Sunday, 11 July 2010

Mediocrity

When I was a child I was smart. Really smart. A genius. So smart in fact that I was probably the smartest person on the planet. And when I got around to it I would cure cancer, create a unified theory of everything and in my spare time start a cultural revolution.
Well, that was the plan anyway. Somehow though it didn't quite work out. I slowly realised that perhaps I couldn't fit all of these achievements into one lifetime. Then I realised I probably wouldn't accomplish any of them without at the very least dedicating my entire life to them, and even then it would still be incredibly unlikely. Eventually I came to the conclusion that in fact I am not a genius in any way.
That's not to say I'm not smart (or immodest), according to some IQ tests I'm in the top 2%, however the test the nation quiz only gave me 121 (though I then got so drunk I had difficulty walking and retook, I think I got 116, possibly 106. Either way, I'm still slightly above average whilst off my face). This means that at best I'm "Moderately gifted" and at worst I'm slightly above average.
But this only measures traditional intelligence. There are many other factors that indicate the power of a person's brain, such as creativity, emotional intelligence and intuition. To be honest, I'm not very good at these. Although I feel I really should be creative, I'm not. I try, but fail. I have almost no natural creative ability, which is a pity, as I'd almost certainly trade logic for creativity given the chance. I also suck at emotional intelligence, hence the lack of social life. And finally, I lack intuition. I'm pretty incompetent.
So although I might be logical and knowledgeable, the other measures might actually mean I have average, or possibly even below average, mental ability.
But perhaps I'm wrong about this, after all I'm not too smart.

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