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

[drisky]

I've proven myself a bit above average on an academic level. Honors though out high school, deans list half the time in collage, and top 20% in state test are a few things that make me assume I have some sort of advantage. At the same time I've never felt that intelligence is an easily quantifiable thing. People acquire knowledge on different subjects over their life and are better at think in different kinds of ways. i don't like measuring IQ or basing someones knowledge based on how good they are at science, which is often considered the smarter than other pursuits. Unless some is noticeable smart or stupid I just assume we are on the same level.

 

[dvd_72]

I'm working my way through a physics degree and not struggling -too- much. Less than quite a few people. I'd say that would require above average intelligence wouldn't you?

 

[Whoatemysupper]

I took several official looking online I.Q. tests and they all came around 120.

 

[Nanaki316]

I'm stupid, really stupid. I have common sense and street smarts, but stick me in a school or in front of a book and I'm just bad. So I must be below average.

 

[Hakazaba]

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.

Don't forget that the people who visit this site do not represent the average population, a more interesting result would come from creating polls on multiple sites and seeing the differences.

 

[josh4president]

I do not think I am more intelligent than the average person.

I do however think I am more intelligent than the average person in line ahead of me.

 

[Rascarin]

I'm currently applying for a PhD in Biology, so I like to hope that I am at least slightly above average.

 

[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.

Don't forget that the people who visit this site do not represent the average population, a more interesting result would come from creating polls on multiple sites and seeing the differences.

You're absolutely right, If anyone wants to try this on other sites I'd love to see how it plays out.

 

[A Shadows Age]

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.

That very Idea is biased, I guess this isn't a college that holds courses on critical thinking(last paragraph). And I would say my "intelligence" is below average, where as what education I can still call on is genuinely false or just out of date, like having nine inner planets.

 

[Coldster]

Academically, I am always above the class average even in university level courses so there's that. As for social smarts, I'm still going to say that I am above average because more than half the Facebook and Twitter crowds make comments that I cannot see anyone with a decent amount of common sense writing. I'd go as far as to say that 98% of the Escapist crowd is more intelligent than the average person solely on looking at these comments.

 

[mega48man]

average on what standards?

compared to the average american, including children, senior citizens, mentally disabled or insane, homemakers, snooki, convicts, and politicians, than yeah i am.

now compared to the average English citizen with all the above people in mind excluding snooki and instead have....ooooh can i get Alan Rickman? no? damn. well compared to them, probably still but not by much. there aren't any British Snooki's i know of. J.K. rowling would probably own me in a debate on anything.

NOW, HERE'S WHERE IT'S INTERESTING.

compared to the average american between ages 18-50...maybe not, but i'd have a damn good chance given how pathetic people a lot of people are today with their weight, lazieness, obeidience to religion, blind eye to legislation and politics (until as of last Wednesday), material obsession, and over all sheeple attitude. if i were to make intelligent comments on the economy, politics, or foriegn diplomacy at a bar, i probably wouldn't come off as smart but instead 'dorky', and the girl i was talking to would go talk to her friends about jersey shore, shoes, and hot guys omg liek lol.

a lot of americans are sheeple, the government and media corporations herd them like sheep, and with the way legislation has been with homeland security and censorship of world news, i feel like they'll be herded like cattle if they aren't already.

if you're like me and are aware of my/our country's problem, and want to fix it, get a reddit account if you haven't got one and get interested in politics.

i hope our generation having grown up in 'AMERICAN IDIOT' land (i saw the play last night in detroit, SO AWESOME) will want to change that image and be smarter.

oh fuck, i typed a lot again, props to anyone who takes the time to read.

 

[Fishyash]

Erm... why are the only options above or below?

I can't read the minds of an average person, I don't know them, I don't know what they know.

At least in England people tend to keep their intellect/stupidity to themselves.

 

[F'Angus]

Well yes... I think I'm much smarter than the average...whether I am or not is open for questioning, but I like to believe I am.

 

[M4t3us]

I didn't vote because I find myself to be about as intelligent as the average person.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

It all depends on how one gauges intelligence. However, math doesn't scare me (anymore) and when taking standardized tests in school I always seemed to place in the 80 percentile range, I think. My ACT score was 29 out of 40, average being in the high teens and low 20s if I'm recalling correctly. My grade point average in my last two years of college was about 3.5 out of 4. I also don't have any kids, I don't do drugs or drink, and I've never had problems with the police (if these are considered signs of intelligence).

However, I kinda like the Ernest series of movies. I watched every episode of Cavemen on ABC and LOVED it. I didn't have sex until I was 25 (not by choice). I still think Casablanca is overrated and boring. I was having annoying nocturnal emissions for over a year when I was a preteen before my dumb ass figured out how to masturbate.

I guess I just don't think of people as "smart" or "dumb" unless they are really really really one or the other.

 

[Berenzen]

Going by the various grades that I got through school (3.8, 4.0's in math and physics classes), the rate at which I pick up skills and my memory, I would say that I am above average, I haven't actually been tested though, so I can't be sure, I could be balls out retarded, but knowledgable in everything that I happen to do.

 

[jthm]

I know I'm above average.

 

[Nouw]

If my school was what you used to judge me as being intelligent or not, I guess I am smarter than the 'average' person. Or at least, the 'average' X year-old.

Lack of intelligence doesn't bother me, because being smart won't guarantee a fulfilling life.

 

[Eggsnham]

My family, teachers, and standardized test scores will all tell you that I'm way above average, but I'm not.

I might be able to memorize information and copy it down on a test (hell, maybe I'll even learn a few things), and sometimes I'll come up with some really great ideas.

But for every aced test and great idea, I have about a thousand stupid mistakes and illogical ideas. That's not to mention the fact that more often than not, I am without a basic level of common sense. For example, my mom once told me to clean the cat's sand box, and instead of just putting the sand in a bag and throwing it out, I threw out the whole box. I didn't realize how that idea was stupid until my mom started yelling and forced me to fish it out of the trash can.

I don't think I'm below average, but I certainly don't think I'm above average.

 

[Knusper]

Well it's quite hard to simply gauge intelligence, but I reckon I'm above average but certainly not the 'intellectual elite'