There seems to be some confusion as to what IQ is. It's simply the ability to learn, as expressed in a number. Here's the formula "Mental Age/Chronological Age X 100 = Intelligence Quotient." It has very little bearing on education, although the ABILITY to learn is based on what you have learned. Make sense? What an IQ is trying to quantify is how easily you can learn, your intelligence.
The normal IQ is 100. That's what the base is. The average IQ is between 85 and 115. Mine is substantially higher than that. I blame my intelligent brain for the Versed debacle. I encourage EVERYBODY who has had a problem with Versed to go to the MENSA site and take the practice test. Then join MENSA. See if I'm correct in my assumptions about bright brains being the worst affected by this drug. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. This is about science, not my "feelings".
Some of you have probably wondered how somebody who is just a "moron truck driver" can have a very high IQ. In my case it was burnout. I skipped 2 grades in elementary school. That put me in class with children who were 2-3 years older than me. That's a HUGE age difference for kids. I was ostracised and subjected to verbal and physical abuse from my classmates. The TEACHERS added an extra layer of tension by constantly holding me up for either praise or ridicule. If I didn't score a perfect test, they would demean me and say things like "and your supposed to be a genius?" If I did score perfectly they would admonish the other students to be more like me. That went over like a lead balloon. By the time I was 8 I had the beginnings of ulcers and was painfully skinny.
I learned to pretend I wasn't so smart. I also started cutting class. You can't put that much pressure on little kids. They aren't OLD ENOUGH to handle it! I graduated at 16 and took a year of college when I was 17. At 18 when I could get a legal job, I started driving a truck.
Here's the attraction. I can hide in plain sight. Nobody expects me to be very bright as shown by the insane nurse who used to come here. I work outside. I get plenty of sunlight, fresh air and exercise. I have no boss looking over my shoulder at all times. I just do my job and I'm LEFT ALONE! I love it! I work construction, so during the summer I make enough money to get me through the winter. I'm off all winter so that I can take my daughter to school, do my "volunteer" work at the prep school, ride my horse, read voraciously etc. It is the perfect job for an intellectual burnout.
My daughter skipped 2 grades as well. The only reason it wasn't 3 skips is because the prep school where she goes told me that 11 is too young emotionally to deal with high school. So my daughter got a year off school basically. We did home school that year and she pretty much did what she wanted. She is NOT burned out. She'll graduate high school at 16 just like I did and colleges are vying for her attention. The difference in teacher awareness of the special problems with bright children is amazing these days. They UNDERSTAND being much younger than the rest of the class can be problematic. They understand the drive these kids have to learn and can focus them without causing burnout. They are trained to avert boredom in these children. I am very impressed with the teachers at the private school where my daughter goes. Plus she has her parents behind her if there is a problem.
So now you know how it happens that high IQ people can turn up in the most unexpected places. I see them frequently doing all kinds of jobs. One of my best friends and mentors calls himself "just an Idaho farm boy" or "just a logger." Yeah right! I see through his facade. He laughs in my face when I try to pull the "I'm just a stupid truck driver" routine on him. He has a lot of people fooled into thinking he's harmless, doddering old man. I guess that's why he is a millionaire now. We bright people do recognise each other when we meet. I KNOW that a lot of the people who come here, devastated by Versed, are on par with me intelligence wise or maybe even smarter. You know who you are! So do I.
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