I had this thought in mind recently. I think I am quite a fitting example of an overachiever. My core intelligence is not that high. But many people said to me how intelligent they perceive me and were stunned by my skills. I don't think I am very talented or gifted. I am quite thoughtful and deep. But not extraordinary smart. I work my fucking ass off and read myriads of hours (or listen to) articles and more and more scientifical journals/interviews/lectures. I think I am quite articulate and if you use many different vocabularies most people think you must be pretty smart. I think I am pretty much at maximum of my full potential. However at college I meet some truely gifted people. And some are just extremely lazy. One of my best friends at college is extremely smart. But I noticed pretty fast he barely works to reach his full potential. I think he might be at 20%. I would be pretty curious how far this dude could come if he worked his ass off. On the other hand with such a behavior he would risk a burnout and maybe life is a marathon and not a sprint. (not sure if this idiom exists in English). He is really impressive. However he has many interests which have nothing to do with analytical work. He enjoys being in the nature. I am the opposite. Maybe it is sad that I am trying so hard - and he is great at many things without much work. On the other hand my grades are pretty good - so my hard work is not completely in vain. (Maybe it is because I am probably unable to hold a job.)
I think sometimes I overestimate my intelligence. I ask myself whether I am affected by the Dunning Kruger effect. Definition: "The DunningāKruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge." There was a time I was pretty confident in my knowledge on politics and philosophy. But I realized that much of my knowledge is superficial. This was after this meeting with the STEM professor in a clinic. Maybe it is concerning for my sanity that I think so much about him but he really started a process inside myself to read more scientifical papers. When I met him most of my knowledge stemmed from media outlets. Afterwards I wanted to know the biases of the media world and how I am affected by them. I think I still only scratch at the surface of our world. I am interested in wanting to capture the essence of things. This is a thought I had recently. Maybe I am good at that. I am pretty articulate and I think I am quite reflective maybe these are good requirements to reach that goal. But it is less related to politics.
Maybe I try to keep more focus to the title. I think one reason why I might overestimate my intelligence is my family and the environment at home. My family consists only of morons. My mom abused me over a decade and thought it would be the best thing for my development. Recently I read a long book and she was shocked about that fact. "How can you read like that? How can you have fun doing that?" She talked like that to other family members about me. I think my dad is even worse. Sometimes I have the feeling that he shows signs of dementia. He is extremely ignorant and is able to perfectly fade out unpleasant truths about himself. His cognitive skills are horrendous. I ask myself whether this is the impact of an untreated depression. I envy that he can work in contrast to me. I could tell so many anecdotes where I just realized how ignorant and stupid my family is. I can remember one therapist said in a meeting with me and my mom. (the topic was my abuse) "How can such a smart guy have such a stupid mother? " Lol.
Isn't a component of intelligence inherited? I could imagine my mentel illness rather made me quite sharp. I think when the suicidal thoughts started my cognitive skills improved and my drive to do things increased too. Maybe I am not humble enough and maybe I look down at other people in some instances. However I think that is the aftermath of severe abuse and bullying. I often think about how stupid parents can be to ruin the life of their children utterly while thinking it would be good for their development. My mom acted like a complete psychopath when I was a child. She is none for sure. I am not completely sure why she acted so insane. I think she experienced domestic violence as a child too. Maybe she memorized the violence as very severe and wanted to give me that "healing" (what the actual fuck...) amount too? I could imagine that she drew the wrong conclusions from this experience.
Again to the title. I am not sure whether I am on paper way smarter than my parents. For example in cognitive tests. But I am way more educated. Sometimes my family acts extremely irrational. As if they did not want to think analytically. Maybe that is some sort of bias. Wanting to fade out unpleasant truths. It works for them because they have a better life quality than me. Honestly if I were them I would torture myself every single second for what I have done to my children. This would cripple me for sure. My mom thinks more in the perspective that she has to function in order to repair the damage as good as possible.
I think I am quite analytical and I think/ ruminate a lot. I think you also see this with my threads. I think about things like 24/7. It is very tough for me to give me breaks. And maybe I am not that savvy but I have thought more about many issues compared to the average guy and maybe that is an advantage for me.
