Dear Jessica Brennan,
I heard someone say once that if your IQ is above a normal level, life is pretty much unbearable.
I’m no genius but I sort of get where the speaker was coming from.
For example, I wonder how a doctor feels when a patient confidently goes to Google to self-diagnosis a condition with 100% error, yet 100% certainty? It is insufferable I’m sure.
What about the scientist who has to hear about how there were never any dinosaurs, and global warming doesn’t exist? Torture.
Have you ever had to listen to a doomsday or conspiracy theorist for more than 90 seconds? Dreadful.
Most people think that if they say things with certainty then others will believe them, and sometimes that is true. But for me, the more certain people are, the more suspicious I become.
The smartest people I know aren’t absolutely sure about very much, and a lot of that comes from being smart enough that they don’t feel the need to be sure, or right. They are more interested in perspective and creative ideas, than being the one in the room who is going to tell everyone else how they must live, what they must believe, or that they are wrong. Their intelligence is self-evident, so they don’t need to bray on about it seeking constant attention.
The “I know all” crowd, show their lack of intellect with their sulky, bossy-kid approach. You know her – you agreed to have a glass of wine with her and immediately realized you could never be drunk enough to listen to even one more word about why she’s right. You know him – you got stuck sitting next to him for two hours on a train and despite the potential danger, you considered using the little red emergency hammer to break the window to free yourself. Intolerable? Correct.
Those with high IQs seem to know intuitively that a wide selection of opinions and open discussion, bring new ideas and new solutions, and that alone proves how smart they are.
One definition of intelligence is, “The whole of cognitive or intellectual abilities required to obtain knowledge, and to use that knowledge in a good way to solve problems that have a well described goal and structure.”
I’m guessing that because the truly intelligent among us are naturally inspired to solve problems, then the people who most annoy the high IQ-ers are the ones who can’t solve problems. The people who irritate them are the ones who don’t want to solve problems and the folks who torture them are the ones who are only interested in creating problems.
Just something to think about, smarty-pants.
Love,
Mum xo
