Stupid smart person?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is more of a personal problem that I have, so for those of you who could care less, you can stop reading now…
Okay, I have this problem, I am what you would call a stupid smart person. I suffer so much for being labeled as a dissapointment. We all know of the kids in school who are smart but never applied themselves and thus did not make good marks. Well that is me times 1000. Everyone tends to think I am a genius or something simply by observing the way I behave and wit which I display. I am very intelligent when it boils down to common sense related issues and wit-required actions. I’m one of those guys who always has an answer and always know what to say to people. Now my iq is fairly decent in the 150+ range but I can not maintain good marks in school, or any area of study in general. I face the dilemma of seeing myself as a failure since I am supposed to be SOOO SMART…heres an example of how bad it is, if a stranger were to ask one of my classmates to name the top 3 smartest people in the entire class, I would be one of the people chosen, despite the many others with higher GPAs and SAT scores than me…I could make an F and someone could have an A and I’d still be chosen…They are so sure of me, but I have my doubts…

So my question for you guys is, are wit and intelligence totally different things? I mean should a top salesman or attorney have aced his high school calculus and physics? Can a person’s brain be so unbalanced that they possess so much wit and yet only average book smarts? I am only a teenager and I am capable of making close to 6-figure income without anything I learned from school (legally too), yes yes yes, honestly, but money is just material…

I just wish to convince myself that there are different types of intelligence, despite what everyone says to me.

So MUST I possess great book smarts too, and if not, be considered a failure based on my great display of wits? And oh yes, I know this is impossible for you to understand but try to imagine me as the wittiest person who ever lived, yes, that is how confident I am of my wits.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated…

2

Book smarts (as you call it) are not necessary, but of course they help. If you are good as you say and have as much self confidence as your post indicates, you’ve got a good chance.

3

This forum is for questions that have factual answers and it seems you want opinions here. IMHO is for opinions and polls. I’ll move it for you.

To the OP; Yes. Wit and intelligence are two different things. As are common sense and intelligence. On of my High School classmates was a straight A student – You wouldn’t think that if you could talk to him for a few minutes. You sound more together (and much better off) than him.

DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator

4

There’s certainly more than one kind of intelligence. If you can’t figure calculus to save your life, but can read people and negotiate well, you can end up making over $100K (US) a year selling insurance, just to mention one thing.

Some people can instinctively know what the public wants to hear on the radio, and they are invaluable in their field. It doesn’t mean they even know what a sine wave is from an instrument.

Pick something you’re interested in, and seem to have some basic aptitude in, and push on.

Also, don’t think that college is the path to all goals. If you want to be in television production, for instance, you’re probably better off spending your tuition money on supporting yourself during internships (although some stations won’t deal with you unless you’re getting some college credit for it).

All paths are not for all people.

5

Well, I’d argue that book smarts in and of themselves are generally not needed for success in this country. Hell, my dad makes a six-figure salary, and he’s not exactly chock-full of book knowledge.

The thing is, however, oftentimes the traits that lead one to a lack of academic success are also traits that inhibit success in the real world. Sometimes, a “smart” person suffers from an arrogance that keeps him or her from putting forth any effort towards something they consider “unnecessary” or uninteresting. This is the primary problem I’ve seen with “smart” yet-low-graded people. However, this does not seem to be the problem in your case.

In that department, I’d tell you that Einstein had trouble with basic arithmetic, and that Bill Gates dropped outta Harvard.

Incidentally, going out and making a six-figure salary is (probably) not as easy as you think it is, mostly because a lot of employers immediately look at educational credentials before considering any other variables. How, exactly, do you believe that you can make all this money? (This is genuine curiousity and not sarcasm, btw).

6

I think your problem may be attitude, not intelligence. You may think that school is boring, and that you’re allegedly making more money than the average college graduate, so you don’t think it is necessary to do well in school. Or, more specifically, you don’t seem to think it is necessary to have a solid grip of academic knowldge.

This depends on what you want out of school.

7

Blast! Make that last word “life.”

8

You sound like I did in school. I was BORED with the work and I couldn’t stand the social crap.

I dropped out in 9th grade, got my GED without a problem and moved on with life. That worked for me, it MAY not work for you. My brother finished high school, started college and learned nothing. The job he is doing now has nothing to do with the classes he took in college.

I for one don’t grasp math very well, my spelling is also questionable :wink: But when it comes to figuring things out and getting something done I almost never have a problem. But for other things (like math) my brain has a mind of it’s own. It often shuts down on me and starts thinking about other things -like music or breasts.

