# When did you realize you had higher than average intelligence?



## The Plot (Jan 31, 2012)

Of course this isn't exclusive to NT's but I thought we'd tend to be more interested.

When did you first realize you were more intelligent than most of the people around you? Was it sudden and tangible, or was it a growing suspicion? Can you trace it back to a specific event? What kind of thought process lead up to this realization? Did it change the way you think of yourself or others, and how?

And don't be afraid to sound egotistical. I'm curious to know how you've all experienced and dealt with this situation.


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## DiamondDays (Sep 4, 2012)

I've known it ever since i noticed the difference in people at all, so i'd say probably in pre-school when i was 5 or 6. Definitely knew in first grade.


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## savichick (Dec 14, 2012)

I was homeschooled, so I didn't catch on until my parents put me in public school in 6th grade. I couldn't believe the things my classmates didn't know. I don't think I knew what a stereotypical nerd was supposed to look like, but I felt like such an alien and I learned quickly to completely hide my brain.


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## RecklessInspirer (Oct 11, 2010)

Ever since I was little knew. At a young age I trained myself to dumb myself down bc adults would always put me up on a pedestal for being intelligent which I hated. I still struggle with doing it even now bc I really ingrained the habit into my head.


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## abrett44 (Feb 24, 2013)

*Peeks into NT forum*

When I was in school from kindergarten up I was 99th percentile on all the standardized tests we had to take. I think I realized from a young age that I was more intelligent than most in some ways but way deficient in other areas of intelligence, such as being aware of my surroundings.


I've always thought of intelligence as being relative I guess. I'm good with anything that involves language, but suck at calculus -_-

*Looks around at all the NT's, gets awkward feeling, and backs away slowly*


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## I Kant (Jan 19, 2013)

Never. 

I don't even know who is the most intelligent person in my close family, nor do I want to, even if it turns out to be me.


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## Hurricane Matthew (Nov 9, 2012)

Define intelligence. What makes someone "higher than average" intelligence?


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## I Kant (Jan 19, 2013)

Matthew Nisshoku said:


> Define intelligence. What makes someone "higher than average" intelligence?


Outline its consequential and measurable components, run a common sense and verification process over it, then carry out a test among the populace and then run basic statistics on it.


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## The Plot (Jan 31, 2012)

Matthew Nisshoku said:


> Define intelligence. What makes someone "higher than average" intelligence?


You're trying to over-complicate it. Besides, what I'm looking for here is your subjective experience. Example:

I knew from a very early age that I was different than most people, and suspected that I was pretty smart. But the realization finally solidified when I was six. There was a concrete tunnel on the playground of my school (my town doesn't know the difference between construction equipment and playground equipment) and I liked to hide inside it on hot days when other kids would bugger off and leave me be. On one particularly hot day some others caught on and I had some company (about 3 other kids) sitting around with me. Of course, as we were talking I could hear an echo inside the tunnel but I noticed that as other kids approached the hideout their voices would carry inside the tunnel and echo. I tried to point this out to the people in my tunnel, but they just stared dumbly saying, "It's just an echo". So I stopped a kid that was passing by and tried to talk him into making noise at several different distances. I tried to get the kids in the tunnel with me to shut up and listen to the differences in the echoes. It occurred to me later that the reason they didn't cooperate with any of these requests was that they simply didn't understand what was going on and didn't _want to understand._


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

A Mole of Photons said:


> and didn't _want to understand._



This is a difference I noticed quite young as well, having a burning curiosity and desire to know why.

I knew how to read and write before school, and I recall being incredibly bored and frustrated in 1st grade. For instance, I remember the teacher teaching the class how to write the alphabet. I can still recall the long string of block and cursive letters stretched across the top of the chalk board. It took her all year to get through the printed letters. At the very end of school she started on cursive A,B,C. I remember being so excited because it was something new, and then disappointed because I wouldn't get to learn it until the following year. I guess I still didn't know it was OK to "skip ahead". 

But I guess my true genius showed in that I figured out Santa at 5yo, but didn't let on until I was 10yo because I thought my parents would stop giving me presents.


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## How Do You KNOW (Jan 9, 2011)

When I realized I was the only one in kindergarten who could spell words with more than four letters. Being "intelligent" didn't seem like a big deal then, but I soon realized that everybody in school either loves you or hates you for it.


