I like what he said after that, "there is not enough alcohol in the world to get me drunk enough." It does seem like there is a high degree of either depression, mental disorders, or illness in those people who are extremely intellegent. I had a younger friend back in elementry school who was gifted intellegently. We grew apart since my interest was in GI Joe and comic books and he was into literature, world history, and fine arts. He went on to graduate from Rice at I think was 20 years old. He had a bright future but later developed cancer at only 22. I never heard of anybody getting cancer that young. Anyway, Fatty if you start getting too depressed it's always good to lay of the alcohol for a couple of days. It's helps me out some times when I'm feeling low and I consider myself a heavy drinker. Stay away from anti-depression pills unless you really need them. They numb the pain but you're not really yourself when your on them. As far a beer killing brain cells I'll quote the great Homer. Lisa, I've had it with you and your stories. "Bart's a vampire." "Beer kills brain cells." Now let's go back to that... building thingy... where our beds and TV... is. - Homer J. Simpson
Fatty, is the IQ score of 172 from back in the day when you were a child? If it is, then there is a solid chance that its not up there anymore. IQ at a young age and IQ during adulthood is different. Although the number of neurons in our brain, as well as the synapses that occur (memory) remain relatively stable through life, the speed at which these synapses occur and overall brain development change considerably. Not to say that you arent a bright guy, but if your IQ was 172 when you were in elementary school, then I would doubt that it is still that high right now. Unless, of course, you have taken an IQ test since then.
Geez, can people stop focusing on the actual number of his IQ? It's really not that important. He has a high IQ whether it is 140 or 180 now or when he was 7. You don't usually go from a high IQ to a low IQ. Sure it may have dropped some over the years, but it's still going to be up there. Back to the topic, I do think that there can be more of a link of dreamers with high expectations and depression. It sounds like Fatty Fat had a lot of goals/dreams at one point, and hasn't taken the steps to achieve his goals/dreams. Part of his depression could be linked to the realization that he isn't going to live up to his own standards. Fatty, you mentioned not being in the same place as your father professional at your current age. I think our generation is one of the few to on average be behind our parents professionally. It's rare for companies to keep employees for 20-30 years like they used to. The economy isn't the same as it was for our parents. Only a small percentage of people in the corporate world are going to do extremely well/be with the same company for life. Unfortunately, one of the few ways our generation can do well is to go out on our own and start a business, which probably has a 80-90% chance to fail anyway, and how many even have the capital to start something new? Okay, I'm going to stop my reply before I get depressed myself. B
Fatty, Your story sounds fairly similar to my wife's. She was not in school at 3, but she did teach herself to read. She was moved ahead in school, as well (although not as much as some wanted) and was going to be put into a gifted program, but then her family moved. In any event, it caught up with her in college where she was really too young to handle it as far as maturity goes, but not quite young enough to get special treatment like the kid in that other thread. So, yeah, she had a college letdown, but she got over it and is now being her genius self again. If you are so upset and continually lament the fact that you are wasted potential, etc, stop being so dramatic and stop being a waste (in your eyes). It is not as if you have no control or it is ever too late. Hell, I was a highschool hoodlum who stole, vandalized, etc., and now I am going towards a PhD...and I am not a genius. I also agree with rez, tests are really unreliable at such a young age, just like most things. Especially at 3. However, I think it is indicative of your problem if you have been holding on to that exact number for so long and basically using it against yourself. Maybe you should go someplace like MENSA and take a new test - then if you score in the non-uber genius range and more in the "regular" genius range or lower you will feel better about not wasting so much talent. If, however, you do defy the odds and score in the uber-genius range, you could talk to MENSA and get them to help you set your life straight. Presto - you are a new fat b*stard!
Look, I might have different opinions with different people's posts, and I do truly respect anyone who has posted a comment. I wish it were that easy to just accept that I'm in the "average" range. You can call me a selfish b*stard, but I'm basically an idiot savant, in my opinion. I know I can do better, and that is why I'm so pissed at myself. Rimbo: Excellent thoughts. Would love to know how you got over the hump. Again, I'm not complaining about my life! This thread was basically meant because I was talking to a friend, and we have other GREAT friends, who just don't seem to be as worried as we are about the future. (in our own lives, at least)
I scored a 1200 on the S.A.T on my first try after 19 months of very frequent mar1juana(every day), lsd(3-4 times a month), and xtc usage. 680 verbal, 520 math. So much for the republican theory that drug use turns you into an incoherent heroin addict criminal. Sucks I scored better or equivalent to most of their kids eh? Last i.q. test I took said I had a 138. The only thing that depresses me is people who refuse to educate themselves and look at more than one side of an argument.
