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

[xdom125x]

I think I am required to vote "below average" because it took me 1 north of 4 years to finish high school.

edit: -snip- And by "intelligence" I mean a general summation of ones abilities including abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, retaining, planning, and problem solving.

I suck at communication and planning but am good at understanding, reasoning, learning and retaining. My problem solving and abstract thinking skills are debatable.

Although, I did have better scores on standardized tests than most of my peers, barring the math part.
I am feeling this bizarre smugness from admitting I am below average. Is there a name for this feeling?

On a tangent: I am finding the division of the votes to be, um, enlightening. Currently: 1190 voted above average while 134 voted below average. That's nearly 90% of the people that voted saying that they are smarter than average, which means that either a) the escapist community is nearly completely made up of people of above average intelligence or b) the Dunning-Kruger effect is in full swing. (hey look, my ability to retain information kicked in).
I believe the lack of a middle ground is at least partially to blaim for such a large division between the 2 choices (considering the fact that this is a gaming board, I figure it should be hovering at about 70 to 75% claiming to be above average with the rest split between average and below average), because from what I have read in this thread so far, at least a few people wanted to vote average but couldn't so they voted "above average" instead.

 

[synthesis]

intelligence of..

abstract thought: 8/10, dont get me started.
understanding: 6/10, usually i just dont give a damn, cuz your problems are stupid.
communication:7/10, good at communicating, would help if ppl were good at communicating back.
reasoning:9/10, religion is stupid, so are atheists.

learning
Math:5/10, slow but tends to get it right.
Spelling:5/10, dyslectic, but i'd like to think i'm doing well.
Fun stuff 8/10, yeah u can learn suff u enjoy.

retaining: 7/10, i am good with names and faces, bad with numbers.
planning: 3/10, i should probably start making lists.
problem solving: 6/10, i will solve problems that give a worthy reward, mostly i let things be.

practical sense: 8/10, penis goes where?
initiative: 2/10, do i have to?
self-critique: 5/10, i'm pretty awesome.
Adaptive: 7/10, yeh i blend.
Physical coordination: 7/10: i can move gracefully.

Extra credit: Knows the diff between knowledge, wisdom and intelligence.

 

[J. MB]

Well, I get credited as being far, far above average. But most of those people are just lacking in vocabulary and I confuse them by using words they just don't know.

Without being tricky and getting all hypothetical, philosophical and whatnot like most here, I do consider myself above average.

Edit: This will probably say more about me, I don't believe someone can be measured by a letter or number. Such as school where people pride themselves on getting A's, I personally don't see that letter to mean anything and whatever you're measuring should be assessed through practical application. That's just how I see it.

 

[emptyother]

If you are able to traverse the internet and post in forums, and not agreeing to SOPA, you are probably above average already.

 

[Flac00]

Yay for arrogance. Let us all bask in our glory of smarts. (to be completely honest, most people on here probably are actually above average due to increased education and the fact that most of us are "nerds")

 

[Bebus]

I was going to say yes but I hit the wrong button on the poll by accident.

So... yeah...

 

[SulfuricDonut]

Take an IQ test (or take a bunch of them).

If you get over 100 IQ then you're smarter than average.

 

[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.

I don't see the bias. Unless you're implying that the entire UK has an average intelligence well below the average of the world, I don't see how someone of below average intelligence could beat the majority of his peers in the exams required to get into a top uni. Yes, knowledge =/= intelligence but without some intelligence I wouldn't have obtained so much knowledge in the first place.

The bias is the assumption that because you go to a well respected university you "must" be by association with said student body, above average. Which I will admit is highly likely, just not necessarily an absolute truth. And please don't get nationalistic on me, I have enough highly educated ideology prone people in my own country.

I still don't quite understand your reasoning. I don't know how universities work in the U.S. so maybe it's different over there but here we are judged by grades only. It's no more biased me saying that only those in the top 50% of the population could possibly get the grades to get into one of the most selective institutions in the country than to say only those in the top 50% for physical fitness will end up playing professional football. I know it goes against the whole "you can do anything if you put your mind to it" ethos a lot of schools have but for better or worse we're all limited in some way or other.

OK well that makes more sense. Over here you're judged by your grades as well, but only if you can afford the cost of going, or get someone else to pay for you (like a scholarship).

 

[Jaeke]

Well, as a student, im well above average, all classes above my grade and honor classes, but it seems to me lately that being above average is becoming the new average. Makes me feel upset to know that there will always be people smarter than me though not that i TRY to act like a dick about it.

But yep, i pretty much consider myself as above average.

 

[kickyourass]

On the whole I'd say I'm slightly above average. I'm a fairly smart person, but I know that there is probably an insane number of people who could completely ruin me on an intellectual level.

 

[DanDanikov]

It's quite likely the Escapist population is eschewed towards the more intelligent end of the spectrum.

Also, education does have an impact on IQ scores- it tends to raise the mean and narrow the deviation from the mean, without having much effect on higher IQ scores. That isn't to say that people are getting smarter over time, but people are getting better at IQ tests and we're getting a more accurate picture of intelligence (or rather, a lack of education makes for unrepresentative poor IQ scores).

 

[SillyBear]

Things that 99% of the population believes:

- That they are smart

- They they hare a good sense of humour.

- That they are a good person.

 

[Vegosiux]

Well all I'm going to say is I'm eligible for Mensa membership by quite a wide margin. Not that I ever got anything out of that, it's just proof that I do well on IQ tests. A skill not really suitable to build a career around.

 

[funguy2121]

Being more intelligent than the average person is not a very impressive feat. Many more people will disappoint you than will pleasantly surprise you. Then again, "stupid" is very largely a choice.

 

[Danny Ocean]

Did a test, got 136. I'm also good with people. But that's just an IQ test. Who really knows?

 

[Brandon237]

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.

I KNOW that as far as attractiveness is concerned, I am either average or below average, I cannot lie to myself on that, I also KNOW that I am considerably more intelligent than most people. If you take a good look at yourself and other people, and acknowledge that you probably only got an average amount of SPECIAL points (couldn't resist), you can see where you fall and answer these things honestly. I am just lucky that intelligence is the one most frequently asked, as opposed to say musical talent of any kind, attractiveness or modesty

 

[chadachada123]

Asking this question on a forum where most of the posters are literate isn't exactly fair, OP.

I AM above-average, but I'd bet that most of the other people that voted yes are also above-average. This says little of personal bias, and more about the intelligence of internet communities in general (that is, higher than average, for sites like these).

 

[brunt32]

I would say I was am above average, I manage to pass all my exams without doing a single bit of revision during school, same in college. My grades don't show my true intelligence though if you add coursework as I'm to lazy to produce anything that I am proud of. I'm just lazy, I only do things that I am interested in.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

I would say I was am above average, I manage to pass all my exams without doing a single bit of revision during school, same in college. My grades don't show my true intelligence though if you add coursework as I'm to lazy to produce anything that I am proud of. I'm just lazy, I only do things that I am interested in.

Hey you!
You're just like me

Though I'm sure a lot of people have that same mindset.

 

[Brightzide]

Not really, I know some stuff. Other people know some stuff. I mean, specialities then arise and you may be smarter in a certain subject or area. Im pretty good at biology for example. But generally speaking, im thick as pigshit. I lack common sense ( which by all means should make up atleast 75% of your opinion towards someones intelligence ) , people skills, weapon skills, computer skills, hand-standy skills, a working knowledge of quantum physics, and I cant figure out the plot of the matrix for the life of me...So, nah. Im fine like this to be honest.