Asklemmy

I watched too many people bitch and moan about vaccines and masks during a pandemic... I dont think I'm smart, the bar is just too low.

People always tell me I'm smart. And I definitely have some things I'm good at. But I'm pretty dumb about a lot of stuff, but I think that's pretty normal.

Honestly, I try not to think about people in terms of smart/stupid. Everyone has a complicated set of strengths and weaknesses that are slowly changing all the time. Just labeling someone as smart or stupid is overly simplistic.

Smart enough to get into a phd program but dumb enough to think doing a phd was a good idea.

I'm a programmer. Sometimes I solve a really hard programming problem in a clever way with very few lines of code, and I feel like I'm the smartest person in the world. Other times I can't solve a really simple problem and I realize that I'm actually a moron that gets lucky sometimes.

I am very smart in a single field of study and very dumb in normal life. Yay neurodivergence…

I had to sit down and accept I am more intelligent than the majority of people by virtue of the fact that I read and paid attention in school, and I had to after watching the political situation in the U.S. deteriorate.

It deteriorated because people refused to learn to read and write correctly, leaving them unable to examine primary sources or fully comprehend what they read in the news, online, everywhere.

It deteriorated because people refused to learn math and science, meaning they can no longer verify factual claims charlatans make to them, or figure out when their bosses are ripping them off, or budget, or make their own stuff.

It deteriorated because people outright rejected the notion of critical thinking and logical debate on principle, preferring instead to force people to submit to their paper-thin view of the world and to accept certain assumptions that lead people to accept authoritarianism in turn.

And it's sad to see. It's sad to watch people so hopelessly fucking stupid and dependent on the system that they'll fight to protect it, and it's even sadder watching them flip the fuck out when you tell them their economic woes are partially their own fault because they refuse to be educated or to use their education.

It's a sad thing to have to accept but it's the truth.

I‘m stuck in a dunning-Kruger-loop. I think I’m kinda smart so that must meant I’m actually kinda dumb but then if I think I’m dumb that must mean I’m actually smart but if I think im smart it must mean I’m really kinda dumb…

I could be smart or I could just be surrounded by a lot of dumb people leading me to think I'm smart 🤔

Both. Years of evidence. I'm probably autistic, extremely impulsive and have substance abuse issues. So, no matter how intelligent I can be I make a lot of bad decisions. Also, being hungover or high really lowers your ability to be smart and make good decisions.

I really don't think I'm able to judge myself on that scale. All I know is I've made some really smart and some REALLY stupid decisions in my life. So... ehh... it evens out?

I feel like there are too many types of intelligence for words like "smart" to have much meaning. I must be pretty smart is some areas being that people are willing to pay me plenty for what I know how to do, but I've been around people that make me feel dumb, and I know my brain sucks at certain things. Like that toy where you put the shape into the correct shape whole? that is not so easy for me and I make mistakes.

I'm incredibly stupid. Stupendously stupid. I've managed to take all the advantages a white dude from a lower middle class could have and squander them. I'm stuck as a worthless blue collar p.o.s in an open air ~~sweatshop~~ factory on the far end of an expensive island.

If I were smart I'd be making 100k+ working from home with literally all my friends from highschool that went on to study computer science.

About average. I have a master's in maths, and am pretty competent at tech stuff. Also do a lot of music. Those are just interests though, really. It's easy to get caught up on the idea that being good at the skills society deems as "valuable" or "smart" means you're in some way objectively smarter than other people. I've just found that isn't remotely the case though. People have different interests, I've heard "dumb" people passionately talk about things they love, going into complex inner-workings that I would have to also spend hundreds of hours trying to wrap my head around. Also, a lot of the "smartest" people I know are utterly clueless at anything social. Sure they may end up as maths researchers but they can't pick up on nuances of social interaction.

