Does anyone else wonder what it's like to be "dumb?"

OP has a God complex...

I can only imagine you're not that intelligent. Intelligent people realize how foolish the supremacist mindset is.

reply to post by LordGoofus

Here's one that we bounced around for a few days... does light age? I'm not talking about the Doppler effect, red shift (which is still a "best guess" theory), or the various other effects that gravity, friction and physical matter have on photons, I'm talking about where a photon, in absolute vacuum with nothing to bump into, no gravity wells or other photons to affect it ages in some form due to the passage of time. Also note that in order to prove a photon ages, you would need to prove that a photon has a birth (origin). A point where it popped into existence due to some random event.

No beginning =no end.There was a moment of creation=there will be an end.

www.physicsforums.com...

Thinking critically about a TV show??? That's one of the best examples of superior intelligence you could come up with, OP?
Intelligence is like beauty.....in the eye of the beholder.

Originally posted by catswithbigpaws
In comparison to most people I know, I'm inevitably superior when it comes to intelligence. I have the ability to learn a chapter of vocab in five minutes, ace every math test, ace every test I study for, and so on. I don't know what it's like to study for three hours and get a C. If I do that, I get an A. I don't understand how people can't question authority, think critically about a TV show, etc. It's like my mind segregrates me from the majority of society. I'm proud of my wits, but it's sad how naive and stupid people are. I don't know if it's genetics or lack of educational motivation. Maybe being smart is uncool. Hm. I still question what it's like to have an inferior mind, to have a poor memory, and to have little ability to think for one's self. Also, I do recognize that school ability doesn't really matter, but smart people are probably more likely to understand something than people who aren't smart.

Hopefully I didn't sound arrogant.

Give it about ten years, you'll find out. As you age, the memory begins to fail. As the years pass, you realize that being able to regurgitate knowledge (photographic memory) doesn't amount to as much as you think right now. As you get older the knowledge is replaced with wisdom and you soon realize you don't know as much as you think you do.

I'm not saying you are lying or that you aren't intelligent, there's a high likelyhood that you are. However, IQ doesn't always match up with wisdom or with success.

I dedicated my life to education for various reasons ranging from how I was raised to various interests I have. I could have chosen whatever career path I wanted and I chose this one. I don't regret it, I love what I do. However, at the same time, now that my years are increasing, I wonder what may have been different if I went a different route. But I digress....

I imagine you to be young, maybe 20's, probably in college or a recent graduate with the world at your feet. As someone who was once in your shoes, I tell you now, in all earnestness and honesty, follow your passion. Find something that you love and let it decide your path as opposed to following what you think your IQ may merit.

By all means, join mensa, go to meetings, learn for yourself that it's very boring and drop out on your own when you get tired of it. Explore all the possibilities, try out everything, see what you love and what you hate. Those of us who were "blessed" with intelligence tend to take a bit longer for the emotional to reach the point it should. Develop your empathy, listen to your heart, watch how your actions affect those around you, become well balanced. This part will take the effort and work that others have to apply to acquiring knowledge that comes easy to you and you'll better understand their challenges as well as your own.

I was young and "cocky" once, the resident "genius", the big fish in the small pond. Yes, I enjoyed it, yes, it did affect me. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative. My memory isn't what it used to be, I learned to turn my emotions on and off, block them out when needed. I drifted away from family and friends in my 30's and thought I was on top of the world. Those things change. The emotional is an important part of our lives and we can't ignore it. The intelligence isn't everything, it has to be balanced.

I'm sure you've heard the saying "There's a fine line between genius and insanity" and it's very, very true. Just ensure the insanity that you delve into isn't the destructive kind, the greedy kind, the hurtful kind. Go with the lighthearted, the good willed, the positive kind. It will make the transitions in your life much easier and prevent you from becoming the age old stereotype of the genius that went mad and ended up being institutionalized or jailed for their actions.

Yes, there are others out there who went through what you are going through right now and it's a great ride, it can be very enjoyable. Just be careful about how you look at it and the attitudes you develop, Regardless of your intelligence or lack thereof, your humanity should be the lead factor. If your intelligence is great, your humanity should be greater.

