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MSD · 06-02-2007, 07:42 PM

When I was in elementary school, a psychiatrist employed by the school pulled me out of class for a few hours a day, for a week or two, to have me answer questions and perform basic tasks. My parents told me that these tests were really important because they would help my teachers teach me better. A few weeks later (and probably after the psychiatrist got a shitload of money for doing the tests,) they gave me a number that quantified how intelligent I was. The problem with the number is that it was arbitrarily defined as the upper limit of the test, and therefore the test couldn't really tell us anything other than the fact that I was really, really smart.

12 years later, after going through life knowing that I was super intelligent, I learned of another test that would go higher than that old number and give me an even higher, more accurate number. Being the egoist I was, I gladly accepted the offer to give me that number, and it turned out to be higher than even my inflated ego would have expected. I was learning the value of modesty and the virtue of keeping bragging to myself, and didn't flaunt the number like I wanted to.

I've spent the latter part of the 5 years after that learning just how useless those numbers are. I had a ridiculously high IQ when I was 18, I haven't burned myself out on drugs or taken any big hits to the head since then, so I assume it's still around the same. I wish someone told me 17 years ago that being smart doesn't mean anything; all the IQ score did for me was help me solidify the belief that I could do anything effortlessly without studying or practicing because that's how it worked up until high school. I'm still recovering from it.

These days, I don't judge people based on intelligence (especially when other people call them dumb) because I've come to realize that the stupidest thing you can do is think that you're better than other people because of something like intelligence. I've worked with people who are average and below average intelligence and there are things they can do better than me, so who am I to judge people based on intelligence?

06-02-2007, 07:42 PM	#20 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	When I was in elementary school, a psychiatrist employed by the school pulled me out of class for a few hours a day, for a week or two, to have me answer questions and perform basic tasks. My parents told me that these tests were really important because they would help my teachers teach me better. A few weeks later (and probably after the psychiatrist got a shitload of money for doing the tests,) they gave me a number that quantified how intelligent I was. The problem with the number is that it was arbitrarily defined as the upper limit of the test, and therefore the test couldn't really tell us anything other than the fact that I was really, really smart. 12 years later, after going through life knowing that I was super intelligent, I learned of another test that would go higher than that old number and give me an even higher, more accurate number. Being the egoist I was, I gladly accepted the offer to give me that number, and it turned out to be higher than even my inflated ego would have expected. I was learning the value of modesty and the virtue of keeping bragging to myself, and didn't flaunt the number like I wanted to. I've spent the latter part of the 5 years after that learning just how useless those numbers are. I had a ridiculously high IQ when I was 18, I haven't burned myself out on drugs or taken any big hits to the head since then, so I assume it's still around the same. I wish someone told me 17 years ago that being smart doesn't mean anything; all the IQ score did for me was help me solidify the belief that I could do anything effortlessly without studying or practicing because that's how it worked up until high school. I'm still recovering from it. These days, I don't judge people based on intelligence (especially when other people call them dumb) because I've come to realize that the stupidest thing you can do is think that you're better than other people because of something like intelligence. I've worked with people who are average and below average intelligence and there are things they can do better than me, so who am I to judge people based on intelligence?