Some people would argue that the metric for smartness is a little more set in stone, usually the same people who think that IQ is anything more than an ego-trip to justify MENSA charging people money for a shitty magazine and "proof" that they're smart. It's never felt that simple to me though, there are so mant facets of life to be understood and everyone has different understandings of them

Told frequently I am smart, all evidence available when really considering the question points to actually being of average intelligence, and in some areas phenomenally dumb.

Rambling follows, feel free to ignore or read on if bored.

Something my father told me comes to mind here. I was complimented frequently on being a bright student when I was younger, so with all this flattery in mind I took an online IQ test. It was a pretty good score, though I don't remember what it is (and can't speak to its accuracy - I was a kid, tf did I know about test standards). I rushed up to my dad and told him about it. He sat me down and said "IQ is just a measurement of potential - that's it. It's what you actually do with that potential that's important."

I have not really done much with that potential, if I'm honest with myself. Sure, I got good grades in school, dean's list in university, all that stuff. But when I look at my day to day life - my work, my interests, etc. - I'm struck with this sense that it's the kind of life designed for people who authority figures like to call smart, but only as an appeal to ego to serve the aims of other people. Smart takes on the same meaning as a good boy - you obey the rules, don't make too much trouble, come up with clever solutions to other people's problems, and don't neccessarily put much thought into your own. And where you recognize these problems, they are personal failures - always - that only you can solve, alone. Smart people don't need help - it's 100% false, but it's an hard idea to shake off, simply because the answer I usually got when asking about any problem is "You're smart - you'll figure it out". And I did, mostly - but what about those I couldn't, and still haven't?

The danger here is that being "smart", by dint of repetition more than tangible evidence, becomes a cornerstone in my sense of self. But all those people calling me smart and reinforcing this idea - what did they actually mean? Did they mean I am innately intelligent? Did they mean I was compliant? Did they mean I would do well as a nice little cog in a larger system? Or did they mean I actually had the potential to change something worthwhile?

Over the years, I've come to dislike the term smart given all of the above. I like to sub in clever in most cases, because you don't have to be smart, overall, to come up with a clever idea or solution. The idea of being smart, accepted uncritically, can be a prison. And most of the time it isn't true in any meaningful sense.

Smart, dumb - just try and do cool shit you find interesting. Be kind to other people. Do new things, and be willing to look like an absolute dumbass once and a while. Don't let your sense of intelligence become a complex - no matter who are, you're probably wrong about a lot of shit, go test that as often as you possibly can. You'll probably learn something, no matter how "smart" you are.

I'm smart. I work a smart person job with a lot of really smart people, which makes me feel not smart at times because a lot of my coworkers are smarter than me. I'm also insane though.

People say I'm really smart but I think I'm just average tbh. I think I just know how to learn things and I try to keep an open mind to everything.

I'm smart enough to know that there's a lot I don't know, and I took enough psychology classes to know that IQ tests are basically made-up nonsense. Comparing your intelligence to others is a losing battle and a waste of time.

I would say overall I'm below average. Fairly dumb. Bottom 30% of society.

I don't mind it too much. I know a lot about cinema and film history so I'm happy with that.

I'm average. Because that's most likely

I have a typical smart people career, and my coworkers are pretty smart too. I therefore like to believe that I'm at least somewhat smart... but there's too much evidence to the contrary.

I feel like I'm smart, but then I compare myself to other people and see they're more successful in areas I struggle. I feel like my brain short circuits under stress. I'm my own worst enemy in that regard.

Smart is a weird word and I don't know if I would describe me as that.

I rather consider myself as rational/intellectual. I might not know a lot of things, but I feel like the way I think is somewhat uncommon when compared to the general population. Emotions don't cloud my judgement as much, and I seem to have this ability to take few steps back and observe things from afar. Because of this I'm a really mixed bag when it comes to my views on current affairs, and by knowing my stance on few issues doesn't really help you to figure out what I think about the rest. I can usually also be honest to myself about facts even when it's inconvenient for me.

I'm the kind of person who you ask a simple question from, and you get a lecture in return, because I'm physically unable to give overly simplified answers to complex, nuanced questions which is basically all of them.