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

How Do You KNOW said:


> When I realized I was the only one in kindergarten who could spell words with more than four letters. Being "intelligent" didn't seem like a big deal then, but I soon realized that everybody in school either loves you or hates you for it.



Unfortunately it's usually the teachers who love you for it, and the other boys who hate you. Didn't do wonders for my elementary school social life.


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## jbking (Jun 4, 2010)

A Mole of Photons said:


> When did you first realize you were more intelligent than most of the people around you?


Grade 3 standardized test where I scored above average but not quite "gifted."



A Mole of Photons said:


> Was it sudden and tangible, or was it a growing suspicion?


Well, this would be the time that I actually contemplated how bright were my peers.



A Mole of Photons said:


> Can you trace it back to a specific event?


Sure, that test was when I finally considered the question and had my answer with tangible proof.



A Mole of Photons said:


> What kind of thought process lead up to this realization?


Well, I started with the parents getting a message that my results were "special" and that I ended up having a special program at school due to my aptitude. It was rather interesting though I don't think it had quite sunk in until that moment.



A Mole of Photons said:


> Did it change the way you think of yourself or others, and how?


Not really as while this did present more data for me to stick into my mental model of the universe, it didn't really change how I saw the world as a mess that just wasn't pretty. Being a sensitive child can be difficult and most of my peers I viewed as a-holes back then.


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## ManWithoutHats (Jun 2, 2012)

A Mole of Photons said:


> Of course this isn't exclusive to NT's but I thought we'd tend to be more interested.
> 
> When did you first realize you were more intelligent than most of the people around you? Was it sudden and tangible, or was it a growing suspicion? Can you trace it back to a specific event? What kind of thought process lead up to this realization? Did it change the way you think of yourself or others, and how?
> 
> And don't be afraid to sound egotistical. I'm curious to know how you've all experienced and dealt with this situation.


I'm not sure that I've ever come to such a realization. People used to often tell me how stupid I was, since I was bad at sports, oblivious to my surroundings, uninterested in normal things and so on (all the hallmarks of a low IQ, according to people without high IQs). Also probably had something to do with my off beat sense of humor... and I went to a Catholic school.. At least in retrospect it seems like that's why, but at the time I just assumed I was pretty stupid. 

A few key events made me realize that I wasn't actually particularly dumb: I took higher level courses my senior year and made better grades than I had before (because I was actually engaged and interested, and I actually did my homework for once); I scored in the top 2% on the English ACT and relatively high on the others; a teacher pointed out to me that the essays I wrote were entirely different from my class mates (in a good way, apparently). Then later I heard of something called an INTP after taking some test online; I realized that being clumsy, aloof and eccentric were not actually characteristic of stupidity, but actually often of intelligence and creativity. _Yes, that's it ego.. feed.. feed and grow great..._


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## How Do You KNOW (Jan 9, 2011)

azdahak said:


> Unfortunately it's usually the teachers who love you for it, and the other boys who hate you. Didn't do wonders for my elementary school social life.


Yeah, but I thought it sounded more pleasant without mentioning that part.


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## AvocatInTraining (Nov 18, 2012)

I knew because people kept saying I was, I found myself realising it when I made smart decisions, knew more things than other people, got good grades, could understand complex theories.


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## 45130 (Aug 26, 2012)

ppl around me noticed it first, when i was very young. I was also extremely bored in school all the time because I knew everything already. So I skipped a year...


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

I realized this when I was the only student who consistently raised their hand in class when the teacher asked a question.


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## See Above (Oct 4, 2011)

I'm not especially intelligent in any way. I suppose there are always random outliers.


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## Emtropy (Feb 3, 2013)

It's okay. Neither am I.


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## Priva (Mar 6, 2013)

Ever since the first day of school.


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## I am me (Mar 4, 2013)

i'm not an nt, but i knew to read before and better than other kids when i was younger. i was also always in a competition with 2 other kids in the class because no one else could really keep up with us. kids used to look up to me and ask me for help. and i didn't always pay attention. My downfall was that i was and still am socially clueless. but as a kid i was really clueless and had no idea what was going on socially, while on the other hand now, i learned how to keep up.