I'm a republican and I humiliated your score of 1200 on the SAT by over 200 points. First and only try, no study. 1200 wouldn't even get you into Rice, mensa.
Good job on your score man. Unfortunately though, my point wasn't to make myself sound super smart, it was to ridicule certain assumptions that people like yourself are so happy to make about people like myself. Instead of applying to Rice though, I went and joined the Army for four years with the rest of the no future losers you laughed at(as long as we couldn't hear you), but are oh so supportive of now. You know, the crowd you secretly hope your sons never fall in with and hope your daughters never marry. For someone who scored so high on the S.A.T., you could use some brushing up in the wit and sarcasm course studies.
Ummmmm. OK, this wasn't supposed to be a pissing contest. (And I can piss further than the lot of ya!) Y'all want to call me stupid, drunk, or some amalgam of the two? I get it! Again, the reason for this was whether people were more depressed if they were of a higher intelligence. I've learned this is true in real life, but I figured this would be a way to"poll" it. Sorry, if I offended anyone. I tend to do that without these posts!
don't worry FFB, i think i'm of below average intelligence (some of you would agree) and i'm always depressed! so your theory may or may not be true. me sleep now need.
Please ignore the pissing contest-type posts in this thread Fatty. I think you've gotten a good assortment of real replies to your question if you look around the people who just want to tell the smart kid that he couldn't be that smart. I'm curious - how would you define success? What would you personally like to do that would make use of your talent? Do you find your job challenging at all or is it a bad match for your skills? I find a lot of the time that while my job (programming for the web in a large company) is really challenging and fun, a lot of the time I am just spinning my wheels dealing with firewalls and requests from VIPs in the organization who don't realize that what they are asking is ridiculous. When you work 25 hours in two days to prep for a demo and then the VP of your group complains jumps all over your boss's ass because your demo didn't look just like the powerpoint presentation you received 2 days ago, now THAT'S DEPRESSING!
Does anyone realize the significance of this? George admitted he was wrong! Wow, that must be the epic post we have all been waiting for.
i'm a democrat and i humiliated your score of 1400 by 100. 1400 wouldn't even get you into princeton.
...and what color are those pom-poms? You are a defender of the cult leader for the dillusional. I guess everyone has a cause.
My point is anyone who questions someone's IQ because of a 1140 SAT score won't change their mind because of 100 points.
Interesting thread, (leaving aside the numerology and urine streams), so again I'm posting before May 15. My take is that there is not a direct link between high IQ and depression. Random points approaching this point. 1. Depression is a fairly specific, well-defined and devastating condition. Once when I was at the lowest point of my life (to date), I went to a "national depression screening day" and I was sitting in this room with 10 other long faces waiting for an informational film to start. The woman running the session was having lots of trouble with the projector, so of course I said "now that's depressing." Everyone stared at me and nobody laughed. Anyway, point is that after I watched that film, I knew I was nowhere near depressed because I could function day-to-day. I wasn't rendered immobile (like I am now by the BBS... ahem). Anyway, I'll ramble on about whether a high IQ means you're more likely to be blue (figuratively). 2. Okay, more semantics: I don't like that we have one word for intelligence, when there should be at least eight. For instance, if someone only has intelligence when it comes to financial markets, can we really call her intelligent? But I digress again. There should be terms for mental creativity, alacrity, comprehension, concentration, etc. IMHO, the SAT scores only measure one's predisposition to obsessive compulsive disorder (mine was high, pre-recalibration, by the way... urine.... LAUNCH!). But this brings me to my only halfway interesting point. 3. Finally, I think that people who are neither enjoying what they do nor doing what they always expected to do are more likely to be blue, no matter their various mental abilities. Where IQ is a serious problem is the realm of neuroses. So take two people who are sad because they feel unfulfilled, like MC fattyfat not living up to his expectations or some such. One guy is not very smart in any measurable way, and the other has some aspects that are called high IQ. They're both kind of sad, but the second guy is more likely to get really neurotic about it. He roils with it, analyzing and reanalyzing his sadness. Sometimes this helps a person do something different or get a better perspective, but often I think it just amplifies the original sadness. 4. For all you smartysmart bastards out there thinking about colleges: Rice will depress you because the bigtexxx's and Trader_Jorge's of the world are there in droves. Okay, halfway kidding. Freaks like me had a swell time at the radio station. But even the non-conservative types might exhibit the social skills of, say, heypartner. But seriously, I'd go there again in a heartbeat.