at what point in your life did you realize that you aren't smart enough?

[MyThirdEye]

Just because you don't attend Harvard doesn't mean you are going to do poorly.

 

[PrinceofWands]

If I'm not smart enough the world is in trouble. Wise enough...now THAT's a different story. Motivation isn't even a story...I have zero.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Everyone who says they're smart enough but just "don't work hard enough" -- isn't that lack of drive a synonym for lack of intelligence? If you were smart enough, you'd have the mental fortitude and discipline to force yourself to just get through it, because it's worth it in the end. Instead, you've made the decision (the wrong one, by your own admission) to forgo the difficult, boring work in lieu of more immediate gratification.

I suppose this is where you get to that ambiguous line between "intelligence" and "personality" -- which one is most influential when making a choice?

Nope. Intelligence is raw ability. Has NOTHING to do with personality, motivation, wisdom, morality, beliefs...hell, not even knowledge really. Intelligence is ONLY intelligence.

 

[HumblePie]

Nope. Intelligence is raw ability. Has NOTHING to do with personality, motivation, wisdom, morality, beliefs...hell, not even knowledge really. Intelligence is ONLY intelligence.

Correct. Intelligence is really two things. A persons' reasoning or critical thinking skill is one. Two, their ability to assimilate knowledge. Nothing to do with retaining knowledge, but just assimilating it.

I personally have thought I've always excelled in those areas, and at one point my memory retention was damn near eidetic. But I've focused on one thing I liked that didn't require me to be a rigorous in my intellectual pursuits. Not that I don't like picking up additional info and still learning, but I just don't apply myself with the same gusto as I did as a teen. I never thought I was limited mentally in any capacity. I was a bit more in awe of some people with even faster mental abilities in a couple aspects that I wasn't able to achieve. Such as true eidetic memory. Or those with a true calculator for a brain. I was fast, damn fast, and damn good, but I wasn't "perfect" in those regards. That doesn't mean I never felt I ever reached a wall. Actually, quite a few of those people that were over specialized like that I found they relied on that over developed mental ability as a crutch too much. The person with eidetic memory wouldn't mean they were great at problem solving. The person with a calculator for a brain wasn't able so solve linguistic problems I found.

 

[Mide]

Freshman year Calculus for Comp Engr major. Changed to Business...fuck a whole bunch of that.

 

[TridenT]

Jeez... I don't really know. I guess it depends on what you mean. What am I not smart enough for? A PhD from MIT in Physics/Mathematics/EE? World mathematics olympics? Idk. I didn't come from the right background for that shit to ever really be a possibility.

I'm pretty sure if I applied myself I could probably do most things. I just don't apply myself.

 

[bobeedee]

I've never felt like I wasn't smart enough. I've often felt like I didn't work hard enough. Probably too smart for my own good.

rcpratt:This also describes me to a "T"

 

[D1gger]

I was once told by an industrial psychologist that I was in the top 97% percentile after completing all of his intelligence tests.

I still don't believe him and feel like I don't know anything.

 

[bfdd]

It wasn't a realization that I wasn't smart enough more than it was a realization that I fucking hate the educational system k-12 in the USA and it drove me away from going into a higher education. I went into manual labor and did that for awhile. Being "smart" doesn't always mean "better."

 

[zCypher]

After aimlessly wasting time in college, I decided to work. I was convinced it would be the best thing to do. Get work experience and figure out what I want to do, instead of taking useless courses without direction.

Well almost 8 years later, a lot of the experience I've gained working has been valuable - but much time has been wasted, I should have learned more. Now I'm going back to school. While I was always of mind that it's just a piece of paper, and what gets you places is YOU - it's always a good thing to have more (and better) options that would otherwise be impossible.

Using laziness as an excuse is just pathetic. I'm guilty of doing that myself, but I've come to realize that I just have to do it, so I am. It's pretty much worthless to say you "could" do something but don't cause you're lazy or whatever.

 

[Bibble]

I failed a quiz in kindergarten. There were four shapes on the page: a circle, a triangle, a rectangle, and a square. I confused the latter two and, thus, received a 50% on the quiz.

I have done pretty well since then despite this.

