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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
have mental conditions/disorders/problems like those of us that post on this forum??? I have always been told that I am brighter than the average Joe but never really had any reason to take an IQ test. Then I found one of the darned things on the internet and took it and scored 127 which I guess is above average. (???) Has anyone taken an IQ test online or otherwise? How did you do if you don't mind sharing?
Colleen
MDD, GAD, OCD and SP
Posted by Mal on July 25, 2005, at 20:06:16
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
As a child I was labeled as "gifted". I think I took an IQ test at some point in elementary school, and the number I seem to remember is in the 130s, but I don't know what range is considered average.
But now, I really believe that I was an early bloomer. I think I just caught on quickly as a child, and that other people my age have caught up and surpassed me intellectually. I have met a LOT of people a HUGE amount smarter than me. I have a terrible memory, and I don't feel very creative anymore. I used to really be creative- write poetry and such. I used to have a LOT of angst, probably because of teenage hormones and messy relationships, and it spilled over into emotion-filled writing. Now that I am so happy I could puke I am not writing much at all. OK, I am very fulfilled and happy, but I occasionally have terrible depressed spells. I have been MUCH better over these last 3 years.
ANyway, that probably isn't helpful at all. It is an interesting thought.
Have a great evening. MAL
Posted by Deneb on July 25, 2005, at 20:17:59
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
> have mental conditions/disorders/problems like those of us that post on this forum???
I don't know if gifted people are more likely to have mental problems, but my guess would be no. My guess would also be no the other way around, i.e. if mentally ill people are more likely to be gifted. If there are differences, they are probably slight. That would be my guess. Does anyone have actual info on this?
>I have always been told that I am brighter than the average Joe but never really had any reason to take an IQ test.
I think most of us here *are* brighter than the "average Joe". This probably doesn't have anything to do with us having mental problems, but more to do with this place selecting for people who are more educated than the average person.
> Then I found one of the darned things on the internet and took it and scored 127 which I guess is above average. (???) Has anyone taken an IQ test online or otherwise? How did you do if you don't mind sharing?
I personally wouldn't take such online IQ tests seriously. I think they are mostly for fun and amusement. I've taken some for amusement. I get wildly differing scores, anywhere from 140 to 115. I know for sure I can't be a 140. I suspect those tests are designed to inflate people's scores...I mean who wants to buy one's IQ score analysis if the tests show one is below average? :-)
> Colleen
> MDD, GAD, OCD and SPPeople are more than their IQs or their diagnoses. I hope you see that in yourself. :-)
Deneb
Posted by deirdrehbrt on July 25, 2005, at 20:22:17
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to... » Colleen D., posted by Mal on July 25, 2005, at 20:06:16
Through school I was known as the absent minded professor. Testing showed that I could do really well, but I was troubled and didn't do that well at all. In the Air Force I scored top marks in vocational aptitude and got my pick of jobs. After I left, I took a test for MENSA and joined, but found it boring so I never renewed my membership. I find Babble much more engaging.
Posted by gabbii on July 25, 2005, at 21:55:12
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to... » Colleen D., posted by Deneb on July 25, 2005, at 20:17:59
..I mean who wants to buy one's IQ score analysis if the tests show one is below average? :-)
That my dear, is a very good point.
Posted by octopusprime on July 25, 2005, at 22:05:11
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
that's why jamison wrote "touched with fire"
google turned up this article for starters: http://www.counselingthegifted.com/articles/giftedsuicide.html
Posted by sleepygirl on July 25, 2005, at 22:45:47
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
I'm supposed to be pretty smart, or at least I WAS supposed to be. I was pretty disinterested early on (angry, anxious, and depressed with a huge case of the "f*ck-its") but before that I was one of the brightest, tested higher than most. This might be one of the reasons I am as sane as I am!
Posted by AuntieMel on July 26, 2005, at 9:12:11
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
I think it can be true, but I think it is also environment.
The problem with being gifted is being different from the other kids. It takes special parents to *not* make a big deal of the brain and to encourage the kids to be kids. A gifted kid should be praised for the things that they do well that are difficult for them, not for the things they do naturally.
Like Dee, I was tested for Mensa and got in. My father pushed me into taking the test - for *his* ego, not mine. I quit as soon as *he* stopped paying the dues.
Posted by rubenstein on July 26, 2005, at 13:03:05
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to.., posted by AuntieMel on July 26, 2005, at 9:12:11
THere is a great book called "The Gifted Adult" but I forget who it is by. It talks about many of the challenges that gifted people can face including increased anxiety and depression
Rubenstein
Posted by ed_uk on July 26, 2005, at 15:19:05
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
I've never dared to take an IQ test. I pretty dumb sometimes, I think I'd be disappointed!
~Ed
Posted by KaraS on July 26, 2005, at 20:51:50
In reply to Is it really true that gifted people tend to..., posted by Colleen D. on July 25, 2005, at 19:11:42
So that's my problem... I'm just too d*mn smart!(I like that a lot better than the other diagnoses I've had.)
k
Posted by caraher on July 27, 2005, at 14:55:02
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to.., posted by rubenstein on July 26, 2005, at 13:03:05
I don't think IQ is very meaningful, whether or not the kinds of tests they have online give inflated values. Though I have taken one or two and the scores have been fairly consistent with one another and with other standardized tests.
I like the remarks about MENSA. I've never understood the appeal of joining. I'm sure there exist chapters where people have a good time but that would be the result of the individuals involved, not the high test scores they happen to share.
I guess because standardized tests give numerical results there's a tendency to attribute too much meaning to them. I'm reminded of a social event at my university orientation where I overheard people at the next table discussing their SAT scores. I thought it was a weird thing even to bring up; after all, everybody there scored high enough to enter the same institution! So I mentioned this to the guys I was sitting with and rather than sharing my bemusement at the high level of interest in numbers that had outlived their usefulness they immediately swapped their scores! I was really surprised but didn't want to say something like, "Wait, I meant to laugh at the people who care so much about their SAT numbers!" When I didn't join in one of them said, "Oh, you probably didn't do so well or something..." and I just let it drop.
Better to let them think I had lousy scores than to play the one-upmanship game I found so silly by telling them I'd outscored them both by a substantial margin!
Anyway, I'm highly skeptical of the notion that the "gifted" are singularly prone to mental illness. Turn the question around; are the mentally ill more likely to be gifted? The gifted may be more prone to recognize their condition, and their mental illnesses are probably more likely to be diagnosed. But no quantity of anecdotes about famous and talented people can prove much more than that fame and talent are no shield against mental illness.
Posted by Colleen D. on July 27, 2005, at 19:43:57
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to.., posted by caraher on July 27, 2005, at 14:55:02
I will now resign myself to taking NO MORE IQ test online. I'm happy with what I've been able to do with my mind (despite my mental problems) and hope my abilities continue to grow.
:-) Colleen
Posted by AuntieMel on July 28, 2005, at 8:39:30
In reply to Re: Is it really true that gifted people tend to.., posted by caraher on July 27, 2005, at 14:55:02
I wouldn't know about the meetings. I never went to one. The newsletters were mildly amusing, though.
I remember showing up for the test and thinking that it was the most peculiar bunch of people I'd ever seen. And this was to a teenager in 1969!
I won't tell my score, and I haven't even admitted joining more than a half dozen times in my life (this being one.)
But I do remember one time - my boss at the time mentioned the name and I (much younger and stupider) said 'I used to belong.' It turned out he had been denied!
He made my life miserable after that.
This is the end of the thread.
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