If you consider only two human attributes such as wealth and IQ, you might derive a saying like, "If you are so smart, why aren't you rich". The question implies that the only barrier to wealth is intelligence. If you consider that rich people like Thomas Edison and Bill Gates were able to garner wealth not so much trough innovation but by harnessing the power of lawyers, then we see that other attributes exist that may not have received full attention.
In addition to ruthlessness, there are many thousands of attributes that contribute to each person's uniqueness. A person that has an ability towards articulation may be taken as more intelligent just because he is more easily able to express what he thinks. A person who is slower to express his thoughts may be taken as a dolt even though he may be more intelligent that the first person.
IQ is an interesting measure because it is a way to estimate how valuable a person may be in the employment slave market. If you are a slave employer, you may want additional information such as how productive the person can be (which is not always correlated to IQ).
If we were to breakdown IQ into component attributes such as perception, the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes has often been presented to us as an example of exceptional perception but at a cost of emotional instability.
Here the fictional world may cross the real world. Those who perceive more (or perceive faster) may find that the processing of those perceptions produce anxieties and uncertainties to such an extent that they can seem inhibitory.
Quote:
I find that if you talk in a formal way and/or use "big" (or uncommonly used) words, people tend to think you are "smart".
This is often true.
I have found that even if you do not use "big words", that the use of unfamiliar or difficult concepts will cause those to whom you speak to view you as someone to avoid. The choice then is to tailor speech to fit what is expected and acceptable or to continue and hope to encounter that rare individual that can appreciate what it is you have to say and may reciprocate with something interesting as well.
For the Aspie, the difficulty is compounded. In addition to the social "chill" one experiences as a result of IQ, there is the discomfort most others feel when someone gives deliberate thought to conversation (lack of spontaneity). The possession of detailed knowledge in a specific area often makes others feel uncomfortable. The lack of enthusiasm for the mundane or inconsequential is also considered a "buzz kill".
People have called me a "buzz kill" before because I called people out on their irrational beliefs. People want you to accept what they say without criticism, or you are a "buzz kill" to them.
I enjoy deep conversations, and I really think this is what gets me into "trouble". People often tell me to "shut up" while also demanding I listen to their very boring thoughts on topics like football.