Do you regard yourself as smarter than most other people?

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And do you think most people do?

― man, Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:14 (twenty-three years ago)

i usually feel painfully slower than everyone else around here

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:17 (twenty-three years ago)

i can't say i spend all that much time thinking about it, but deep down probably yes. that is, when i'm not coversing with the computer programmers here at work.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:19 (twenty-three years ago)

conversing

(why i oughta..)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I consider myself smarter than stupid people.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:20 (twenty-three years ago)

i think at school i did. school work was easy and getting praise was easy.
in the real world i don't. because there's "smart" and there's "cunningly, ruthlessly, smart" or there's "driven by obsession smart".

― gaz (gaz), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:23 (twenty-three years ago)

yes.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:35 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, if by most you mean 51%

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:37 (twenty-three years ago)

oh hell no

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Despite my piss-poor reasoning on the porn thread, yes.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:39 (twenty-three years ago)

jess you are so lying to yourself

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:42 (twenty-three years ago)

i usually feel painfully slower than everyone else around here

Yeah, me too. I'm kind of like the village idiot. I always feel out of my element on the more thoughtful, political threads because usually someone else posts opinions similar to mine but in a much more articulate way.

― Nicole (Nicole), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:42 (twenty-three years ago)

see, the thing is though that - deep down - i don't...i'm come off like a snotty overconfident prick 75% of the time and the other 25% i'm a jibbering wreck but like all snotty overconfident prick's it stems from a secret fear that i am actually a total idiot

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:45 (twenty-three years ago)

on this board, the complete opposite. in real life, most of the time.

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:45 (twenty-three years ago)

i consider myself smarter than most people, and stupider than them, all at the same time.

― di smith (lucylurex), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:46 (twenty-three years ago)

well, i harldly know ya, but you're not, jess

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Not so much, no

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:47 (twenty-three years ago)

see, SEE "i'm come off" what the fuck does that even MEAN

but yeah if we're talking "real world/people who pay for the bus with pennies/what's a screwdriver?/don't call me a homonym" people, then yes.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:48 (twenty-three years ago)

I didn't even notice that error!

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:52 (twenty-three years ago)

i will always have the "is this a screwdriver?" story to keep me mentally warm at night

(in short:

me: at desk in college bookstore which happens to be on the salesfloor
girlstudent: do you have any screwdrivers?
me: yes, as it happens they're right behind you
girlstudent and pal consult the rack for 5 minutes or so before turning back to me with a phillips head
girlstudent: is this a screwdriver?
me: banging my head into the desk

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I was going to post some smart-ass crack here about disregarding other people instead. Think I just answered the question.

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:59 (twenty-three years ago)

ass crack here

DTT!

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 12 March 2003 23:59 (twenty-three years ago)

you heart me in my... um... oh never mind

― Kim (Kim), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:01 (twenty-three years ago)

ILX: No. This annoys me. The rest of humanity: Yes. This annoys me.

― Ferg (Ferg), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Jess, did you really say: "yes, as it happens they're right behind you."

I'm thinking you may have made it formal because you already sensed she was that stupid and you wanted to be fancy/patronizing.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:04 (twenty-three years ago)

No. But if I moved to Queensland I probably would.

― Fred Nerk, Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I wonder why it's so common to think of yourself as unusually smart/wise.

― man, Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:06 (twenty-three years ago)

hah no i doubt i really said it like that...knowing how much i liked that job i probably just grunted and waved my hand in the general direction

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:06 (twenty-three years ago)

Where I work I get to deal with 472 completely different variations on that theme everyday. Everybody has unique knowledge and their way of dealing with it. I think my sense of humor and my taste in the arts is more sophisticated (I am SNOB) but really 'smarter' than most other people? - No. Walking through the halls and listening to everybody around you engaging in conversations you can't begin to understand (for any number of reasons) has that effect.

But then again yeah I spend most of my regular time thinking 'I'm a fucking genius and you people shd be PAYING ATTENTION GOD DAMMIT' especially at rock shows surrounded by pseudounpretentious college types

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I have really low self-esteen. I try to joke about it -- which probably gets really old -- but seriously, it's a mega-problem for me. So while I know that I'm reasonably intelligent, I generally feel like an idiot around other people (even online) and it takes a massive effort to get round it.