I'm smart in some ways and dumb in others. I'm not gonna say I'm smart with my qualifications because I have one of the worse social senses I have ever met and there are some topics I am abysmal at

I got very good grades at a top university in a stem subject. Most people regard me as smart. My professor who supervised my masters thesis regarded me as smart. I guess I can consider myself smart.

My brain power helps me with my job, otherwise I do the same things as everybody else.

My best life decisions came from equanimity, introspection and honesty with myself, not from being smart.

I thought I was smart. And I took a class in college called Critical Theory Since Plato. It was philosophy, although I was dumb enough not to know that. Every class there would be lively discussion on the reading material where everyone was involved. Except me. I had read the material, but it was beyond my understanding. I dare not open my mouth. I just listened to people who were obviously a number of levels more intelligent than I was discuss the assignments.

It was then that I realized that there were people in the world who had a quality of intelligence so much higher than mine that we might not even seem like the same species.

Just like a tall person can see above the heads of everyone in a crowd, they could see things that were impossible for me to see. And those were the "ordinary" smart people.

It gave me a new respect for not only intelligent people, who were very kind to me, but also for those who are on the other end of this spectrum, who through no choice of theirs struggle with daily tasks. And for myself, slightly above average, and happy.

That's always been a tough thing for me to define personally. To me, trying to determine whether you're "really smart" (or not) vs average requires context, I'd need a definition of who I'm comparing to, what subject/fields (or "types" of knowledge), etc.

As others have mentioned, I'm generally good at sensing what I don't know and determining that I need to read up on more about a subject rather than just blindly assuming that I do know it and trying to fix the wiring in my house for example (probably an extreme example, because there's no way I'm ever going to try to do that on my own - even with an infinite time of "research").

I'm a software developer, and my friends claim that this makes me really smart - but when I compare myself to other developers it doesn't feel like that. And yet for being "smart" I am terrible at math.

Maybe its not the simple answer you're looking for, but I guess I feel smart at some things, average in others, and not so smart in certain subjects/fields. I couldn't place myself in a "one-size fits all" answer.

My wife tells me I’m smarter than I give myself credit for. I’m terrible at logistical things. Math cripples me. I’m not however, easily persuaded by propaganda. IDK

High Intelligence, could most likely become a Mensa member. Incredible emotionally crippled by being bullied, early verbal/speech issues, been in a lots of fights, had motivation issues through university. Doing quite fine now career-wise after changing to IT and saw immediate appreciation for my faculties, but still a emotional mess, though I have a tolerant girlfriend.

Was gifted kid, always the smartest, highest test scores. Then I got older. I know I'm above average intelligence in lot of things. But smart enough to know how stupid I can be, that I have lots of faults, limitations. There are many kinds of intelligence, and always more to learn

I definitly dont think I am smart. Other people can get new friends, find love-life , can afford proper apartments, knows how to plan social events, are wellrounded enough in knowledge that they can do trivia quizzes, and can do small-talk about real life stuff, or remember each others names, faces, and what they talked about last time they met. I got so little clue about any of that. Feel seriously dumb sometimes.

I can google very well. I'm a self-learned developer without university education. I can do okay on pop film-music trivia quiz. Can read out a good fiction novel in a single night. So I am above average smart in some VERY narrow fields.

But at least I dont think I know stuff I dont. I know my limits. I defer to people who have more experience than me. So I trust doctors and teachers about vaccinations, I trust that scientists are right about the coming climate changes, and I dont trust in people who have been caught lying before, no matter how much money or power they got. Im not THAT dumb. Sometimes it feels like just that alone puts me above average. But that cant be right, right?

The only think if Knowles is that if i'm smart im a failure, if im average im a falure and if im dumb im almost decent but still a failure, i dunno on this point of my life i see myself nothing as a failure and i just want to kms at this point

My school IQ tested me. I'm a 90. So not that smart.

These threads are always midwits with good test scores lamenting they ended up mediocre. Coping they ended up just as an unbiased observer would expect.