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High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

scientificamerican.com

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Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#141

Post by myth2018 »

rory wrote: post #5

> It’s also possible that people who join Mensa differ from other people in ways other than just IQ. For example, people preoccupied with intellectual pursuits may spend less time than the average person on physical exercise and social interaction, both of which have been shown to have broad benefits for psychological and physical health. Is Mensa really an "intellectual pursuit"? I'm not sure exactly what Mensa does…

I joined Mensa many years ago.

I'm indeed a bit insecure about my intelligence. But when I took the test I was actually surfing an overconfidence wave, getting extremely positive feedback on my first job and being considered a prodigy -- it turned out that I was suffering from a very bad case of illusion of competence and my coworkers weren't particularly strong on electronics. Well, but I didn't know that by then.

It turns out that, now looking back, I realize I sought Mensa because I was feeling extremely alone. I was always thinking or working on something alone, since my teenagehood, and I was getting tired, despite the admiration I sporadically sparked.

Unfortunately Mensa didn't help on that. I really disliked the experience. The people, its goals, everything. The only piece of advice I got regarding my loneliness issue happened right after I delivered my test to the psychotherapist. She only said that I should try to find friends regardless of their IQs, because life isn't only about that.

She was right.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#143

Post by toyota86 »

rory wrote: post #5

> It’s also possible that people who join Mensa differ from other people in ways other than just IQ. For example, people preoccupied with intellectual pursuits may spend less time than the average person on physical exercise and social interaction, both of which have been shown to have broad benefits for psychological and physical health. Is Mensa really an "intellectual pursuit"? I'm not sure exactly what Mensa does…

> people insecure enough to join an IQ-restricted club

I don't understand this sentiment. There are race/ethnicity-restricted clubs, men-only clubs, athletic clubs, equestrian clubs, farmers clubs, car ownership clubs. However, when it's about IQ (something which you say you hold in disdain), suddenly out come the insults. Insecure nerds, right? They only have their insignificant test scores, they must be a despicable lot!

Did you ever stop to consider that people might be seeking something different, that this is their attempt at finding other people with similar interests? There is nothing wrong with one valuing their own high IQ test score.

Disclaimer: I have never taken an IQ test, but if I did I probably wouldn't get into Mensa, extrapolating from previous test scores and grades.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#144

Post by rossdavidh »

justbored123 wrote: post #134

I some times wonder if the IQ of the people that conducts these studies is below average. 30 point of IQ of difference is with the average, an IQ of 70 or less is the IQ of a clinically retarded person. So, if you have 132 IQ, the average person is literally retarded compared to you. If you live in a world surrounded by retards you are going to be depressed and had all sorts of mental issues and a hard time to adapt,…

1) I don't think that the term "retard" is a constructive way to refer to people of IQ 70 or lower (or anyone, really).

2) Everyone I have ever met is, in some field or other, and in some kind of thinking, really dumb. Some people are low intelligence in everything, but I've never met anyone who was smart at every kind of thinking.

3) When dealing with, say, people who know way less about computer programming than I do, I don't feel depressed. I may find that certain topics of conversation aren't going to work, and thus want to find another group for those conversations (perhaps HN), but if you cannot find some constructive and rewarding way of interacting with people who have a different IQ than you, that is a problem you should (and can) work on.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#145

Post by rory »

MrFantastic wrote: post #80
rory wrote: post #5

> It’s also possible that people who join Mensa differ from other people in ways other than just IQ. For example, people preoccupied with intellectual pursuits may spend less time than the average person on physical exercise and social interaction, both of which have been shown to have broad benefits for psychological and physical health. Is Mensa really an "intellectual pursuit"? I'm not sure exactly what Mensa does…

My experience at MENSA meetings was a bunch of people bragging about their IQ. Many had their IQ listed on their name tag.

That makes me want to crash a meeting wearing some nonsensical number like 500 and challenge anyone who questioned it to a "battle of wits".