Maybe some people perceive analytical thinking as tedious. I think this might be the case and I think that insight is fascinating for me. Due to the fact I am obsessed by analyzing shit and I struggle to grasp people with that mindset. Maybe some people prefer to trust their guts and feelings more than their mind. Maybe that is analogous to David Foster Wallace's remarks on why some (also intelligent) people dislike reading. Maybe it is lonely and in some sort of way sad to think about the same thing like 30 minutes all alone just reflecting about the different perspectives. Most people don't have an intrinsic motivation for finding "truth." They don't find meaning in gaining knowledge or to understand the biases of the human mind. Maybe some people feel like it is exhaustive and a waste of energy. This can backfire for sure if one does not think through decisions. But the other side of the extreme can be unhealthy too. I suffer from severe OCD, perfectionism, torturous ruminating and worrying. I am overthinking things as for example in this thread. Because some of my impressions are probably exaggerated and I might emphasis a certain well sounding (simple minded) narrative a little bit too much.
Maybe another interesting way to think about it is the following: some less intelligent people (probably not the majority) find comfort in analytical work. And some (of course not all) very intelligent people enjoy more activities which give them a break of cognitive stimulation.
Personally I think I stimulate my brain a lot with thinking. But I see my constraints when a topic is too complicated for me. For example hard science in many instances. I could imagine that real intellectuals are more aware about the boundaries of their knowledge in contrast to me. I try to give interesting insights on many topics. But I think this might lead to simple minded narratives. On the other hand some people expressed their appreciation for the food for brain that I deliver.
It is interesting that sometimes very smart people tend to stupid behavior. Like excessive drug abuse. Though the reasons could be personality traits or an abuse story. I have the feeling many people take drugs (also socially more accepted ones like alcohol) to get a break of their sober consciousness. They want to flee from rationality and all the responsiblites that come along with the life of an adult. Mabye it is better for one's happiness if one can stop with the ruminating for some hours. I guess I won't find out. Though sometimes I sedate me with a lot of medication. However sometimes my brain is just on fire and not even 5 prescriptive medication can give me a break.
Maybe that is a good idea now. Taking a break and stop my rambling. I could go on for hours but this might be a warning sign of my manic mind. Congratulation that you read this whole wall of text. Or at least you can pretend to have done so when you read the last paragraph and send a hug or love. Lol. Though I still appreciate that and send the hugs back :)
Holy fucking shit it is that long. Yes I have manic symptoms this evening. That is concerning. Lol.
I think sometimes I overestimate my intelligence. I ask myself whether I am affected by the Dunning Kruger effect. Definition: "The DunningāKruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge." There was a time I was pretty confident in my knowledge on politics and philosophy. But I realized that much of my knowledge is superficial. This was after this meeting with the STEM professor in a clinic. Maybe it is concerning for my sanity that I think so much about him but he really started a process inside myself to read more scientifical papers. When I met him most of my knowledge stemmed from media outlets. Afterwards I wanted to know the biases of the media world and how I am affected by them. I think I still only scratch at the surface of our world. I am interested in wanting to capture the essence of things. This is a thought I had recently. Maybe I am good at that. I am pretty articulate and I think I am quite reflective maybe these are good requirements to reach that goal. But it is less related to politics.
Maybe I try to keep more focus to the title. I think one reason why I might overestimate my intelligence is my family and the environment at home. My family consists only of morons. My mom abused me over a decade and thought it would be the best thing for my development. Recently I read a long book and she was shocked about that fact. "How can you read like that? How can you have fun doing that?" She talked like that to other family members about me. I think my dad is even worse. Sometimes I have the feeling that he shows signs of dementia. He is extremely ignorant and is able to perfectly fade out unpleasant truths about himself. His cognitive skills are horrendous. I ask myself whether this is the impact of an untreated depression. I envy that he can work in contrast to me. I could tell so many anecdotes where I just realized how ignorant and stupid my family is. I can remember one therapist said in a meeting with me and my mom. (the topic was my abuse) "How can such a smart guy have such a stupid mother? " Lol.
