Painted

I have always up to this point in my life thought as myself as a rather sharp person, but after looking at my thought processes, ideas, choices, goals and conversations from an outside perspective I now consider myself quite...well, stupid. Sure, I know a lot about a select few subjects but outside of that I am not the rennaisance man I thought I was. I think there is a small margin for improvement but in a way I believe there is always going to be a delay/restriction for me to search for and piece together thoughts in my head. My symptoms: Overreacting, difficulty viewing in different perspectives, not knowing what to say, generally careless, etc., etc. I was just wondering if this is a normal thing to experience in any given life, and if anyone has experienced something similar.

Something tells me this thread is a very unintelligent idea, but I might as well give it a shot!

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I came across a nice rack at the department store

Hain

Once upon a time a single man could learn and know all Earthly knowledge. In other words the sum of human knowledge was attainable to anyone. Ancient Greeks were only considered learned once they had achieved this.

Today, human knowledge doubles every four years. The amount of new information in any field gathers so quickly that no single institution on the entire planet can keep with it. In other words, fat chance of being like the ancient Greeks.

Over all, it takes a wise man to understand he does not know all.

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jewels

All that doesn't make you stupid. You'd be stupid if you didn't realize we're all imperfect and we don't always use common sense. We are human.

I have a feeling that you and I aren't the only ones that can claim these symptoms from time to time.

And the self-deprecating comments, i.e. I'm stupid, This probably isn't a good idea, help you reinforce any negative views you might have of yourself. Cut it out! :spank:

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We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

JumpinJesus

I think what happens is a lot of people on the internet pretend to be smarter than everyone else. The fact that you don't make this effort, and in actuality, freely admit that you don't know much at all, probably makes you smarter (or wiser) than 95% of all internet inhabitants.

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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

loganmule

Long ago, I thought I knew everything, and was sure that if I lived to be 40, that surely would be so. From the other side of that number, I find that I know very little and that my knowledge is shrinking rapidly, when viewed in the context of our rapidly expanding total knowledge base.

Strangely, I find myself ok with that. Knowing that I don't know is somehow empowering, especially as to those ultimate unanswerables like what is the meaning of life. Things in business and my personal life have never been better, which tells me that my functional knowledge base is sufficient, even though in absolute terms I know virtually nothing.

What you call "symptoms" are insights. In my experience, most people seem to work through those feelings by living long enough.

Good luck. Know that you are very much not alone in having these thoughts.

Plan9

I'm not a genius.

And I'm not alone.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

MSD

Part of being smart is realizing how little you know. I always used to consider myself "smart" because of some unusually high numbers on an IQ test and years of standardized testing.

Looking back, I realize that the point at which I stopped being stupid was when I realized that being smart and knowing a lot of stuff are completely different things.

girldetective

Painted:
re your original posting
That is a tough time. I remember when it occurred to me. I felt disillusioned, humbled, and sort of betrayed. I couldn't believe it! Now, though, I love being part of the masses. Pretension is as pretension does and thinks. Being human is simply fun, unless its not and then its serious business. If you can simply have fun and take care of business, learn a little along the way, you may be ahead of the game.

mixedmedia

I think there is a huge difference between cerebral intelligence and emotional intelligence. And of the two, I think emotional intelligence is the more valuable. For it is the intelligence that will tell you when you are being stupid, ignorant, wrong, arrogant, selfish, presumptuous, etc., etc. All of those paths that cerebral intelligence alone will take you down.

The marriage of cerebral and emotional intelligence is wisdom.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

allaboutmusic

I went through a time in my life when I was damn good at just about anything I tried. After a while I realised I was simply avoiding trying things I knew I'd suck at. Self-deception is a powerful thing!

Sugarmouse

I guess intelligence to be about perception (self perception maybe? ) and about definition...who says what is intelligent.. I tend towards the word 'Streetwise' in a way, I beelvie someone with a less-than-high IQ or less academic ability or any other definition used, can be intelligent in some way...But to me the fact that you are such a thinker, can be a summary of intelligence...And yes, we are all human with limits!
Re. Your symptoms...perhaps you are just emotionally or mentally (or physically!) tired?!

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Sugarmouse=Festered

Zeraph

I think what you've gone through is normal. When i was younger I would go through waves or periods of thinking myself smart, only to realize how much there still was to learn. Eventually you just realize that no matter how much you learn, you'll always be ignorant. So just save yourself some time become humble now.

albania

I've always defined intelligence as the ability to be smart; and in my view until you've exhausted all possibilities of change or betterment there's not much you can say about how intelligent you truly are.

AngelaSI

"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing."
-Socrates