In a Beautiful Mind, Russell Crowe seemed depressed throughout the movie and he looked and talked really smart so Im sure it's true. In Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon seemed depressed throughout the movie and he looked and talked really smart so Im sure it's true. In Ford Fairlane, Dice Clay seemed depressed throughout the movie and he looked and talked really smart so Im sure it's true. In Hard to Kill, Steven Seagall seemed depressed throughout the movie and he looked and talked really smart so Im sure it's true.
If I'm depressed because the Rockets lose in spite of their *potential*, does that mean I'm a genius?
I think tests only measure your ability to take that test. Once got a job partly because of my GRE score. I'll take whatever I can get!
i'm pretty sure there is a link between high iq's and depression in women. Though i think it occurs because of the the trade off the occur between traditional views of career success and female gender norms. This is consistent with the idea of a "fear of success" that female may have. I'm not sure of any link like that in men. i think depression in both sexes is linked more with things like how communal someone is and how they internalize or externalize successes and failures. Having a high iq or being well educated might lead someone to ruminate and philosophize over things more, which is in line with higher rates of depression. However on the other hand, someone with a high iq, might be more driven to succeed and therefore self-possessed, which isn't in line with high depression.
Gutter Snipe: I'm 31, and my bud's 28. We just brought up the topic this weekend, and discussed it for quite some time. First off, I'm not in a bad place right now. I've got a good job, I'm decent looking, and other than circumstances with my son, I really don't have anything to be depressed about. Neither does my buddy. That was what made the topic so interesting. We both feel that we've got no damn right to be depressed, and yet we find ourselves there so often. I'm sure everyone has depression at times at some level. It was just interesting that while we were talking, we found we had quite a bit in common in our youth's, and I was just curious. A better title for this thread might have been"Do smart people get depressed for no real reason." Robbie380. Thanks for the input. I graduated in 1996 with a double major in Finance and Economics. I feel part of my getting depressed every now and then was that I truly thought at a young age that I really would make a real difference, and I think part of getting depressed stems from thinking I should be doing something really incredible and ground breaking, and instead, my job focuses on motivation and self-confidence, but not much on intelligence. I feel I get depressed because I'm wasting my life. Anyway, this is rambling. And not to be snippy, but an 1140 was a decent SAT score in 1989, before it was dumbed down. Hell, I might have answered my own question. Intelligent people who don't try using their potential (real or imagined) are pissed at themselves for being lackadaisical about it.
OTOH, you look at Mozart who composed music (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star IIRC) and played the piano at five and think I'm trying, wtf am I doing wrong? You'll end up like Marilyn Vos Savant, famous for having a super high IQ, making an advice column with illogical or nonsensical answers to questions.
Okay, for those of you that are claiming to have ridiculously high IQ's, the only tests that actually count are the 4 hour marathons with a trained professional. None of those tests that you do on your own or on the computer count. If that was the standard, 200 million U.S. citizens would be in the 90th percentile in terms of IQ. Not possible.
Rez: I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but why in the world would I be talking about a computer score? My bud has his job paying for a Rice doctorate. I can't guarantee what he told me, but I believed him, simply because he is incredibly intelligent. As for me, I'm trying to figure out what your argument is to me saying I have a high I.Q., and haven't done a damn thing with it. Just not real sure why I would lie, but it doesn't matter.
Maybe Rockets fans and genius IQ are not mutually exclusive or maybe it's a positive correlation. I took an IQ test in elementary school with my classmates. Our school system was starting a gifted program circa 1976 and trying to weed the cretins out. I don't remember it taking four hours but I remember weird series questions with pictures and numbers. Does that count? I got the highest score in my school, 147, but it's nothing compared to these 170+ numbers.
Fatty -- You are correct, the SAT was 'readjusted' I believe in 1995, which raised the target median score (their curve) significantly. Your 1140 would translate into roughly a 1250 - 1350 on today's test if I were to guess.
I never said you were talking about a computer score. I was questioning everyone in this thread that claims to have an IQ that would make Einstein jealous. There are many people in this world that have a great education. However, only .001 percent of them can be in the 99.999th percentile. I never said that you have a high IQ and havent done a damn thing with it. Again, I never said you lied. The source of your IQ test, as well as others, is what Im questioning. My dad is a psychiatrist, so I know what constitutes a real IQ test and what doesnt. I wasnt calling you out specifically. I was just saying that there are very questionable sources out there that claim to give you an accurate estimate of your IQ.
I would guess that you did a proper test. If you got the highest in your class at around 147, then that should be quite accurate. If 2 kids in your class went over 155, then the test is most likely bogus.