― ChristineSH (chrissie1068), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:21 (twenty-three years ago)

hey christine, you get used to it after a while (i keep telling myself)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:24 (twenty-three years ago)

my boyfriend is always telling me that i should try and "meet more smart (ie; literary) people". where do you do this?

ps: i also feel intimidated by ile, less by the intelligence quotient than by the wit quotient.

― jeanne picot (jeanne picot), Thursday, 13 March 2003 00:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Do you regard yourself as smarter than most other people?

Um, duh. Of course.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 13 March 2003 01:16 (twenty-three years ago)

I swear that's funnier if you say it out loud.

p.s. I like how Dan to thread now = DTT. That'll fuck the newbies.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 13 March 2003 01:17 (twenty-three years ago)

No, but does being more of a man than most men count for anything?

― BurmaKitty (BurmaKitty), Thursday, 13 March 2003 01:49 (twenty-three years ago)

do you mean you are closer to the masculine ideal than most men are?

― Aaron A., Thursday, 13 March 2003 02:02 (twenty-three years ago)

it means her penis is eight inches

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 13 March 2003 02:07 (twenty-three years ago)

"does being more of a man than most men count for anything?"

To many unkind observers these days (sigh tolerantly but self-righteosly as I contemplate this symptom of a world gone pearshaped) it would count as a 'no' answer to the original question.

― Fred Nerk, Thursday, 13 March 2003 02:08 (twenty-three years ago)

but like all snotty overconfident prick's it stems from a secret fear that i am actually a total idiot

So it's not just me.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 13 March 2003 02:21 (twenty-three years ago)

no, being able to figure out physics problems does not make up for having no social skills at ALL.

― Maria (Maria), Thursday, 13 March 2003 02:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Is that was DTT means? Good, good. A convenient acronym indeed.

Smarter than most? No freakin' idea.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 13 March 2003 03:26 (twenty-three years ago)

nope. but it doesn't worry me

― minna (minna), Thursday, 13 March 2003 03:34 (twenty-three years ago)

no, being able to figure out physics problems does not make up for having no social skills at ALL

It does if your social interactions consist of communal physics problem-solving

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 13 March 2003 03:41 (twenty-three years ago)

it means her penis is eight inches
-- Millar

You are getting warmer...

― BurmaKitty (BurmaKitty), Thursday, 13 March 2003 06:20 (twenty-three years ago)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 13 March 2003 06:22 (twenty-three years ago)

the smart choice is not to think you are smarter than other people.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 13 March 2003 08:31 (twenty-three years ago)

I usually think I'm leagues ahead of everyone, then somehting like ILX comes along...

― Leee (Leee), Thursday, 13 March 2003 08:33 (twenty-three years ago)

1000 times a day i feel stupid. maybe b/c i am

― anthony easton (anthony), Thursday, 13 March 2003 08:41 (twenty-three years ago)

not anymore!

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 13 March 2003 09:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Most of the time, yes. And then Mark S. posts...

― kate, Thursday, 13 March 2003 09:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, I do regard myself as smarter than most people.
But I'm often surprised by who my mental superiors are -
I find that certain blowhards are so loud, verbose and
"logical" that they can convince everyone around them that
they're geniuses - then hours later you think back and realize
how lame their arguments really were.
While other people, like the thick-browed native kid that
scores weed for me (I wish americans called it ganja, that
word is so cool) acts dim most of the time, but now and
again he can come up with an amazing little insight that
I'd never think of.

― skwirrl polise (Squirrel_Police), Thursday, 13 March 2003 09:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Smarter than most, but here I feel less educated and informed.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Thursday, 13 March 2003 09:06 (twenty-three years ago)

In both dress and brain.

― Ian SPACK (Ian SPACK), Thursday, 13 March 2003 09:35 (twenty-three years ago)

not yet.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 13 March 2003 12:05 (twenty-three years ago)

no, i am the underdog.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 13 March 2003 12:13 (twenty-three years ago)

I do feel incredibly uneducated, because I am. That doesn't make me dumb, but so many people place an emphasis on academic achievement that it's sort of impossible to not feel at least slightly inadequate about it.

I would be the first to admit that having a rubbish academic background is not helpful career-wise, though. I think I screwed myself a bit by dropping out and I've been almost too proud to do anything about it. Doh.