Isn't a component of intelligence inherited? I could imagine my mentel illness rather made me quite sharp. I think when the suicidal thoughts started my cognitive skills improved and my drive to do things increased too. Maybe I am not humble enough and maybe I look down at other people in some instances. However I think that is the aftermath of severe abuse and bullying. I often think about how stupid parents can be to ruin the life of their children utterly while thinking it would be good for their development. My mom acted like a complete psychopath when I was a child. She is none for sure. I am not completely sure why she acted so insane. I think she experienced domestic violence as a child too. Maybe she memorized the violence as very severe and wanted to give me that "healing" (what the actual fuck...) amount too? I could imagine that she drew the wrong conclusions from this experience.
Again to the title. I am not sure whether I am on paper way smarter than my parents. For example in cognitive tests. But I am way more educated. Sometimes my family acts extremely irrational. As if they did not want to think analytically. Maybe that is some sort of bias. Wanting to fade out unpleasant truths. It works for them because they have a better life quality than me. Honestly if I were them I would torture myself every single second for what I have done to my children. This would cripple me for sure. My mom thinks more in the perspective that she has to function in order to repair the damage as good as possible.
I think I am quite analytical and I think/ ruminate a lot. I think you also see this with my threads. I think about things like 24/7. It is very tough for me to give me breaks. And maybe I am not that savvy but I have thought more about many issues compared to the average guy and maybe that is an advantage for me.
Maybe some people perceive analytical thinking as tedious. I think this might be the case and I think that insight is fascinating for me. Due to the fact I am obsessed by analyzing shit and I struggle to grasp people with that mindset. Maybe some people prefer to trust their guts and feelings more than their mind. Maybe that is analogous to David Foster Wallace's remarks on why some (also intelligent) people dislike reading. Maybe it is lonely and in some sort of way sad to think about the same thing like 30 minutes all alone just reflecting about the different perspectives. Most people don't have an intrinsic motivation for finding "truth." They don't find meaning in gaining knowledge or to understand the biases of the human mind. Maybe some people feel like it is exhaustive and a waste of energy. This can backfire for sure if one does not think through decisions. But the other side of the extreme can be unhealthy too. I suffer from severe OCD, perfectionism, torturous ruminating and worrying. I am overthinking things as for example in this thread. Because some of my impressions are probably exaggerated and I might emphasis a certain well sounding (simple minded) narrative a little bit too much.
Maybe another interesting way to think about it is the following: some less intelligent people (probably not the majority) find comfort in analytical work. And some (of course not all) very intelligent people enjoy more activities which give them a break of cognitive stimulation.
Personally I think I stimulate my brain a lot with thinking. But I see my constraints when a topic is too complicated for me. For example hard science in many instances. I could imagine that real intellectuals are more aware about the boundaries of their knowledge in contrast to me. I try to give interesting insights on many topics. But I think this might lead to simple minded narratives. On the other hand some people expressed their appreciation for the food for brain that I deliver.
It is interesting that sometimes very smart people tend to stupid behavior. Like excessive drug abuse. Though the reasons could be personality traits or an abuse story. I have the feeling many people take drugs (also socially more accepted ones like alcohol) to get a break of their sober consciousness. They want to flee from rationality and all the responsiblites that come along with the life of an adult. Mabye it is better for one's happiness if one can stop with the ruminating for some hours. I guess I won't find out. Though sometimes I sedate me with a lot of medication. However sometimes my brain is just on fire and not even 5 prescriptive medication can give me a break.
Maybe that is a good idea now. Taking a break and stop my rambling. I could go on for hours but this might be a warning sign of my manic mind. Congratulation that you read this whole wall of text. Or at least you can pretend to have done so when you read the last paragraph and send a hug or love. Lol. Though I still appreciate that and send the hugs back :)
Holy fucking shit it is that long. Yes I have manic symptoms this evening. That is concerning. Lol.
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I'm sure knowledge and critical thinking is great. I just wonder how often it is put to good use.
