Not Quite Sure What Qualifies

Good for you. You can write a sentence too.

Ok, here's the deal. First, your intelligence is perfectly normal. Stop fretting about it. Second, as others have indicated, you are a bit self-preoccupied. If you pay attention to that you'll outgrow it. Third, intelligence is the ability to learn, that is, it's mental digestion, a rather humble phenomenon in itself. Intelligence is to be distinguished from intellect, which is the capacity to handle ideas and theories effectively, something that is nurtured by reading and study. In this area, the power of the mind becomes significant. At your stage of development, you are equipped with average intelligence and almost no observable intellect. The best prescription for you is this: if you seriously desire to progress with your mind there is a lot you can do. While it's hard to boost sheer intelligence, intellect is something that can be acquired. But before you can do that, you'll need to tune out all the mental static around you, as folks pour all kind of nonsense in your ears. Intellect is developed by reading, by appreciation of the arts, and by conversation with brilliant and learned teachers. The primary subjects which develop it are things like philosophy, history and great literature, subjects which command little respect nowadays. Studies have shown that the greatest genius of all time was not Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein, or even Leonardo Da Vinci, but rather William Shakespeare, the English poet. This fact is almost totally unknown, and believe me, people will fight with you about it. But it's true. Persons who wish to use their minds to the best purpose should sit down with two books: The Collected Dialogues of Plato and The Collected Works of William Shakespeare. That's the royal path to intellectual capacity -- and virtue. But this path is challenging, and even if you're interested (a necessity), the resistance of the people around you would probably stop you.. Remember what William Carlos Williams said to Jack Kerouac when the Beats asked Dr. Williams what's the best way to become a great poet. He pointed out the window and said, "Don't forget, there's a lot of bastards out there." The bastards are hoi polloi, all the fourth raters who babble about everything under the sun but haven't got a clue. What they want to do is tear up your brain and leave the remains in a little box. They want to keep you small, just like themselves. And, most likely, they'll succeed. As Jesus said, "Broad is the path to destruction, but narrow is the gate that leads to the kingdom of heaven." Get thee to a library. And be quiet.

Very well said notdarcy!

I'm amazed at all the people who consider themselves to be brilliant, to function at genius level, to be the most outstanding intellects at EP (oxymoron, perhaps) who nevertheless can't spell and have NO basic knowledge of English grammar. Where did you all grow up, anyway? Do you ever read anything after you write it, to see if even you can figure out what it says? Do you even know how to run Spellcheck? You might have some interesting points but I'm not going to wade through all this gibberish to get there.

This doesn't apply to everyone in the above discussion, and those to whom it doesn't apply know who they are.

Also another point I'd like to make is that everyone is intelligent in their own way.

Who determines who is smart or not?

Even mentally challenged people have some sort of intelligence. The knowledge and intelligence that we are taught is man made. But there are many other types of intelligence. You just have to be in tune with yourself, your innerself and the world. :)

I agree with "notdarcy". Average IQ from what I have seen and the tests I have taken are 95 to 115. But these IQ tests are proving more and more to be unnacurate. Alot of things are comming into consideration such as age, race, religion, health etc. Lets just say that you are smarter than the average American :) Thats a great score! I keep getting about 130 and I am quite happy with that so you should be very proud. :)

Viva la ninja skills =P

I am new here but I am becoming very attached to this site. We can debate anything, even if intelligence is intelligent or not.

I was”a hyper kid” as my teachers told my parents, I couldn’t sit still or study. I tried hard but my mind was going so fast that it was like watching 5 or 6 TV’s at once. I could do well if I liked what it was or had hands on learning. I could get lost in a book and It was like watching a Technicolor movie and still remember most if I pick one up I read then.

I scored 158 on an IQ test for high school and 152 when I went into the army, my brother scored less and got a full scholarship to Cal Tech. Does that make me smart? I don’t think so, actually he was way smarter than me because he had the wisdom someone else talked about.

I spent my life from nine till thirty seven drunk and high just to cope with life as I saw it with no friends. It takes a lot more than IQ to make one smart and I think I am still trying to find the answer to that because I sure am not else I wouldn’t have been married twice and bankrupt.

IQ is nice but not smart. And by the way, I can’t spell without a spell-check.

You have to understand that real intelligence is highly specialized. A genius historian or psychologist wouldn't pass a calculus test, it doesn't mean they aren't brilliant in their respective fields. It's hard to tell who is actually smart in high school. I always felt I was smarter than all my classmates, even though my grades were so-so, and the valedictorian of my class talked like an idiot, despite her obsessive memorization skills.



Some people are vast repositories of trivia, this is not intelligence. Other people are finely tuned engines of calculation, this is also not intelligence. The ability to learn and enjoy learning and discuss new topics with an open mind, that is what I consider intelligence, because that person can profit from the ideas of others unlike anyone else.

i want to be a ninja..where do i sign up?

I'm a hard-working nerd. Parents/family/friends have always pumped me up for great things. Honestly--grades, intelligence, IQ tests, Math Trophies, etc. don't mean nearly as much as what you do with what you have.



Take my brother for example. He was failing in high school, and now, as a first year college student, he was offered a paid internship, getting paid more than the average college graduate.



