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> The odds that an 18-22yo traditional college student will overlook a 5-9 year age gap because you share a lot of interests and can have interesting conversati

> The odds that an 18-22yo traditional college student will overlook a 5-9 year age gap because you share a lot of interests and can have interesting conversations are much higher than the odds that another 13yo will overlook the fact that you have no shared interests at all because hey, you're the same age. I see both as same odds - mainly zero. A lot of people ITT who are like, “I’m so high IQ - I went to college when I was 13” like many of us out here didn’t have that option. (Rubs very much the same way of r/iamverysmart) It’s not as difficult as people make it sound. Most of your education growing up is a complete joke - it’s just babysitting. Exclaiming that you were some version of detective Conan is also quite cringe.

garbagetime 5y ago
It's always a bit cringe worthy when a person talks about how smart he is. But that doesn't make it wrong. You seem to have read it as some kind of bragging, but I see no reason to interpret it that way.
renewiltord 5y ago
Usually, it’s some moron on the Internet saying he was a “gifted kid” like it’s an achievement but you have independent verification that Colin Percival (cperciva - this topic starter) is smart. He’s a multi-time Putnam winner and the founder of Tarsnap. Also the source of one of those amusing HN exchanges where people think everyone else is run of the mill. You know the one.
- cperciva 5y ago
  multi-time Putnam winner Alas, only once.
- bradlys 5y ago
  He himself said he couldn’t associate with people who were lower than his IQ. I don’t give a shit what his accomplishments are - he clearly still has the same asinine mentality that any 13-year old has when they think they’re smart. Idk why people on HN assume this is the first time I’ve had to deal with a Putnam winner (or a fields medalist), a celebrity, a billionaire, etc. I live in SV after all. I’ve talked to all of these folks many times. I talk to this person no different than any of the other people I’ve talked to. They deserve no different when they say such things. I judge what they say and are actively doing - not what past accomplishments they have made in some unrelated field.
  - renewiltord 5y ago
    It's not about the achievement or the title of being a whatever. It's just that if you're the kind of kid really interested in math competitions and you're really good at it, then you've got a small set of people with whom you can really enjoy sharing your view of the world through your favourite lens. Whatever. Essentially, I like this guy's software and he seems fairly personable, so I'm inclined to not really believe he's "I'm so much smarter than you"ing a bunch of people.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - zuminator 5y ago
    He himself said he couldn’t associate with people who were lower than his IQ That's not really what he said at all. He said he fit in somewhat better with his intellectual peers than with his age cohort. There's nothing really controversial about that at all. Most people prefer the company of those with whom they share common intellectual pursuits and viewpoint over those for whom their only common factor is age. Often physical and mental age councide but when they don't, it doesn't seem unreasonable that common mentality would be a stronger bond. And even if the sentiment were elitist (which I dispute) I don't think I'm the context of this discussion, it deserves a hostile response. I appreciate the individual sharing his personal experience, even if I wouldn't qualify as the type of person he'd share a beer with.
  - jack_pp 5y ago
    You sound like you have an inferiority complex, you probably were not blessed with a comparable IQ to the people you describe and resent them for it because in SV that's your most important asset. I'm not that smart compared to the other people you replied to but smart is relative. I chose to go to the 3rd best high school in my mediocre Romanian town and had the highest entry grade in the entire high school. When it came to math I would grok the concepts by simply reading on my own 30 minutes before class while my peers would need tutors and still not get it. Do you think I had a good time in high school? What my peers lacked in math skill they gained in ego preservation. They saw intelligence as a threat that must be neutralized. I doubt my story is that different. I'm telling you this because it's pretty obvious you did not live it so you might gain some empathy and let go of your resentment
smeej 5y ago
My comment was primarily to give the opposite side of the same coin as the parent comment. It sounded like we were probably similar children whose parents made dissimilar choices. He seems to think his parents made the right choice. I wanted to confirm that I thought the choice my parents made was the wrong one. You can read bragging into it if you really want, but it's extrinsic to the conversation.
blagie 5y ago
All I can advise is a little bit of empathy. There are plenty of people who are nerdy, and have horrible social skills. For every bit of how obnoxious “I’m so high IQ - I went to college when I was 13” sounds to you, the flip side is that the person saying that probably: 1) Doesn't have very many friends 2) Which doesn't give many opportunities to practice social interactions Which sort of cycles back on itself. It's hurting them a lot more than it's hurting you. Society could use a lot more empathy.