Wit and intelligence IMO go together in some way. Your brain works in a way to grab items at random in context. Not everyone can do this.

I would say try to stay in school and fight your way through it for as long as you can.

9

I just read my last post. Ignore it. I’m tired and doing 30 things at once. I didn’t really say what I wanted to say. :smiley:

I’ll revisit this thread tomorrow and try to sort myself out.

<----- just a stupid person tonight. :slight_smile:

10

Attention Deficit Disorder. Most people think hyperactivity when they hear that, (so much so, it’s sometimes also called ADHD) but that’s not a symptom in many cases.

You’ll have to find an experienced, intelligent, unbiased testor. Avoid both true believers who see it everywhere, and the devout unbelievers, who are convinced it doesn’t exist. Since you’re intelligent, try looking into it first yourself, and see if it sounds like a possibility to you.

A fair amount of controversy still exists about ADD, but it emanates mostly from the uninformed. I’ve seen a person with ADD take a dose of Ritalin that would send most people rocketing through the roof. He calmed down, and shortly thereafter, took a nap. I’ve seen so much evidence, both published and anecdotal, no-one can convince me there isn’t something profoundly biochemical going on with accurately diagnosed cases of ADD.

Many people with ADD are highly intelligent, quick-witted, and otherwise gifted. They often have difficulty with traditional educational structures, but with appropriate treatment, (not always meds, either although for some it is a neccessity) they can achieve high grades.

Here are a few places you might look at for more information. There are many more sites on the web, and there are people here who can recommend more. Don’t forget there are other conditions that can result in poor grades for intelligent students, including depression, learning disabilities, and many more. Since it sounds like this is bothering you, do look into it further. Good luck!

http://members.aol.com/jamiedoc/

http://www.add.org/

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm

11

I would happen to guess ADD is what happened to my thread above :smiley: :smiley:

12

I say how I struggle in mathematics…well I am still top of the class sort of speak but the general concept is just too difficult for me so I often quit before I begin, and it only gets harder from now on too…

It is odd however, that when it comes down to money, yes $$$$$ money, I am a whiz…I bet there would be a significant increase in my grades, if somehow money was involved. For example my math teacher noticed I would do very well in statistics problems which contain some form of financial background, such as calculating the expected rate of return for a fortune 500 company over the past 10 years etc…

I do consider myself arrogant and definitely overly-confident, it’s just it’s my belief against everyone else, peers, parents, teachers, you name it.

I’m glad I got some opinions about this one. I see I should just ignore them all and pursue my “Friday Night Essence”?
If anyone knows what the “Friday Night Essence” means exactly, reply here, I would be extremely impressed and even shocked.

13

Modest hijack ahead, but I think its pertinent to the OP.

SoulSearching, i was in you’re exact situation in high school and let me tell you grades matter. I never took school seriously, never did homework, never studied. If i bothered to look over the material I usually got an A, if not, an F. My grades were always in extremes like that. The result of my attitude was that I ended up at a University where as far as I know I am the smartest person, and that includes 95% of the professors. Take my word for it, this sucks big time. No one is interested in anything remotely intellectual, and I have to bite my tongue while I listen to the inane and consistently inaccurate drivel of my classmates. (e.g. “Porcupines would make nice pets, they look soft.” Me: “No, porcupines are most definitely not soft, those quills are defensive.” “No, they look soft, hey so-and-so wouldn’t you want a porcupine as a pet? Don’t they look cuddly?” So-and-So: Yeah!” or my all time groaner, “Books? Books are for smart people.”) And of course I truly love the, “it-doesn’t-matter-what-you-say-or-how-good-your-reasons-are-because-I’ve-stopped-listening-to-you” school of debate. But, what really drives me up the wall is that everyone agrees with everyone else! I swear, its an epidemic, I’ve come to the conclusion that people who aren’t bright enough to form their own opinions get by following and imitating everyone else. Consequently, 300 kids in a lecture hall waste my time and their parent’s money telling each other how right the professor and each other are. Most horribly, the professor returns the favor; they will almost never tell a student they are wrong even when they are. So now my only hope is to get good grades (I still don’t take my work seriously but its laughably easy) and score well on my GREs or LSATS so I can go to an excellent grad school.

Also, I do believe that the people with the confidence and critical thinking skills that so many others lack have the potential to “leapfrog” the system. In high school I founded a LLC (limited liability company), wrote a business plan, protected the project with trademarks, servicemarks, copywrites, and a provisional patent and found several interested investors. Thankfully, my parents prevented me from dropping out of school to work full time on the company, as my investors went running for the hills when the bottom dropped out of the dot com boom. But, the point is at any age or schooling a good idea, whether a business plan, movie script, novel, or album, if implemented properly can take you places. I know I already have my second project in the works.