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## Playful Proxy (Feb 6, 2012)

Basically, when you are a semester above the class you are in because of all the self-study you have done paired with how easily you tend to piss off and offend others converging from the norm. And trust me, people with a sheep mindset don't like it when you disagree. You arn't just disagreeing with them, you are disagreeing with whatever society's fad for the next couple of years is. And that's a lot of people.


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## Polymaniac (Apr 8, 2012)

I must have been around 6 or 7. It wasn't until years later when I came to the realization that this is nothing to pride oneself in.


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## slender (Sep 28, 2012)

well, i trace it back to a few examples, IF i am higher than normal.
1. back in gradeschool, about second grade i believe, i distinctly remember people taking longer on a test. it was so simplistic of a test i thought everyone would simply say "oh yeah, of course", and it was one of those pointless tests at where the teacher had everyone follow along, orally speak it, take forever, but people never wrote down answers if i remember correctly. so i actually started to mime the answer. the teacher just said stop and i think i was the only one with a high grade. might be wrong though.
2. back in the 7th-8th grade, our english teacher had handed out this book. it was one of those short, over in a day if you read it slowly books with about 50 pages. i was one of the first ones she handed it out to so i started reading. we had about 30 or so students and in the course of her passing them out i think one kid interrupted her or she got more books or something, some sort of delay. but by the time she had passed them out, i was already done. 
3. i was able to read in kindergarten much faster than anyone else. it was easy to understand to me. 
4. when i would count out the letters in this pointlessly crappy game of spelling, it was so annoying to me. the teacher would start off on a word, and you would spell the first letter, then it would go around until the person said the last letter and then the next kid would do this "magic" hand gesture and the person behind them would lose the game, or be out. i would just count the number of letters until me to see if i would be picked.


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## slender (Sep 28, 2012)

I am me said:


> i'm not an nt, but i knew to read before and better than other kids when i was younger. i was also always in a competition with 2 other kids in the class because no one else could really keep up with us. kids used to look up to me and ask me for help. and i didn't always pay attention. My downfall was that i was and still am socially clueless. but as a kid i was really clueless and had no idea what was going on socially, while on the other hand now, i learned how to keep up.


/tangent
hmm....
your life reminds me so much of my life....
i remember we had this reading competition going on all year at my school, and like each year i would read and get into the top few. i was never the top though, then again, i never read at my house


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## Hikikomori (Feb 14, 2013)

I'm no savant, and compared to a few years ago, my 'intelligence' is an embarrassment, but one of the first phrases I used on a continual basis when I was learning to speak was "fucking moron." I would indiscriminately accuse everyone of being one. In retrospect, most of my assessments were probably correct. And, I've been told that I would grow increasingly frustrated when someone would disregard my assessment, countering and essentially invalidating it by commenting on how cute I was. Just because it may be 'cute' that a two-year-old is calling you a fucking moron, it doesn't render what they've said erroneous. Now, I think the constant facepalming at nearly everything that's said to me serves as an indication.


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## Tharwen (Mar 20, 2013)

i have always been rather ignorant of it, thinking nine is at the fault here. but the evidences peaked as overwhelming at one point, at age 8, i just thought to myself watching all the other kids play football, i was thinking "how could they STILL not be bored of that? i got tired of it ages ago" and then i also thought i preferred the company of those older to me cause theyd be less annoyingly immature, as well as there being evidence supporting my intelligence when people stopped playing pokemon cards cause i figured the game out and became unwinnable. the same has repeated itself over in an online game where people stopped playing one specific branch entriely just cause i would always win.


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## QrivaN (Aug 3, 2012)

Eh, people had to point it out to me because I didn't pay attention to other kids. If I remember the stories correctly, the first show of my above average intelligence was beating everyone in my family (save my aunt) at video games at age 2. Of course, now I'm realizing just how lacking I am in other forms of intelligence, so my arrogance has numbed significantly over the years.


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## the3rdpower (Jun 23, 2010)

When I fully accepted I am a blathering idiot.


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## TrailMix (Apr 27, 2011)

I had never really thought about it until I was a sophomore in high school. I had never really paid attention to my peers other than to talk about homework and whether they were going to track today. Then, we started doing more in-class discussions and I found myself having _completely_ different insights relative to everyone else. I found that I saw considerably more in not only stories that we had to read, but also in the understanding of scientific concepts. I sought to create a whole while everyone else was content to settle for only the parts they "needed to know". It disgusted me that my peers had no interest in understanding the world around them and all of a sudden, I felt very isolated. I suddenly realized why I had been so "weird" compared to everyone else. An enthusiasm for logic and seeking the truth was apparently strange to most people and it makes me kind of sad to think about it.


