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I scored 140 when I was 10 or 11, and today 40+ years later I sometimes would like to be able to wind back time before day one and remix my parents DNA with a c

I scored 140 when I was 10 or 11, and today 40+ years later I sometimes would like to be able to wind back time before day one and remix my parents DNA with a chimp so that I could score no more than half of that figure. Being intelligent can be indeed a blessing, but only if you live in the right context, both at home and school (that's parents responsibility when you're a kid), otherwise people will marginalize/bully you; at school just because you are (talk, act, etc) different, at workplace because being more intelligent makes you faster at identifying problems and solving them. Whether or not this turns out into a higher pay you make some enemies anyway because either some colleagues become envious or they now need to work harder because you set a new standard to follow. Being intelligent can also ruin your life if you have ideals, that is, you would like to change things for the better also for other people. What kills you from the inside is the awareness about something that is awfully bad or wrong and understanding that you are absolutely powerless at changing it, so that you'd rather want to never have known about that problem from start. Socially speaking things aren't that different: I've got to the point of faking being "normal", both at work or in social life, that is, I had the solution for a problem or something smart to say or do, but kept it for myself because I didn't want to appear different, and I also sometimes wanted to be invited at parties, so I totally understand your point. The only thing being intelligent helped a lot was finding the right woman (17 years together with highs and lows, mostly highs) but especially at young age one would rather find a wrong one each week than the right one for life. That's where being intelligent doesn't help at all: if you want to have fun, hide as much as you can that you belong in the right part of that gaussian. BTW, I've got a bit more luck at finding jobs, but mostly because it was before the post 2k crisis; one morning I sent my (almost empty by then) resume to various companies and recruiters, and by lunch time I had like 12 or 13 job offers. That was just crazy; it didn't last long though.

agumonkey 7y ago
> , at workplace because being more intelligent makes you faster at identifying problems and solving them. Don't know my IQ but I grew up with a taste and habit of thinking and trying to solve problems, and in some workplaces people want to complain and not solve problems. Weirder than that, if I offer the solution free, they react half negatively (maybe insulted, or shamed ?), and later they may even complain that I stopped offering solutions. Extremely damaging to my mind.
- squarefoot 7y ago
  Been there done that, in some places being good at solving problems makes some people think you're attempting to damage them. That attitude is common among workers who aren't good at their job and have no intention to learn, so they see you as an obstacle rather than an opportunity to ask questions. In sane working environments, should some of them get at war with you that wouldn't be a problem since you're better and if a choice among one of you must be taken the result would be obvious, but I've found and experienced on my own butt that when someone reaches a technical position without having the necessary knowledge it usually means he or she is much more socially skilled than you, or has very strong connections with people who take decisions, both aspects making that "enemy" impossible to beat. When you smell a situation like that, just leave asap: any attempt at fighting the war will consume you from within without giving anything in return, except maybe a better knowledge on how to avoid that in the future. Not sure if it's worth the pain, though: in one really bad situation I've experienced somatized hemorroids for nearly one month before I finally decided to quit, and two days after taking that decision they were completely gone and never returned. Then in some other rather corrupt places, money is made by dragging the solution ad infinitum or close to it, because penalties for missed releases are crafted in a way that makes delays still more profitable than finishing in time (easier when supplier and customer are "in the same bed" and money comes from the government), so that if you offer a quick solution you immediately see people looking at you like you were a bank robber. Oh the irony:)
  - agumonkey 7y ago
    Note that this wasn't an engineering position, just an input operator gig, so they weren't hired for skills nor due to network. It just happen that we were all in an Excel Hell and I happened to VBA myself out of some pits. There's a weird social dynamic that I don't fully understand.. maybe it's fatigue causing lack of desire to learn how to make your job easier and feel inferior .. who knows
    - philpem 7y ago
      It could well be a fear of automation. Automating part of the process may reduce the drudgery, but there's an existential fear from some people -- that if a part of their job can be automated, they'll be made redundant. Or the boss will ask them to do more work, faster, for the same pay.

agumonkey 7y ago

> , at workplace because being more intelligent makes you faster at identifying problems and solving them. Don't know my IQ but I grew up with a taste and habit of thinking and trying to solve problems, and in some workplaces people want to complain and not solve problems. Weirder than that, if I offer the solution free, they react half negatively (maybe insulted, or shamed ?), and later they may even complain that I stopped offering solutions. Extremely damaging to my mind.

squarefoot 7y ago
Been there done that, in some places being good at solving problems makes some people think you're attempting to damage them. That attitude is common among workers who aren't good at their job and have no intention to learn, so they see you as an obstacle rather than an opportunity to ask questions. In sane working environments, should some of them get at war with you that wouldn't be a problem since you're better and if a choice among one of you must be taken the result would be obvious, but I've found and experienced on my own butt that when someone reaches a technical position without having the necessary knowledge it usually means he or she is much more socially skilled than you, or has very strong connections with people who take decisions, both aspects making that "enemy" impossible to beat. When you smell a situation like that, just leave asap: any attempt at fighting the war will consume you from within without giving anything in return, except maybe a better knowledge on how to avoid that in the future. Not sure if it's worth the pain, though: in one really bad situation I've experienced somatized hemorroids for nearly one month before I finally decided to quit, and two days after taking that decision they were completely gone and never returned. Then in some other rather corrupt places, money is made by dragging the solution ad infinitum or close to it, because penalties for missed releases are crafted in a way that makes delays still more profitable than finishing in time (easier when supplier and customer are "in the same bed" and money comes from the government), so that if you offer a quick solution you immediately see people looking at you like you were a bank robber. Oh the irony:)
- agumonkey 7y ago
  Note that this wasn't an engineering position, just an input operator gig, so they weren't hired for skills nor due to network. It just happen that we were all in an Excel Hell and I happened to VBA myself out of some pits. There's a weird social dynamic that I don't fully understand.. maybe it's fatigue causing lack of desire to learn how to make your job easier and feel inferior .. who knows
  - philpem 7y ago
    It could well be a fear of automation. Automating part of the process may reduce the drudgery, but there's an existential fear from some people -- that if a part of their job can be automated, they'll be made redundant. Or the boss will ask them to do more work, faster, for the same pay.