Does intelligence guarantee success? Does it guarantee happiness? Love? Fulfillment? Haven't you noticed that some of the "simplest" people have the happiest lives?

Is there a reason you don't trust being deemed a higher average smartness? My daughter blew us away when they tested her and she came out 140. I told her recently 'Gee Vanessa, if you stayed in school you could be president since your smarter than both runners now!" But my son is over 140, I am as well and my father was 160 and that's geniouse. Be proud of the level your at. By the way math, spelling exc is not what they base it on. Einstien was a genius and he failed math class among other things. Your smart, brag about it, don't dout it!

Couldn't agree with you more. Well said Ancientcelt!!!

I score 146-152 on IQ tests....Have you ever thought about perhaps taking an EQ test, IQ means absolutely nothing without a high EQ.



Once you start working on your emotional maturity, you will soon be making the best out of your knowledge and comprehension of the world around you. Its why most "nerds" are so backwards and make bad decisions even when they know at that moment, that the decision being made is a bad one, socially, and otherwise....Low EQ!



Get tested and find out what you can do to improve, unlike an IQ, low EQ is something you can work on.

People who are successful always say that they are inspired, or others say that about them. What is inspiration and why did someone say that you need to be on a spirituality website? All the famous in every field claim intuition as a part or all of their engine. The reason is that the intuition is a million times faster and a million times the capacity of the part of the mind that we in as our normal consciousness. It is absolutely objective. If you ask yourself three or four questions about your intuitions you will see the three dimensional picture that is trying to get airing in our two dimensional language reasoning, linear logic. The mind thinks in visual logic. If you are smart you will be able to use this and amaze yourself at how little we consciously "know". Just listen to that still small voice and question what it says three levels in, at least. Get it? My life didn't start until I realized the power of my intuition and learned how to use it amazingly effectively.

There is no doubt that Einstein had a high IQ. But I don`t see him to be especially intelligent. IQ tests measure how active your mind is not how intelligent you are. Proverbs 12-1 says- Whoever loves knowledge loves discipline, but who ever refuses correction is stupid.- It`s your attitude toward learning that makes the difference. The truly intelligent person is able to learn because he knows how ignorant he is and is on the lookout for knowledge. When you rebuke a wise man he ads to his understanding, when you rebuke a fool you have an argument.

To Psyduck: HIT A NERVE DID I DOCTOR???



You said:I did correctly diagnose you. You are basically dishonest, amoral, willfully ignorant and arrogant. If you don't know what's going on, you can look it up. It's a very real option, right at your fingertips. But be careful -- you might even learn something which could be a threat to your cozy little world. You know nothing at all, yet you deny the possibility that a person like Enigma can exist. It's outside your limited personal experience, therefore it must be condemned. No thinking required. STRONG DIAGNOSIS, CONSIDERING YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN MET THE PATIENT.



Did you ever hear the saying, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT PERSON I CAN'T STAND ABOUT MYSELF? Take a look in the mirror, you rude, aggressive person.



And after all of this, you still refuse to accept that your 'Aspies' dianosis may be incorrect. It's about time you stepped out of your comfort zone Psyduck, even if you do suffer from 'Aspies' your self.

The reason why u noticed that u make stupid mistakes... could be because u r intelligent enough to notice it...



Besides being intelligent doesnot take u past being human... humans make mistakes...



and making mistakes is not completely associated to IQ, it is related to EQ... and when we talk about EQ... we should consider effects of your mood at the time, your mental focus, your body fatigue...



at the end of the day, be happy u score well in the test... even though these tests are not the ultimate test of intelligence, u should be happy that you are doing better than most people who attempted the same test and secondly u r human and allow yourself to be human as well... it will keep u happy...

To Tense: I did not attempt to diagnose Enigmaforlorn. I offered a suggestion for his consideration. He's a big boy with the intelligence to judge for himself.



I did correctly diagnose you. You are basically dishonest, amoral, willfully ignorant and arrogant. If you don't know what's going on, you can look it up. It's a very real option, right at your fingertips. But be careful -- you might even learn something which could be a threat to your cozy little world. You know nothing at all, yet you deny the possibility that a person like Enigma can exist. It's outside your limited personal experience, therefore it must be condemned. No thinking required.





To Enigma: I want to ask about your reaction to social fictions, authoritarian mentality and our brutal, mindless culture, because those are important issues in my own experience.



Other Aspies frame things differently, but what they say still clicks and makes sense to me. One thing they will not do at WrongPlanet is harass you for an honest question.

Humm. I'd say your a confident sort of person.



A healthy dose of Humility, is essential to enjoying your god given Gifts.



It's extremely difficult to have a well round life, for those trapped within the Educational System.



You hang out with your Colleagues. That is a must.



Specialization will become more and more your Field of Growth.





******************



If I may say one thing.



Put the Notion of Above average Intelligence into a Dusty closet, stored way back there in the Darkness of your Brain's Mind.



Speak no more of this.



It's as unhealth and revolting, as speaking of one's Ingrown Toe Nail.



Peace and Love.

