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Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#11

Post by callwhendone »

bell-cot wrote: post #10

First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional. If not fractal. The IQ-ish dimensions are usually overrated - especially by folks for whom that's their strong suit, and by the young. Vs. the emotional maturity, big pictures, and wisdom-ish dimensions are really seldom understood, let alone mastered, until your later years. There are some old proverbs about the wisdom and (un…

>First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional.

This is the reason I shy away from using the term IQ. I do not believe it's a valid test on the individual level.

>If it's "homeopathy would be better than vaccines for our baby"-class stuff

A lot of it is this level. In fact, homeopathy is a major point of contention.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#13

Post by bell-cot »

callwhendone wrote: post #11
bell-cot wrote: post #10

First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional. If not fractal. The IQ-ish dimensions are usually overrated - especially by folks for whom that's their strong suit, and by the young. Vs. the emotional maturity, big pictures, and wisdom-ish dimensions are really seldom understood, let alone mastered, until your later years. There are some old proverbs about the wisdom and (un…

>First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional. This is the reason I shy away from using the term IQ. I do not believe it's a valid test on the individual level. >If it's "homeopathy would be better than vaccines for our baby"-class stuff A lot of it is this level. In fact, homeopathy is a major point of contention.

Does she seem committed to homeopathy when she has "instant" skin in the game? (Say, she needs to have a tooth drilled & filled, and the dentist would permit homeopathic "pain relief".) Or might homeopathy be more of an emotional reaction against being ill-treated (both emotionally and physically) by conventional medical practitioners? For women, even well-to-do white women, the latter is wretchedly common. And if you don't feel yourself an expert on the technical details, then "do not trust those who treat me poorly, when there seem to be nicer alternatives" is, sadly, a pretty reasonable and human strategy...

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#15

Post by JohnFen »

I don't really understand the problem. First, I think it's risky to even begin to evaluate whether the people you interact with are more or less intelligent than you. Intelligence is context-dependent. Most of the people you think of as less intelligent probably have a context where they're smarter than you.

"Don't compare yourself to others, for it will make you both vain and bitter; there will always be someone worse, and always be someone better."

Second, what does it matter? When people say things to me that I consider dumb (that can happen both from people less intelligent than me and more intelligent than me), it's rare that I actually need to correct them. Get a sense of when it matters and when it doesn't, and if it doesn't then just let it go.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#16

Post by reify »

I am not so judgemental to assume that I am more intelligent than other people.

I may have a masters degree in Psychotherapy and an IQ of 126 but I consider all human beings equally intelligent.

I can talk psychotherapy all day long and appear to be intelligent but I am not.

I consider my intelligence to be solely attributed to the amount of books I have read and that goes for all professions.

The average man uses 1500 words to tranverse life, that is all he needs. We all learn another 1500 words that are directly associated with our individual professions.

Just because I know all the names of the psychoanalytic defence mechanisms and the man down the street does not, that does not make me more intelligent that him.

He for instance maybe a gardener and be able to name every tree in the UK whereas I could not.

Intelligence is not just about how much brain power we appear to have.

I consider a simple footballer to be intelligent becauase of his spacial awareness, hand to eye coordination and athletic skills etc. He may not have a degree but he sure is intelligent.

It is easy to stroke our own ego's when we were fortuante enough to be able to study to a higher educational level. Thats all it is, ego stroking!

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#17

Post by smt88 »

callwhendone wrote: post #5
smt88 wrote: post #4

I used to think exactly like this. I'll tell you what helped me. 1. Remember that you also say or believe wrong things quite often. Do people regularly get upset about it and call you out? Or do they give you grace because they care about you whether you're factually right or wrong? You'll be much happier if you learn some intellectual humility. Even the smartest people aren't right all the time (or even 90% of it).…

>OCPD I do have this. You're right though, the answer is patience.

This is going to be hard to believe, but something that really helped me understand the diversity of what being "right" means is listening to old episodes of This American Life.

There are lots of stories about a normal person in an unusual situation who ends up behaving "strangely" or making decisions it's hard to understand, or there are stories about people in very normal situations who are just very unusual people.

Either way, you learn that everything is a shade of gray and certainty is the most likely way that someone can be wrong.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with being more intelligent than the general population?

#18

Post by a3n »

Although I don't know my IQ, and don't care, I'm certain that I'm solidly in the "general population."

This helps me, and it may help you. Virtually nothing you or I say or do matters. It's bullshit, signifying nothing, all the way down.

So just enjoy whatever it is you do.

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