Understood Rezdawg. I just remember that they gave me the I.Q. test, because I started complaining about my preschool teacher's not letting me read when I was 3. After they did the I.Q. test, along with several other's, I was immediately given my own "personal" classes with this stupid lady and her damn dolphin puppet, asking me all of these weird questions, and then was sent to a separate school (still public) that was supposed to let me learn at a pace I was comfortable with. Again, I still remember the elementary school principal doing this whole stupid presentation with me, along with a bunch of other stuff I really wasn't comfortable with. Look. For anyone who has met me, it still boggles people's minds. Again, because in my opinion, I was so pissed with kids treating me poorly, that when we moved to another state, all I wanted was to be popular, and the downslide started there. Oh, and my principal wanted me to move from Kindergarten to the third grade as soon as the results were in, but my parents thought it was a bad idea because I wouldn't fit in with people who weren't my own age. And then the attitude problems came. I'm more than happy to elaborate, but I'm guessing nobody wants to listen to a prodigy-turned-sophmoric-idiot.
Although you received a genius score when you were a very young child, you've had probably 15 years of solid drinking to kill off brain cells and lower that astronomical number. Based on the fact that every other post of yours details your massive consumption of some type of liquor, I'd say you're probably lucky to be scraping the bottom of the "normal" IQ range at this point.
Robbie380. Thanks for the input. I graduated in 1996 with a double major in Finance and Economics. I feel part of my getting depressed every now and then was that I truly thought at a young age that I really would make a real difference, and I think part of getting depressed stems from thinking I should be doing something really incredible and ground breaking, and instead, my job focuses on motivation and self-confidence, but not much on intelligence. I feel I get depressed because I'm wasting my life. Hey fatty...I know its depressing to think about how hard it is to make a difference and do something with your life and I am sure you have already thought about everything I am going to say, but I will say it anyways. First of all you are still pretty young. I know 31 seems old, but its pretty rare that people make a difference at such a relatively young age. Instead of being depressed about what you haven't done with your life start thinking about what you can do to start making a difference. Hell, when I was at the grocery store the other day I was thinking man when I get rich I think it would be pretty cool to pay for someone's groceries, like for a struggling mom with her kids or for an old person or something like that. I know its small, but that can mean a ton for another person and that truly is how you make a difference. Not saying you need to do something like that, but start thinking of stuff you can do. Second, you need to realize you have already done a hell of a lot already. I read your profile and you put your son as your first interest. That is my single biggest goal in life is to have a family that was not like mine and I want to do something for my kid and raise him or her and pay attention to them like my dad did not. That is making a huge difference in one person's life and it would really mean something to me if I could do what you are doing now with your son. Finally, I'm sure you've thought about this a lot, but its pretty damn hard to make any sort of difference in this huge world. I mean in the end nothing really matters and you really can't make any difference. However, what really matters is being happy and making the lives of people around you better. I know its pretty simple, but through my hours and hours and hours of thinking about how to make a difference and how can I do something with my life this what I have come to. I am trying to think of the best way to say these things, but I am kind of rushed for time right now. Anyhow...what I am saying is that its pretty close to impossible to make a huge difference and what really matters is being happy with yourself and trying to make everything better for the people around you. At the same time you can use that same sort of philosophy to make a big difference by trying to help out others and do it in bigger and bigger ways through politics or volunteering or philanthropy if you can parlay your financial knowledge into a way to amass a lot of wealth. Ok well I'm gonna shut up for now and stop rambling...my girlfriend just said amen to me shutting up. ok well i'm gonna go and tell me what you think. I'm not too sure if anything I said came out right, but hopefully you'll get the general idea.
Robbie380: thanks for your obvious thoughtful post. I wish I could elaborate, but your thoughts do help out a little. Again, while 31 might be young, my father was well past me professionally. Mrs. JB: True enough, and I do apologize if my post's tend to have this flair. However, I've spoken to too many well to do people who have alcohol as a crutch. We all have the same tendencies. And we all would love to get over it. As far as brain cell's? Please! Find me one person who chronically drinks having their intelligence fail. Liver? Possible. Intelligence? A farce, and you know it.
Thanks a lot Mrs.JB. Now he's depressed AND bitter! Fatty, as far as intelligence not being affected by alcohol, I can only refer you to Captain Junuh: The question on the table is, "How drunk is drunk enough?" And the answer is itfs all a matter of brain cells. You see, every drink of liquor kills a thousand brain cells. But that doesnft much matter because we got billions more. And first the sadness cells die, so you smile real big. And then the quiet cells go, so you say everything real loud for no reason at all. But thatfs OK, because the stupid cells go next so everything you say is real smart. And finally come the memory cells. These are tough sons-of-b****es to kill. I know, it doesn't mean anything, although it does point out accurately that it may take a long time for alcohol to affect your intelligence (and it's one of my favorite movie quotes of all time). By the way, alcohol IS a depressant. Anyway, all of that is off-topic, and I hope you'll take it in the light-hearted manner it was written. So you feel that you haven't met your own personal expectations. I wouldn't blame yourself for that. Even if you are smarter than 999,999 people in a million, there are so many people that to make a huge contribution you have to be incredibly focused. And even THEN, you have to get lucky. Most people who can do this are unbalanced in the rest of their lives. I'd settle for setting some goals, accomplishing them, and being happy.