garbagetime 5y ago

It's always a bit cringe worthy when a person talks about how smart he is. But that doesn't make it wrong. You seem to have read it as some kind of bragging, but I see no reason to interpret it that way.

renewiltord 5y ago

Usually, it’s some moron on the Internet saying he was a “gifted kid” like it’s an achievement but you have independent verification that Colin Percival (cperciva - this topic starter) is smart. He’s a multi-time Putnam winner and the founder of Tarsnap. Also the source of one of those amusing HN exchanges where people think everyone else is run of the mill. You know the one.

cperciva 5y ago
multi-time Putnam winner Alas, only once.
bradlys 5y ago
He himself said he couldn’t associate with people who were lower than his IQ. I don’t give a shit what his accomplishments are - he clearly still has the same asinine mentality that any 13-year old has when they think they’re smart. Idk why people on HN assume this is the first time I’ve had to deal with a Putnam winner (or a fields medalist), a celebrity, a billionaire, etc. I live in SV after all. I’ve talked to all of these folks many times. I talk to this person no different than any of the other people I’ve talked to. They deserve no different when they say such things. I judge what they say and are actively doing - not what past accomplishments they have made in some unrelated field.
- renewiltord 5y ago
  It's not about the achievement or the title of being a whatever. It's just that if you're the kind of kid really interested in math competitions and you're really good at it, then you've got a small set of people with whom you can really enjoy sharing your view of the world through your favourite lens. Whatever. Essentially, I like this guy's software and he seems fairly personable, so I'm inclined to not really believe he's "I'm so much smarter than you"ing a bunch of people.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- zuminator 5y ago
  He himself said he couldn’t associate with people who were lower than his IQ That's not really what he said at all. He said he fit in somewhat better with his intellectual peers than with his age cohort. There's nothing really controversial about that at all. Most people prefer the company of those with whom they share common intellectual pursuits and viewpoint over those for whom their only common factor is age. Often physical and mental age councide but when they don't, it doesn't seem unreasonable that common mentality would be a stronger bond. And even if the sentiment were elitist (which I dispute) I don't think I'm the context of this discussion, it deserves a hostile response. I appreciate the individual sharing his personal experience, even if I wouldn't qualify as the type of person he'd share a beer with.
- jack_pp 5y ago
  You sound like you have an inferiority complex, you probably were not blessed with a comparable IQ to the people you describe and resent them for it because in SV that's your most important asset. I'm not that smart compared to the other people you replied to but smart is relative. I chose to go to the 3rd best high school in my mediocre Romanian town and had the highest entry grade in the entire high school. When it came to math I would grok the concepts by simply reading on my own 30 minutes before class while my peers would need tutors and still not get it. Do you think I had a good time in high school? What my peers lacked in math skill they gained in ego preservation. They saw intelligence as a threat that must be neutralized. I doubt my story is that different. I'm telling you this because it's pretty obvious you did not live it so you might gain some empathy and let go of your resentment

smeej 5y ago

My comment was primarily to give the opposite side of the same coin as the parent comment. It sounded like we were probably similar children whose parents made dissimilar choices. He seems to think his parents made the right choice. I wanted to confirm that I thought the choice my parents made was the wrong one. You can read bragging into it if you really want, but it's extrinsic to the conversation.

blagie 5y ago

All I can advise is a little bit of empathy. There are plenty of people who are nerdy, and have horrible social skills. For every bit of how obnoxious “I’m so high IQ - I went to college when I was 13” sounds to you, the flip side is that the person saying that probably: 1) Doesn't have very many friends 2) Which doesn't give many opportunities to practice social interactions Which sort of cycles back on itself. It's hurting them a lot more than it's hurting you. Society could use a lot more empathy.