Also, be nice to those you consider "stupid", they have feelings, usually higher emotions and you can be very hurtful without ever realizing it. Don't see them as an annoyance, see them as a challenge, learn to understand them and help them rise above the level of intelligence you feel they have. In the process, they'll be helping you rise above the emotional level you happen to have. Each and every person has something to offer, the wise try to see those gifts as opposed to comparing their gifts to yours.

reply to post by catswithbigpaws


You are dumb, everyone is, to a certain limit, you just have not met anyone smarter yet, or you are in denial when you get corrected !

Sorry i don't understand the question

reply to post by catswithbigpaws


I proved that I was rather dumb for reading this thread.

Since the goal of getting drunk is to make the brain stupid, I suggest you try that until you feel as dumb as the rest of us

reply to post by catswithbigpaws

Intelligence alone sadly has very little to say about how naive you are. IQ tests only measure a small part of our cognitive skills.
You can find extremely intelligent persons who fail at pretty much every other aspect at life.

reply to post by LordGoofus

Around my wifes friends, I feel like an absolute genius

I felt the same way about my now ex wife and her family.

"The wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows all."

Or perhaps better suited to address the existence of this thread...

"A smart person knows what to say, a wise person knows whether to say it or not."

reply to post by catswithbigpaws


you claim to be intellectually superior to us , why dont you demonstrate it - instead of having to tell us

reply to post by kthxbai


I was going to post a response but having seen this post, there's no need. You put it so eloquently I have nothing but one thing to add. When he finally gets visibly old and is still intelligent, they won't believe him no matter how much sense he makes; he'll become invisible and inaudible. That's one time you really start to wonder if you are "dumb"!

I act differently than the majority of people whom I am around. I think these people are what you describe ''dumb'' because they don't spend so much time on the internet and they have different interests. When you read a lot about science, astronomy, philosophies, (meta)physics, etc, you change and become a more enlightenend individual than the average person you would meet. For my lack of social abilities I spend a lot of time alone, thus researching and reading a lot of stuff. Without books and the internet, I would not be much different than the majority.
I am not insanely smart or something in that line. However, sometimes I lose my hope in humanity through observation of how they act and what they do. Luckily, I am not the only one, here on this site there are a lot of people like me, minds whom I can talk with and share my thoughts.

The question is an interesting one, but the way you explained yourself certainly makes you look arrogant.

I've known a few "dumb" people in my life and wondered how it was their level of intelligence came to be. My conclusion is that intelligence is related to ones own willingness to learn. Hence, it is related to mental laziness.

To be "dumb" is simply to be ignorant of what most think of as common knowledge. To not know these things shows you were not interested in retaining the knowledge when it was shown to you at some point in your life.

I would say to answer your question, you need to compare how you yourself feel next to someone with a much greater knowledge of things. This is how "dumb" people feel around you.

Originally posted by catswithbigpaws
In comparison to most people I know, I'm inevitably superior when it comes to intelligence. I have the ability to learn a chapter of vocab in five minutes, ace every math test, ace every test I study for, and so on. I don't know what it's like to study for three hours and get a C. If I do that, I get an A. I don't understand how people can't question authority, think critically about a TV show, etc. It's like my mind segregrates me from the majority of society. I'm proud of my wits, but it's sad how naive and stupid people are. I don't know if it's genetics or lack of educational motivation. Maybe being smart is uncool. Hm. I still question what it's like to have an inferior mind, to have a poor memory, and to have little ability to think for one's self. Also, I do recognize that school ability doesn't really matter, but smart people are probably more likely to understand something than people who aren't smart.

Hopefully I didn't sound arrogant.

define dumb.... can you fix your own car?

I must say, you've presented quite an impressive list of parlor tricks. What will you be left with when you find that you can't remember a fact that you just scanned over an hour before-- the ability to think deep thoughts about the latest unrealistic episode plot?
Some people would look at you and wonder what it is like to want to watch TV at all.

And no, I don't wonder what it's like to have worse memory recall than I do now. I know I'll get a taste of it when I'm older whether I like it or not, though.

Where did the OP go? lol

Originally posted by WaterBottle
Where did the OP go? lol

Hopefully to learn some humility.

We should take care not to make the intellect our god;
it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.

...some guy called Einstein