(Note: Years later I discovered that a square is, in fact, a special type of rectangle. I should have been given a 75% on the quiz, but I guess my kindergarten teacher knew only slightly more geometry than my 5 year old self.)

 

[40sTheme]

Multi Variable Calculus made me realize I have no ability spatially.
I rocked DiffEq, but god I can't work with stupid crap in 3D.. give me a phase portrait and some numbers.

 

[0roo0roo]

This is a comedy routine, people wait for themselves to get smarter to have kids, but end up having em anyways once they realize they are as smart as they are going to ever be lol.

 

[vi edit]

Using laziness as an excuse is just pathetic. I'm guilty of doing that myself, but I've come to realize that I just have to do it, so I am. It's pretty much worthless to say you "could" do something but don't cause you're lazy or whatever.

I don't use laziness as an excuse. It's a reason. That means I take ownership of the problem and admit my fault. A subtle but important detail.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Second year physics did it for me. So I changed to computer science where I'm among the top of the class.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

A lot of people blowing their own trumpets in this thread.

In the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

 

[Imp]

Grade 11 math, stopped getting 90+ percent and felt like a failure (thanks mom).

Little did I know I'd start failing stuff the year after, and end up almost flunking out of college during my first year. So ya, not the brightest one out there.

 

[Hacp]

Early on, during undergrad when I couldn't just skate by with good grades and I was too lazy to actually apply myself for the good grades.

I remember one day in one of my poly sci classes, this was during the Clinton scandal, I went to class and the professor was leading the class on a discussion about Pres. Clinton and the accusations, etc. I remember being woefully unprepared I was for the discussion as some in the class were really on top of what was going on, knew all different issues and perspectives i never thought of and knew so much of what talking heads were talking about, long before our current 24/hour news cycle and endless parades of blogs...

Now that I'm an attorney, I'm realizing that more is about being prepared, experience and being able to resolve complex ideas/issues on the fly. I do labor arbitrations against named partners from large law firms, and I find that for the most part i can keep up and do well against the big names because they are relying on their experience and I can counter with preparation. Though...I am still taught a thing or two by the guys with their names on their building's...that's probably the best thing to learn...

Why would a polymer science class be discussing Clinton?

 

[ahenkel]

I'm not there yet. I know I don't know everything, but I've never doubted my ability to learn it. Sure somethings might be more challenging but if I'm interested I'll get it.

 

[Sumguy]

Jeez... I don't really know. I guess it depends on what you mean. What am I not smart enough for? A PhD from MIT in Physics/Mathematics/EE? World mathematics olympics? Idk. I didn't come from the right background for that shit to ever really be a possibility.

I'm pretty sure if I applied myself I could probably do most things. I just don't apply myself.

Curious as to what the "right background" is. Care to explain?

 

[mmntech]

Just because you don't attend Harvard doesn't mean you are going to do poorly.

Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were college dropouts, and both could buy and sell most Harvard grads. Truth be known, the dumbest people I met were in university. That includes the profs. Very closed minded people. I consider my years in university to be wasted ones. Going to a technical college for my graduate certificate was different. Hands on, no political agendas being shoved down your throat. Was a refreshing experience.

I find the vast majority of people think they're smarter than they actually are. I'm probably the rare exception. I always thought of myself as dumber than I actually was growing up.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Grade school.
The biggest issue was when I switched schools. The school I came from was a year ahead of the school I came to. Looking back, I wonder if I could have been bumped up a grade, because I had already gone through alot of the general coursework, the grade before.
Anyway I just got insanely bored with doing shit I already did before, so I began acting out and being an overall asshole kid. This began getting me detentions and suspensions, other disciplinary shit. Well after so much time not being in class, I fell behind. Then stopped caring. This spanned from 3rd grade into high school.
Looking back, I'm kicking myself in the ass for being so careless about my education.
What I didn't have the opportunity to learn in high school, kicked my ass when I went to college. It sucks having classmates breeze through classes like, "pft this is cakewalk, I already did this in high school" gah! Fuck you.

 

[oogabooga]

Probably 2nd year of college. Realizing I don't get math very quickly and it takes me a ton of work and I don't enjoy it at all. And realizing every class there were people who I would have trouble having conversations with since what they talked about went over my head. And I just went to public school.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

TwinPeak?

Nope. Sorry but I am not posting where I work.