aspies exel at math and science. i am very good at science, but i am struggling to maintain a low C(72.67)in geometry. dose that mean i cant be an aspie? thank you in atvance for your replys-the furry black one who meows(blackcat)

im high iq, low common sense, im ok at maths, ok at science, but very good with history, english etc (verbal) and computers and logic.

I WISH it was always better! NOPE, you probably aren't too unusual there. They actually DID split up IQs to allow for this. Ever see Rainman? He would have scored high in ONE area(ironically the one you probably wouldn't), but abysmally in all the others. OBVIOUSLY, nobody here is THAT bad off. Still, most people here probably don't test high in even all of the metal areas. That statement is kind of supported by OTHERS here saying the same as you. BTW I was in that group also.

Still, stupid is too strong a statement. Let's say NORMAL! As for geometry, I FLUNKED my first couple tests because I didn't "prove" all my work. Even THERE, the teacher ADMITTED I knew it. Once I started proving it, I got As! In fact, for the final, AFTER I was done, the teacher called me to his desk, and pointed to the back of the room! I dove in, did it, and got it all right! Everyone else at one point found they could see the answers on a test posted on a board in back! Everyone else was COPYING! One reason I am not crazy about tests and todays educational system.

BTW I got an A in that class. And REMEMBER, things that YOU find obvious may still have to be proved.

BTW there ARE different kinds of common sense, and it is becomming less and less common. DON'T be discouraged!

BTW the AS guidelines tak about increased verbal communication, and often a higher general IQ, I didn't see any real requirement for increased intelligence elsewhere.

Steve

Steve,who always answers my many questions and for that is awesome- i cannot grasp the consept of proving it. i just cant.but you didnt really answer my 1st question. how does that WORK? stupid, but smart? is she saying i'm dumb or smart? should i thake it as a compliment or an insult?

I'm an NT parent of two aspie boys, one is 20 years old, the other is 10.

Common sense is a very different, separate characteristic from IQ. Many brilliant people (high IQ) do not have common sense. And variations of academic ability, as you've pointed out with your above average abilities with science, but below average abilities in geometry, are just another distinction that makes you different from other people just as a neurotypical person will have different academic areas where they excel or do not excel.

Just because you do not excel at geometry does not mean you are not the atypical "aspie." But your above average intelligence and your lack of common sense IS very characteristic of Aspergers. Yes, many Aspergers people excel at maths, but as I've read many many posts on this forum, I've learned that just as many people with aspergers excel at writing and English, which is supposedly something most Aspies DON'T excel at! My oldest son is very adept at writing, and is OK at math. My youngest son is great at science, but is struggling with math. Not doing well at math has SO MUCH to do with how well you are being taught. If you have a lousy math teacher, you may very well struggle with Geometry.

The common sense thing is so prevalent with Aspergers people. I constantly marvel at my youngest son's lack of ability in this area. And yet, he is so hyper-creative and has such a wonderful, caring heart, who cares if he doesn't have common sense? As long as I can teach him over the years enough common sense to keep him safe, I'm not too concerned about the rest. I think you can learn common sense through many years of practice, if you want to learn.

Your friend is probably giving you a very backhanded compliment. Us NT's marvel at how people who are so lacking in common sense can be so unbelievably brilliant in other areas. We are basically in awe of Asperger skills. So to make us feel better, we also marvel at your lack of common sense.

Yeah its because of the differences in the ways we think that we seem very smart but lacking in common sense as well.

What they call common sense most often refers to the things they understand intuitively but arent as instinctual for people with ASDs. Its the simple stuff like how to act around other people or answering vague questions that mess us up.

For example I clearly remember in 3rd grade math my teacher kept me after class to test my capacity so she gave me some various high school level problems to do. After answering the first one (I think it was a simple algebra formula) she pointed at the paper and said "How did you do that?" and all I could respond with was "Huh?" "Why didnt you do the work?" "Work? What work? What does work have to do with math?" 15 minutes later I finally understood she wanted me to write down step by step how I came to the answer rather than simply writing down the answer after doing it all mentally.

blackcat,

I thought I had!

Common sense is NOT all that common. BTW I should say it is kind of developed also. You ARE young yet. In most aspects, you probably DO have common sense. Some autistic behaviour, like what you exhibit may be something contrary to what they consider good sense. You never said WHAT the problem was.

But a persons brain is almost like a network, and gives preference to some parts that are dedicated to it. ALSO, apparantly people have a desire, ability to adapt, basic personality, and that is pretty much it. You have to kind of fill in the blanks. That means that even adding 2 and 2 takes some initial learning. AS peoples brains are apparantly constructed a bit differently. So you are likely to be smarter in some areas, and others may take a little bit more work.

BTW I think I have pretty good common sense. It is DEFINITELY better than when I was 10-15. I DON'T(OK, DIDN'T until a year or two ago. Even now, i often don't zip it) tend to wear a jacket when it is cold, and there are some other things too. One jerk called me STUPID for that! it is considered to be common sense to do some things I never did before. WHY? I wasn't cold, there was no danger, and I just didn't want to get used to it. Who knows, maybe you have done similar things. Maybe you could let us know WHY they said you were "stupid".

Steve

'Common sense' is subjective. It's 'commonplace' information acquired through interaction with the regular world around us.

To people living out in third world agricultural countries, most of us would probably be seen as 'ret*d' in 'common sense' because we have very limited knowledge about the things they need to know just to get by.
The reverse is true as well.