Levin60kitty. You are the one who has fallen for a bunch of crap, not me. I 'get it'. Enigma is playing games. How about you just use your brain.

To PSYduck: How wonderful, we have a Doctor on-line who has diagnosed, attempted to treat and stuck Enigmaforlorn in a neat little box and put a sticker on it 'Aspergers'. It's a shame, good doctor, that you can't see past your own narrow-minded diagnosis.



A) I don't think Enigma has recorded his story as a truthful account of his life/feelings, &

B) You are a fool for falling for it.



He is yanking everyone's chain. That is obvious.



And as for your snide comments that I am 'amoral and dishonest'... how about you re-read the initial post. That is what I call 'amoral and dishonest'. You are defending a manipulative game player, who is just wasting everyone's time.

wow, you guys are a bunch of ********. enigmaforlorn, i don't think you were condescending or rude in your post.



i find that a lot of intelligent people, no matter how obviously humble they are about it(as you seem to be) tend to catch flak for talking about it. i believe it's percieved as threatening or intimidating to other people, and they misplace their discomfort and blame it on you. oh well. fact of life.



anyway.. i have something of the same problem! (i score about 125.) i'm still a high school senior, so i'm not nearly as far ahead in life as you, but i'm getting there... i can empathize with your frustration/confusion; i guess us smarties tend not to be too well-rounded in other departments (social iq, emotional iq, etc.).



if you want, you could talk to a counselor as nmrtian suggested about how to learn from your mistakes and become a little "wiser" to supplement your intelligence. :]

I also fall into the category of a lot of the responders here. Look at my user name,though. It tells the story. Part of the problem is that when you try to comprehend things, it comes off as arrogance, or "showing off", to some people. Just look at some of the responders. Some people get jealous because they think that you have something enviable when all you would like to do is figure out how to be normal. They don't see your despair. And seeing you this way makes them want to set you up to look stupid. DO NOT try to find logic out of the context of inanimate objects. If you do, some people will just keep changing the rules to watch you chase your tail. This cruelty is what some use as their entertainment. If something doesn't feel right, don't try to get all of the evidence to confirm what you do really know deep down in your gut. One word: INTUITION !! Love yourself. I wish you well. Notdarcy has some good thoughts though. And do look inside and see if maybe you do look down on others.

auntiebelle - just FYI It does not mean that he is 7/5 smart or 2/5 smarter than anyone. it means that he got a 140 on the IQ test. this means he is "smarter" than about 99% of the population, not that he is a definate amount smarter than an average person. just kinda made me laugh to see someone correcting false info with more false info.



anyways i think we should all lay off the guy, hes curious why his good IQ doesnt make him good at things, a logical question. My IQ is ... not gonna say because everyone will call me a smart ***, but i am 16 and basically am terrific at school without trying, but suck at a lot of things. basically it just shows that the IQ test doesnt show your guarenteed success in life, it merely shows that you have an advantage

The first thing you need is friends who will reflect the reality of who you are. I suspect that you were "corrected" as a child for saying how smart you are.



Let me be one for just a minute. You are 2/5ths "smarter" than the average person. You are 7/5ths AS "SMART" as the average person. You really should know better being a math wiz. This is, of course, assuming we accept standardized tests as an accurate measure of intelligence and that the "average" person's IQ is 100. I suspect it's higher.



Being great at math doesn't mean much when you can't communicate what you are thinking correctly.



Somehow you have managed, as have I, to have both a superiority and inferiority complex at the same time.



Just realize this....being a genius doesn't make you any less human...or any more human. You will make mistakes, but that doesn't mean you do not have value. Remember your inherent value as a human.



"I am perfect as I was created."

Dear enigmaforlorn,



I'm not really sure what your problem is. It's great that you are smart. It seems that you are struggling with social skills issues. My IQ is significantly higher than yours. But, that and three bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Let me let you in on a secret... Everybody is smart. It's not about smart. It's about what you do with it. Live your life dude! Connect with your friends and don't worry about numbers like IQ. It's just mental ************.

enjoy it while you can get drunk take drugs because you are the one that will still be in control ,with the skills that you say you have you will survive, and become stronger and wiser, you must first fail to trully succeed

SECOND POST - I see here where some knock you as being a braggart and all that. don't let it worry you. You didn't come across like that to me. If you had webbed feet and wrote about it someone would knock you for that also. I have scored from 136 to 155 on tests I took. I can do a sudoku puzzle in as long as it takes me to write down the answer - that's just fact, not bragging. I believe people of intelligence should talk to each other, should try to use their intellect for good things. Tense, butchdarab and more who posted here don't "get" what its all about. Take care - Use your brain for good things. tim

"sweetnessnlight" said, "The REAL tests are never just given out casually."



If "enigmaforlorn" took the tests out of curiosity and didn't intentionally cheat, they're probably close enough for this discussion.



I had a homework assignment in college and used my brother's kid as a guinea pig just before she checked into kindergarten. The IQ score I gave her was the same as the one given by the professionals. The real tests are not that difficult.



The point is that he is intelligent by the usual yardsticks, but has a few quirks that he would like to understand. The desire to make sense of yourself and your world is a virtue, not a crime.