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## Dashing (Sep 19, 2011)

I haven't.

I never really stood out in high school, and now even in university I'm average more inclined to below average. Could be because I've always had the mentality of 'just get it over with' and never really put any effort in becoming top rated in anything. I don't feel like the limelight is my position and thus refrain from ever entering it. 

Most of my studying is done by myself and is not tested by any institution, I'll be the judge of what I know. 

I think intelligence is one of the biggest virtues a person can have, but the constant testing and measuring is a sign of insecurity. I've also never understood the appeal of clubs like Mensa, do you really need to feel validated?


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## Master Mind (Aug 15, 2011)

Kindergarten.

I was bored by it, and complained to my mother about how boring it was. I was interested in the stuff the older kids were doing and wondered why I couldn't be doing that instead of being where I was.

I was officially tested as gifted in the fourth grade, but when they suggested putting me in a special school, my mother didn't want to because she didn't want my head to get too big and become "a monster." Though looking back, at least I would have had a chance to be around other people like me rather than continually being made aware of how "different" I was.


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## The Proof (Aug 5, 2009)

when i was waiting to cross the street and some people would try to cross against the lights, nearly getting run over

boy did i feel smart


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## Pathosray (Mar 13, 2012)

I was the best at Math and Science in my grade early on. I was also one of the only 5 people who took Physics, Chemistry and Maths C The hardest Maths Class in my school). I passed them without studying.


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## Krelian91 (May 2, 2012)

It's not something I really "realized", some doctors/analysists/whatever explicitly told me so when my mother had me tested when I was around 3 or 4 years old.

But I think that I would have realized that even without them telling me.



QrivaN said:


> Of course, now I'm realizing just how lacking I am in other forms of intelligence, so my arrogance has numbed significantly over the years.


Lol, same here.


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## SPtheGhost (Apr 26, 2010)

Matthew Nisshoku said:


> Define intelligence. What makes someone "higher than average" intelligence?



we dont have to do this ....i know what youre trying to do(and i respect it, dont get me wrong)...but you can infer the meaning for conversation sake 


as far as OP 

3rd grade when my elderly teacher was trying to teach a general lesson on the computers ,i found myself picking up the concepts very quickly ...enough to the point where my own personal experiments surpassed anything she meant to teach(a lesson on using general word processing software turned into my first "hello world")...after that i knew id have to define my own limits as supposed to getting them defined by others


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## Watch Key Phone (Mar 29, 2013)

I think I've sort of always known/assumed. My parents were all for 'unconditional positive regard' so I probably would have grown up believing I was the smartest person in the world even if I was below average intelligence. But I've always known I was different somehow, from my very earliest time in school when the lessons would bore me because I'd catch on to things quicker than all the other kids around me.

A lot of people talk about being tested or certified as gifted, and this never really happened to me. I think there just weren't the provisions for that kind of thing where I went to school. I can't help but wonder if my entire school experience would have been more pleasant if I had been classified as officially 'different' early on and been taught at my actual level.

Edit: I think at a young age it was tricky for me to make the precise distinction about why I felt so 'different', because there was also a definitive lack of social skills (potential mild autistic spectrum disorder is a possibility I'm only recently becoming aware of) which alienated me from my peers.


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## Quantum Knight (Feb 18, 2012)

I realized it in elementary school. I'd excel at any subject given (except maybe work habits, since I'd solve everything mentally without writing it down. That was a "subject" in my elementary school) and I was a spelling bee champ. I was also able to read and understand letters at age 2. Whenever there was a creative project I'd generally get one of the highest grades or honored as well.


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## SharpestNiFe (Dec 16, 2012)

Growing up, I was a math geek. I remember when I first started school, we were learning to count to 100. I went to the teacher and told her "you know you can put the numbers together to get other numbers?" I was reading books before most kids knew how to write. My teacher told my mom I had no business with the other kids. I was sent to counselors and was given special privileges (i.e. I was the only kid given homework) in kindergarten.


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