Fear of intelligence

[HeyYou]

I would rather hear the truth as well, but, it can be stated in such a way as to soften the blow..... :D

Sometimes a soft blow isn't enough. Easy to ignore a slap on the wrist.

 

True, but, why start out with the spiked club, if it isn't really necessary?

Not always the best idea to go into something with a spiked club, I am saying you shouldn't hesitate to use it if it comes to that point.

 

On that, I will agree with you.

[kibblesticks]

I'm not a genius, but my IQ is above average. In school, I was the average looking girl who didn't care about fashion (much) read a lot, knew stuff, and was quiet. I wasn't stuck up about it; I didn't show off, but I took a ton of crap for being smart. Fortunately it never quite crossed the line into bullying (though it was on the edge a number of times). Even my own mother was ambivalent about my intelligence: one minute she was proud of how smart I was, the next she was berating me for reading so much.

 

As an adult, I see certain people on both sides of our government preferring to cut funding to and otherwise screw with education. I see stupidity encouraged in many places.

 

I know not everyone is brilliant. Hell, I'm not top of the charts either. I just don't understand why it's okay to be dumb but if you're intelligent people look at you like you act better than you are because you'd rather read than watch Jersey Shore. (I use this example because it happened recently, and is in no way intended to insult anyone who does watch it.)

 

 

In my experience being smart has never held me back, but then I don't really consider it to be a major thing either. I might be smarter, but someone else will be faster than me, someone else will be more charismatic, someone else will be better at science, another will be better at accounting. I just see people as people and don't really care about their IQs.

[marharth]

Once again, seriously people?

 

IQ does not cover your entire intelligence. It is just a logic test. Your IQ does not determine your intelligence as much as it determines your logic.

[Dazaster]

Hmm, a few heavier replies from no doubt self declared geniuses. In reply to the original post, it may be a more world-wide thing where the herd mentality is to hide with the pack and attack any seen as outsiders, in this case those with above average intelligence. I grew up in South Africa and can tell you that after hitting high school the best thing was to appear "normal" i.e. dumb. And boys, in my opinion, get it worse, as boys are, by tradition, dumber than girls. So being an intelligent boy in a class full of morons can lead to some uncomfortable encounters, at least until you grow too big for most bully's. In either case the main idea I came away with is that being clever is UnCool and nobody wants to be that, do they now? So yes, being intelligent marks you out as different, and difference is to be feared.

[Deleted472477User]

Hmm, a few heavier replies from no doubt self declared geniuses. In reply to the original post, it may be a more world-wide thing where the herd mentality is to hide with the pack and attack any seen as outsiders, in this case those with above average intelligence. I grew up in South Africa and can tell you that after hitting high school the best thing was to appear "normal" i.e. dumb. And boys, in my opinion, get it worse, as boys are, by tradition, dumber than girls. So being an intelligent boy in a class full of morons can lead to some uncomfortable encounters, at least until you grow too big for most bully's. In either case the main idea I came away with is that being clever is UnCool and nobody wants to be that, do they now? So yes, being intelligent marks you out as different, and difference is to be feared.

 

Yes, this! Stephen King called it 'Fear of the mutant'. I suppose from an evolution standpoint, it has helped humans to survive, but like a lot of things it gets all twisted around and corrupted. But that's another topic.

 

I'm really pleased about the mostly thoughtful answers I received on this topic. See, I've had the snobby label levelled at me for being smart, and my being an introvert doesn't help with that. So I guess I was wanting to know "Are people as afraid of intelligence as they seem, or is it me and something I'm not aware of?"

[Dazaster]

In the context of your last post, I'd say people in general don't like to constantly "shown up" by people smarter than themselves and defend themselves by derision and snide comments about you. Or, alternatively, it could be your B.O :tongue: (apologies if the last seemed flippant)