At worst, the most accurate word I could think of to use in this situation would be 'ignorant'. Stupid implies an inability to learn. 'Ignorant' just means one hasn't learned it yet. Considering no person knows everything, I don't see 'ignorant' as a major insult <_<

"Common sense" can be about practical knowledge, e.g. how to fix something if it goes wrong, or finding the easiest way to do something. It can also be taken to mean understanding social shortcuts such as double entendres and sarcasm, a general ability to be realistic and straightforward, or a realistic acceptance of flaws.

Common sense question:
Q. What is the easiest way for you to work out a mathematical equation?
A. Ask somebody else to do it.

The opposite to this is the "boffin" who has a wealth of conceptual information in his or her head but is useless in articulating it. Boffins are very clever but socially inept. Many AS people are assumed to be boffins because they are very clever but not always very practical. A boffin would never give the right answer to the question above - they'd be too busy working out a technical answer relating to the equation in the question, thus demonstrating both insular thinking AND a tendency to look for complex answers when simple ones will do.

maybe more aspies lack common sense cause aspies supposedly get wrapped up in details more frequently... and lose sight as to what should obviously be right in front of their face.

Maybe the common sense bit is inability to see the big picture. I know I obsess on details and often miss what a person means or what a situation will result in. I don't have a sky-hi IQ--118 verbal; 88 performance. I think my verbal is higher, but I tested low, but have no doubt my performance is right. I stink at math--could never do it. I excel at English, reading, and creative writing. Aspie? Dunno. Maybe HFA or PDD-NOS. Spectrum? Definitely. Common sense? I think I have it, but I'm told I don't by NT's Common sense has nothing to do with IQ. Friend's son is a 29 year old Aspie with an IQ of 160 who can fluently speak three languages (unusual in the US). He can't hold a job, not even as a janitor. And he has been robbed at gunpoint twice for wandering into crimeridden neighborhoods late at night. He and his wife are living with his parents now as he can't work, and the wife is getting fed up with his "strangeness." My friend is worried she'll leave him. Even with his IQ, she doesn't believe he can live alone and not end up homeless. He has zilch common sense.

I think another reason many Aspies seem to lack common sense is because they have a hard time generalizing from one situation or event to another. They need specific rules for every situation, and can't instinctively see the similarities between situations. They also tend to interact in such a literal way, that they get tripped-up.

For example, most people of a certain age would understand that if I asked you to wipe the kitchen table, I would also expect you to rinse the sponge and put it away when you were done. NTs consider this common sense, but an Aspie would say, if you want me to do that, then tell me!

Later, if you had learned the sponge thing, and I asked you on another day to clean the windows with Windex and paper towels, most people would be able to figure out that I expected you to throw the used paper towels away. It sort of parallels the sponge thing, but it's a little different. The generalization is - take care of your cleaning implements. But to an Aspie, these might seem so different that they would have a hard time figuring it out.

Since most people don't know or understand Aspies, all they see is that you're brilliant about some things, but not so clever about the "common" things. It's okay - we're all different - some brains just work in really special (and sometimes very cool) ways!

Aspie94,

WHY did he go into the crime ridden neighboorhood, and did he KNOW it was a bad idea? I went to such a neigbborhood at least TWICE! Once to help a friend meet her friend in South Central LA, and once to actually break a CURFEW imposed by los angeles because a friend REALLY wanted to get pizza. They imposed the curfew because a lot of blacks decided to create trouble supposedly because of the rodney king verdict.

Was that a lack of common sense? Not really. I KNEW it was dumb. I went against it because of the situation. BTW the friend in south central asked us to leave, and wouldn't come out, because people earlier shot at her door. She showed us the bullet holes! Did I mention that my friend and I are BOTH white, and this was an area where perhaps EVERYONE is black?

As for the pizza, a couple policemen came in, but we didn't even get a warning!

BTW I KNEW how stupid this was, etc... For those that don't know about this, etc:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Oliver_Denny

Interestingly, this ties my two stories together! Reginald Denny was beaten up supposedly because of the trial, and it happened while he was going through south central.

BTW I am USUALLY very cautious. BOTH times I was out with NT friends. Go figure! OH YEAH, THEY asked for it, and I DID tell them of my concerns!

Steve

Rosacoke,

That is CRAZY! If someone did what you say, it is NOT an ASPIE thing! Besides, you would WANT to do it, even if not asked, to avoid getting other things dirty, and getting mold, etc...

You must have LOW opinions of Aspies! Frankly, I see a LOT of NT people doing things I don't think autistics would do, and the idea of handshakes don't even really make sense anymore.

Now if you are talking about a little kid, or someone you asked to do this that has no interest in it, etc... THAT is another story. I think MOST kids would do ONLY what you asked IF THAT!

As for the phone deal, there are a lot of possibilities there. I was once stopped by a guy in a VERY crude and rude way! He actually did this only about 2 weeks ago. If he had done this with a big guy with no self control, he could have been DECKED and left for dead on the street. He asked me if I was wearing a watch on my wrist. I said "NO", and was about to push him forcefully out of my way when he stepped aside. The TRUTH was I DID have the time, but that wasn't what he asked. Then again, if he asked me if I had the time, I probably would have just said YES! If he asked me for the time, I would have said I couldn't tell him. He ALREADY made me decide not to tell him when he stopped me in my tracks.

Steve

I was trying to give simple examples of what I'm talking about - sorry if they sounded insulting. I happen to love and admire some Aspies very much!! But what I have seen is that the Aspie learning process for everyday things is very different from that of NTs. It is not instinctive, and instructions have to be put into exact words without leaving anything out. I am not saying that as a criticism, but as an observation.

There is no single form of intelligence. Most people are intelligent in one way and frankly dumb in another. For aspies the effect seems to be more extreme, sometimes with a near-genius level in one area but something of a deficit in the other areas. NT's tend to be more rounded, and plus they pick up on stuff that most aspies don't, so to them it can be jarring.