I feel terrible

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Or there's always option "C": you're wrong.

Please don't take this poorly. Many of us have felt this way around your age, especially those of us who have very high IQs and had a rough childhood. The world will take you down a notch or two in time, but you'll fare better if you start thinking about practicing a little humility now. Easier said than done though.

Anyhow, to address your earlier musings in response to my post, what I think you need to find is an acceptable code of behavior which takes into account the nobility and integrity to which you are called, but also your humanity. These two sides of you need not be at odds with one another.

You are right that, in many issues, we must leave our feelings and natural inclinations aside if we're to rise above being mere animals.

You can do this with romantic love, if you like. We can look at the past and see that there have been many instances in which spouses who were not initially attracted to one another came over the years to love each other very deeply and very truly. But it is a very difficult road to travel in this day and age, in part because we experience virtually no social pressures to encourage us toward such an end.

Or, conversely, you can find somebody who really moves you, and you won't have to try so hard to try to create feelings that don't come naturally.

I'll reiterate what I said previously, you're basing a lot of lost thinking time on a picture. Just meet her and see what happens. I myself am not much into overweight women and I've never once considered dating one- or is that just because I've never met one that caught my attention? Humm...

Pretty much what I would have stated,
but in much less harsh terms. Look, if
your intelligence outshines all others
by so very much, please give us some
proof. Any great theorems out of you
recently? Compositions which have won
acclaim? Or have you figured out how
the market works, and are currently
generating money as quickly as these
poor simpletons?

Because, you know, there ARE people
who do these things. Yes, even at your
age.

There is also option D.

But that's a secret!

I'm only left with what I can see and hear, which is the fact that the first thing everyone compliments me on is my intelligence, numerous people have commented that I'm the most intelligent person they've ever met, I've been able to skate through school without trying(for whatever that's worth, which is probably nothing), and my IQ(another faulty system, but not entirely without merit) is around 160. I was in the IB program, which is purported to be one of the most difficult schooling programs in the world, and I was frequently smarter than the teachers in my key subject areas(primarily history). I'm not here to stroke my own ego or tell everyone how brilliant I am. I am confident that I am one of the smarter people on the face of the earth, most probably in the 98-99th percentile. I'm not going to claim that I am a savant or a genius, because I am not the former and don't yet feel qualified to call myself the latter, as I have much to learn. Of course, there is always the other choice that I am just smarter than others. Calandale, you must realize that, despite the fact that there are some people my age coming out with theories and creating nuclear fission, I prefaced my statement with the phrase, "almost entirely." There are some people smarter than I(probably quite a few), and there are a hell of a lot more with greater ambition and will power to achieve some grand scheme, such as the ones you listed. I am not one of those people, nor do I claim to be. You fail to realize that all I really have in this world is my intelligence. I had a crappy childhood; I'm not capable of any serious athletics; I'm neither personable, funny, nor artistic. I've been dealt a low hand as far as skill sets go, and I believe I can be forgiven for believing that I'm smart as f**k, because it appears to be all I have. I will deal with humility and such when I am shown that there are a significant portion of people smarter than I.

Postscript-By no means is this a comment on the forums at large, as most people here are intelligent, and there are several more intelligent than I.

re Intelligence and Ignorance. I wonder if we're talking semantics here. Are we assuming the values attached to these words? For me, when I think of my intelligence I'm thinking of "that which makes me a misfit." - not superiority at all. It makes me out of step with others. When my Bro married a nice average woman, I learned to imitate her speech patterns and even topics - my life was a lot easier after that. I hide my intelligence. It can be useful, that's all.

As for ignorance, what's a good word for the opposite? Unknowingness? Non-realizing? Perhaps it's not meant as a put-down.

I hope that at WP, where lots of us have intelligence "problems", we could learn to talk about it without people think it's bragging.

True. It's also worth noting that in a post labeled, "I feel terrible," it's rarely an invitation to start pouring on criticism, calandale. I wasn't particularly offended, but I do find it interesting that you make a point of coming into posts of the younger people and try to take them down a peg or two. I've seen you do it before, primarily in this forum, but in others as well. So I suppose, if we're going to have a mini-interrogation here, I'd like to ask why exactly it is that you do this, and, as a more general question, why is it that the older types always feel a need to complain about the younger people not being mature enough when maturity is, in and of itself, a process which one cannot really do a whole lot about? People who are still stuck in what is usually seen as a stereotypical teenage mindset, or some autistic variation thereof, cannot really do anything about it, yet adults seem inclined to comment on the immaturity, irrationality, and various other problems caused by the quickly changing brain chemistry. Do you have some deep seated distrust of the younger people, or a desire to bring everyone to a firm sense of rationality and reason in order to make your own reality seem more populated, calandale? I usually wouldn't prod here, seeing as you are a moderator and a solid member of WP, but you seem to make an odd habit of doing this, and I fail to see why.