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#146

Post by seriousquestion »

rory wrote: post #5

> It’s also possible that people who join Mensa differ from other people in ways other than just IQ. For example, people preoccupied with intellectual pursuits may spend less time than the average person on physical exercise and social interaction, both of which have been shown to have broad benefits for psychological and physical health. Is Mensa really an "intellectual pursuit"? I'm not sure exactly what Mensa does…

"I decided to take an I.Q. test administered by Mensa, the organization of geniuses. If you score in the top 2% of people who take that same test, you get to call yourself a “genius” and optionally join the group. I squeaked in and immediately joined so I could hang out with the other geniuses and do genius things. I even volunteered to host some meetings at my apartment.

Then, the horror.

It turns out that the people who join Mensa and attend meetings are, on average, not successful titans of industry. They are instead – and I say this with great affection – huge losers. I was making $735 per month and I was like frickin’ Goldfinger in this crowd. We had a guy who was some sort of poet who hoped to one day start “writing some of them down.” We had people who were literally too smart to hold a job. The rest of the group dressed too much like street people to ever get past security for a job interview. And everyone was always available for meetings on weekend nights."

Scott Adams

https://woodrow.typepad.com/the_ponderings_of_woodrow/2006/1...

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#147

Post by HPsquared »

carabiner wrote: post #85
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #26

Long, long ago, I came to the conclusion that intelligence was inversely related to sanity. Not a scientific observation, just that people who I knew who were very smart also tended to have difficulties in more ways than the people I knew who had typical intelligence. Typical issues were depression, insecurity, difficulty relating or communicating with others, ... Certainly you can find people with these issues in al…

Meanwhile, we see significantly less depression in higher levels of educational attainment: https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Weighted_prevalence_of_...

Someone who has high IQ and depressed, may still perform poorly at school. This can also be a vicious cycle. High IQ alone isn't sufficient for educational attainment, it's not even particularly necessary in most fields: for most people education is a matter of hard work and rote learning.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#148

Post by HPsquared »

seph-reed wrote: post #98
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #26

Long, long ago, I came to the conclusion that intelligence was inversely related to sanity. Not a scientific observation, just that people who I knew who were very smart also tended to have difficulties in more ways than the people I knew who had typical intelligence. Typical issues were depression, insecurity, difficulty relating or communicating with others, ... Certainly you can find people with these issues in al…

I spent years thinking this was hell and people were actively trying to fuck with me because I could not understand peoples ability to be ignorant... it literally was not possible in mind to be so oblivious. I've since realized that "herd mentality" is a totally functional survival mechanism, and as long as you don't think logically the other parts of the brain have no problem accepting that culture isn't just some m…

People mostly get by on heuristics.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#149

Post by Alex3917 »

SavantIdiot wrote: post #96
pizza234 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Update: I'm reading people with (more) negative experiences. I guess YMMV :) Still, I wouldn't draw absolute conclusions based on this. I was a Mensa associate, and participated to evening meetings in two countries (evening meetings are only part of the activities). You're assuming, with "people insecure enough to join an IQ-restricted club", that associates sit on a high horse due to their IQ. It was quite the oppos…

That's interesting. I joined and was immediately turned off by the group. The difference with joining a chess club is you get to play chess. So let's turn your proposal around: What do you get to do in a High IQ club that is different from any random collection of people? Besides talk about how you are in MENSA?

> Besides talk about how you are in MENSA?

I was in an ultra-high IQ society called The Thousand. Not because my IQ is in the 99.9%, but because they weren't smart enough to figure out how to password protect their Ning group.

There was very little content, and the average poster was probably less intelligent than the average HN poster.

Re: High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders

#150

Post by 11thEarlOfMar »

bena wrote: post #113
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #26

Long, long ago, I came to the conclusion that intelligence was inversely related to sanity. Not a scientific observation, just that people who I knew who were very smart also tended to have difficulties in more ways than the people I knew who had typical intelligence. Typical issues were depression, insecurity, difficulty relating or communicating with others, ... Certainly you can find people with these issues in al…

You ever have to watch someone struggle with something you know how to do extremely well? Like watching someone take 5 seconds per keystroke because they have to hunt and peck on the keyboard while slowly and deliberately sounding out the letters they're typing? You know that feeling of wanting to just push them out of the way because you could get whatever completely done by the time they finish the next step in the…

Yes, and they wind up working alone because they don't have the patience to explain to people who take too long to understand what they are trying to do. That behavior gets interpreted as self-centeredness and lack of team spirit, leading to loneliness and a more or less self-imposed banishment.
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