Poll: Do you think you're more intelligent than the average person? (Be honest)

[Olas]

Just a little experiment I thought up. Obviously only 50% of people can be above average in anything. My real goal here is to see just how strongly we are affected by personal bias.
So which 50% do you personally think you fall into, the upper or the lower?

Remember, knowledge =/= intelligence. Living in a developed country and getting a good education does not make you inherently smarter, just more learned.



edit: For the nitpicky, by "average" I mean median not mean, otherwise all the mentally handicapped people and in the world would probably drag the average down considerably. And by "intelligence" I mean a general summation of ones abilities including abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, retaining, planning, and problem solving.



edit 2: Some are complaining that there's no "I am average" option. Most people generaly consider themselves to be roughly average. I get that. However, the point of this poll is to see where people place themselves when FORCED to be one or the other. Adding a middle option would defeat the point and delude the results.

edit 3: If you find the question a little degrading, I can assure you that this wasn't my intention at all. Intelligence is a complex thing, and those who are below average overall are usually extremely talented in certain unique areas. I don't consider intelect to be the most important feature a person can have either. I only posted the question out of a general curiousity to see how people evaluate themselves en masse.
Wow, this OP is getting really long.

 

[JoJo]

I've heard that on almost all of tests, whether you put in intelligence, attractiveness, skill at something etc... you'll always get well above 50% of responders saying they are above average. We like to think highly of ourselves, and on the Escapist where most posters pride their own perceived intelligence, I expect the "above" result will be far higher still.

For me, I'd love to modest and say I'm average but I go to a highly respected UK university which at the moment hangs around the 9th to 15th top in the country (within top 200 in the world), so even without bias I must be above average.

 

[darkcalling]

More intelligent than the average? Maybe

More intelligent than the average at my old High School. DEFINITELY
I was one of like two people in my English class who could read at anything approaching the proper grade level.

Graduated like 12th or 13th in my class.

 

[Pinkamena]

Well... I definitively feel smarter than most people I hang around. Not sure if they could be called the "average" though!

 

[Scrustle]

I think of myself as about slightly above average, but it seems almost everyone thinks that they are so I don't really sincerely believe it. Never tested myself.

 

[Melon Hunter]

I wouldn't want to boast, but I got through a rigorous interview process to get into one of the top universities in the world (if not the number one university, depending on who you ask). I know that I'm of above average intelligence.

 

[Amarok]

I feel like this poll is missing the very obvious 3rd, "I'm average" choice.

For that observation alone I decree that I belong with the above average crowd!

Actually, I dunno. I think I lack on-the-fly critical thinking, whereas I can absorb and comprehend plenty of information given the time and space to do so. Both are different kinds of intelligence I guess, so where I fall depends on which value of intelligence we're talking about here.

 

[bojackx]

Well, I'm doing my A-levels, and I choose 3 of the hardest ones (biology, chemistry and physics), and I'm getting B's, so yeah I'd say I'm above average. Even if we're not talking academic knowledge, I still think I know a lot more than your everyday guy.

 

[steevee]

Honestly, I think I'm a above average intellectually, not amazingly above, but above the normal.

There was a time when I thought I was really very clever. That time has passed. I'd say top quartile, but nothing more than that. Hell, probably not even that.

 

[spooky57571]

I'm a conformist whore who'll admit I'm biased, and therefor say I'm smarter than most.

 

[sunburst]

I'd be interested to learn if we overestimate ourselves or underestimate the average person when we rank our intelligence as "above average." I'm inclined to believe the latter since most everyone with whom I've had similar discussions believed the majority of people to be quite dumb. However, my experience indicates that most individuals are reasonably bright once you get to know them. Might be worth thinking about.

For the record, I am significantly smarter than average.

 

[Berithil]

More intelligent than average? I would say so. Most intelligent person I know? Definitely no. Being smarter than average isn't all that hard nowadays.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

Intelligence is a hard thing to measure, really, as people judge it in a variety of different ways. Am I above or below average? No idea. IQ test whatnames put me above, but not majorly so. I wouldn't describe myself as being intelligent - perhaps I'd say I have a broad knowledge base, with a analytical mind, and very careful with my own opinions. It's a tad weird, but if I haven't looked into something with a certain amount of detail and examined reasoned arguments for and against from those who are better qualified than I to judge on the matter, I won't hold an opinion on it (you'd be surprised how often reasoned argument on a subject from those qualified to judge falls squarely on one side)

 

[Loop Stricken]

I love how most people are answering the poll by saying they are above average but don't want to admit it in the actual thread.

It's quite funny.

I'm just incredibly lazy and apathetic.
I could be in MENSA. I don't want to pay membership fees for bragging rights.

 

[Vault101]

to be completly honest?

NO..not at all....however I also know that we tend to overestimate ourselfs..alot

but no.....and how would you measure that?...

years ago I took all kinds of IQ tests onlne..ranging from 99 to 120 so theres really no way of knowing

 

[lRookiel]

Well, could you define "Average" please.

If your thinking people who get Average academic grades, then I am above average for that I guess. Other things, maybe not......