Ok, OK, stop stressing out.

Here is another thought: Some people are not very photogenic. Also, some people, although heavy, have attractive mannerisms, pleasant voices, fantastic personalities, beautiful eyes/smiles. Is there anything physically attractive about her? Maybe focus on that.

Also, the more time you spend with someone in person, the more you get used to them. Even better, the more beautiful qualities you begin to see. And even better, the more attractive that person becomes.

I dated a guy who I was not at all attracted to in the beginning of our relationship. As time went on, I became attracted to him. I even spent time admiring the shape of his eyes on mornings when I woke up before him.

Maybe try spending more time in person & take it from there.

PS- I hope you didn't get mad at my poem on page 2 ; I just wanted to make you laugh.

Valid point, although it's difficult to say anything at this point. I'm thinking that I will just stay with her unless something better comes along. Times like these I wish had morality or any attention span, but I don't. Luckily, I doubt something better will come along, seeing as I'm neither attractive nor particularly nice.

I used to think very similarly as you Subatai, though I imagine I am more social than you and I don't know if I'm "better" or "worse" looking than you. Some people think I'm rather arrogant, but I try to be personable most of the time. The single thing that women comment on me is that they think I'm very smart and very confident, but not overboard! Overboard with nothing to back up your claims but some wack IQ tests doesn't mean much. It's true I'm a chess master and most of the masters in town like to few ocassions when I hit the chess club instead of the bars, but you will find nothing but lost games online if you search my name. So what does that mean? I don't know just what it means.
What made ME smarten up though was trying to get these 4 papers published in some of the world's leading biology journals. I think they belong in the journals I submit to, my professors do too, but the peer-reviewers, as of yet (one to be re-submitted this week- keep our fingers crossed to soon see the great Ben in print...), have markedly NOT thought my papers were written well-enough. So I keep working at it.
I know that my IQ is somewhere between 140-150, probably, and higher on some tests. But mathematical biologists don't care one whit about that, they want results. Results are what make you confident. I know many people who did the IB programs and are now attending state universities and/or basically doing nothing with their academic time. The fact that you passed the bacc. is impressive, but more impressive still would be if you were, say, attending Harvey Mudd on full scholarship or Cooper Union for example.
I think, you should meet the girl, see what happens, and in the meant time focus on learning as much as you can about the way the world actually works, not the way we'd LIKE it to work. In my biological theories, the world works in a for more exciting way than other game theorists and such currently believe, but till I'm published, it's all talk, kid, all brilliant talk...

SB - I think that I understand where you are
coming from. It's simply a matter that you're
not seeking out the right people. I think, as I
mentioned, that you aren't really ready for a
relationship, until you do meet people whose
intellect you really do respect. It puts things
into perspective.

Look into some activities which might broaden
your horizons. If you are near a university,
attend colloquia. Sometimes they draw a
higher caliber than the school itself has.

I was blessed with knowing people more
intelligent than I (though I was never
absolutely certain of it) from high school
onward.

Oh, and don't worry. You get stupider with
age. It only gets easier.

IQ simply provides a baseline. Your social intelligence isn't going to be as high. Tbh you may be of a higher IQ but that doesn't necessarily make you more knowledgeable. I agree you need to be intellectually compatible. Intellectually compatible != same IQ.

Oh yeh

I've met people as smart, and a couple smarter than, me. It's just that there aren't many of them. Also, the nearest college is USF, and before that, it was UCF. Gainsville is a while away(no less than an hour, I believe). USF is a terrible school. I know that there are people smarter than I am, and I talk to a couple of them frequently. You fail to understand my point here; that I am smarter than most people, and I can either base this on my intelligence or their stupidity. The phrase 'smarter than' doesn't indicate that I am smart(although I believe I am), because I have a shedload more to learn.

Postscript-You did not answer my questions.

USF believe it or not is better quality than UCF or UF, based on my experience. In philosophy, for example, USF has one of the top 20 grad. programs in the country. In discrete math they are second to none. Some of the people in the math and philosophy departments are literally world famous in their fields. For example, Masahiko Saito is known as one of the greatesto 4-manifold and knot theory experts in the world. In applied physics they are also a very highly respected program in material science and applied nuclear physics. One of the most powerful lasers on Earth is in the physics department. In general, yeah I think USF, like most large undergrad. schools in America is just daycare for big kids. But you'd be surprised if you went and started meeting professors in history (which I thought you said you liked a lot) that there is some really interesting work going on there. The thing that I realized from visiting highly selective schools and also meeting people that attend them, is that ALL colleges are essentially baby-sitting nowadays. New College, Bard, College of the Atlantic, for example, may all be more suitable to your rate of learning than traditional liberal arts schools. BUT every where you go, there will be idiots, and there are certainly a lot at/around USF. But don't let that deter you from SEEKING OUT the types of people whose company you enjoy.