14

Come now SoulSearching, you shouldn’t be so easily shocked nor impressed. “Friday Night Essence” is a concept from Neo-Tech, a self-help, motivational, “be-all-you-can-be” movement/program/New-Agey blather/cult/whatever. Depending on one’s point of view, Neo-Tech is the greatest thing since sliced cheese, or a vile brain-washing, manipulative, money-sucking cult. Or perhaps something in between. Many of the ideas espoused seem harmless enough or benign; however, the writings of many proponents is burdened by a certain ponderous lack of humour, which usually does not bode well. FNE refers to one’s “deepest motivational root”; a productive activity one would cheerfully pursue on a Friday night instead of the usual dinner/movie/sex or other light entertainment. AKA GOOBI (Get Out of Bed Inducer.)

Personally, I dislike cutesy, pre-packaged, motivational sound-bites, but the basic advice seems reasonably OK; make your living doing what you really love. This isn’t going to work for everyone; for example, most musicians and actors are not going to be able to support themselves with their avocation. It also raises the question of who is going to do all the dull or icky but utterly necessary jobs, from cleaning bedpans (or whatever else needs cleaning) to factory work to anything involving customer service, ad infinitum. Guess that’s just the lot of the unenlightened. :stuck_out_tongue:

Regarding your original questions: “Are there different types of intelligence?” “Are wit and intelligence different things?” The answer to both is yes. A deep appreciation of these concepts would require some background in diverse fields ranging from psychology and learning theory to neurobiology, neuroanatomy, and functional neurology. A careful exploration of semantics would also be helpful. As you originally mentioned, “money is just material.” Money is also something it is quite inconvenient to be without. However, for all its charms, money is in fact insufficent for purchasing happiness. Money can buy a certain acquisitive gratification, but not joy. It can purchase sex, but not love. It can purchase counsel, but not the perception of what is the best counsel to heed. Indeed, one of the many benefits of acquiring emotional, intellectual, and spiritual wealth (wisdom, as it were) is that one becomes capable of appreciating many things in a deeper, richer, and more fulfilling way. That also includes the money one might have. One can only experience enjoyment and appreciation on multiple levels if one has multiple levels.

Finally, it does seem a bit illogical to start a thread by explicitly requesting constructive criticism, then make a point of your intentions to ignore it all. Requesting advice certainly doesn’t create a presumption you’ll follow any of it; it does create an expectation of reciprocal simple courtesy. It comes across as egregious rudeness to blanketly deride advice that was expressly requested. But, as you point out, you consider yourself arrogant. I would gently suggest to you, that most people do not consider that a trait to be proud of, nor worth cultivating. Self-confidence = good. Arrogance = not good. I will apologize for having provided you with information that might have helped you explore an issue that seemed to be distressing you in some small way, since that information merely resulted in your having to go to the trouble to ignore it. With my apology comes my assurance that I won’t waste such time for either of us again.

15

There are most definitely two types of “intelligence.” Perhaps more. For our purposes, the two can be defined as “native wit” versus “book smarts.”

Anyone with reasonable intelligence can get an education. In fact, it’s my belief that such people are in the majority. But that doesn’t mean they’re smarter than everyone else. I’ve met all sorts of professional people who may be the best doctors or lawyers around. Certainly they are making enough money (I work in a service industry, and must make house calls. Some of these people have amazing, expensive houses).

Having said that, though, outside of their area of expertise, they are as dimwitted as a bag of hammers. Not all, but enough to make me think that all they really know is how to do the one job they trained so extensively for.

Then there’s a guy like me. I’ve been to college (twice. I hold two Bachelor’s degrees). But I kill bugs for a living. But I can also communicate well, and I appreciate art and music and literature. I also have the ability to “read” people and figure out what makes them tick. This is something you don’t learn from books. Whether you can make living with it or not is debatable.

In short, school is where you go to become educated, not smart. Smart is something you’re born with. And if you’re smart enough, you can educate yourself.

16

I have a 130+ IQ, I got mediocre grades because I never did my homework, but could usually ace a test or final exam.

Many of the most intelligent people I know got poor grades in school, never went to college, indeed some of them were high school dropouts.

I think it’s because a more intelligent brain needs to be challenged. Regurgitating drivel you’ve been spoon fed just doesn’t work. Most teachers and many parents do not recognize this, and chalk your poor acedemic performance to laziness, rather than steering you into more challenging classes, etc.

Yeah, I think there’s an arrogance factor, but I despise “busy work” to no end.