― ChristineSH (chrissie1068), Thursday, 13 March 2003 12:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I do feel smarter than most people in most respects, but that word 'smarter' is a pretty broad and vague one. Also, I spend a lot of time here, and this place is full of people smarter than I can even imagine being. I'm about smart enough to know when I'm out of my depth, I think.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 13 March 2003 13:27 (twenty-three years ago)

I think more about things than I believe most other people do, and I know more about some things than other people do, but I dunno if I'm smarter.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 13 March 2003 13:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey Martin, you're wearing a suit right now = you are smarter.

― Pete (Pete), Thursday, 13 March 2003 13:31 (twenty-three years ago)

I think about things *way* too much, but I wouldn't rate it as a sign of being smart. Probably more of an obsessive or 'too much time on my hands' thing, I guess.

― ChristineSH (chrissie1068), Thursday, 13 March 2003 13:32 (twenty-three years ago)

1000 times a day i feel stupid. maybe b/c i am

No way anthony!

― Nicole (Nicole), Thursday, 13 March 2003 13:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Anthony = not dumb. My good Mr. Easton, do you realize that on the subject of art alone you make me (and many more besides!) seem completely ignorant?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 13 March 2003 14:16 (twenty-three years ago)

not any more. I used to when I was at school.

― MarkH (MarkH), Thursday, 13 March 2003 16:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Only when I'm driving.

― Arthur (Arthur), Thursday, 13 March 2003 16:26 (twenty-three years ago)

I want to be an idiot savant.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 13 March 2003 21:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey, you're halfway there.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Thursday, 13 March 2003 21:50 (twenty-three years ago)

A friend of mine called me an idiot savant the other day. I was delighted.

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Thursday, 13 March 2003 22:35 (twenty-three years ago)

jel is a savant?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 13 March 2003 22:39 (twenty-three years ago)

I still, in spite of the overwhelming evidence otherwise, believe I'm smarter than most people. Hovever I don't think most people these days think I'm as smart as most garden gnomes. Which just proves I'm right all along. So there. Nyah nyah!!

― Warnie!, Thursday, 13 March 2003 23:14 (twenty-three years ago)

i dont consider myself smarter than others, but i look around me and i see that many people seem to accept a lot of what is given to them, and this is something i try to avoid. i guess there are three types of people: the ones who think they know everything, but know nothing; those that don't know everything but ask a lot of questions, wonder to themselves, and just generally care to know more (i think i am here), and then those that really do know what they are talking about, and can be excused (but only slightly) for being somewhat inflexible.

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Thursday, 13 March 2003 23:29 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm definitely smarter than almost all of the people I meet. Half of the people I meet, however, know more about certain subjects than I do. My smartness cannot always overcome their knowledge.

I think that a lot of people here are very smart indeed. I don't assume they are smarter than me. Many people trump my arguments, but I think that is because I am drunk or rushed. Then, I wonder whether the people who trumped my arguments might also be drunk and rushed. Sometimes I think they might be. If not, I'm in with a chance, when I'm sober and have more time.

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Thursday, 13 March 2003 23:51 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

No, and Yes.

― Foo, Saturday, 19 April 2003 13:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmm. Smarter, probably. More informed, usually not. Do other people think of me as smarter? Hmm. I think the first impression I give is one of being ditzier than I actually am. Then when I say something halfway intelligent they seem to think I'm near-genius. Then if they get to know me better they develop a more realistic view: not stupid, smart in many ways, but no genius. So, I dunno.

― jewelly (jewelly), Saturday, 19 April 2003 19:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I think I'm more intuitive, more curious, more eager to take a DIY approach to learning and coming up with ideas (instead of needing/expecting help from others). But a lot of people out there who aren't necessarily "smart" seem to Have It All Figured Out, and I'm jealous cuz I sure as hell don't.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 19 April 2003 19:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Scratch my answer and copy & paste Jody's over it, k?

― jewelly (jewelly), Saturday, 19 April 2003 19:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I agree with Mark Twain's assessment that the difference between most people's intelligence is far more apparent than real. He likened humanity to a sea of midgets, all within a few inches in their height, but none tall enough to see above the heads of the rest. Once or twice in a century, he said, one individual in that vast sea rises up an extra inch or two and gets a peep at the world from that grand height and, like the one-eyed man in the land of the blind, assumes a godlike stature.

I may pride myself on being a half inch above most folks I meet, but in my sensible moments I know that's a false pride.

― Aimless, Sunday, 20 April 2003 16:36 (twenty-three years ago)

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