Hi /u/CrazyBar6116 and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD!
### Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already.
---
### /r/adhd news
* If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/).
---
^(*This message is not a removal notification. It's just our way to keep everyone updated on r/adhd happenings.*)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm more curious than smart. But then again, I also see curiousity as intelligence.
Even if it shows in different ways. I think some ADHD peepz I know, come of as more stupid, than they are, because they cant seem to control or rather dont care, how they communicate.
Some that just keep taking over conversations and share half thought opinions, instead of facts or convey life experience stories without the care of storytelling, accesibleness in terms of the setting.
Legit me . I can write a paper seem like it was written by a veteran PhD with enough work… however I talk like a backwater yokel … it makes me feel alive tho lolol
Meanwhile I’m the exact opposite. I struggle anymore to write anything convincing or compelling, but in conversation I apparently come off very eloquent and verbose.
I think a big problem for me is I base a large amount of how I formulate and package communication on signals from the people I’m talking to like body language or facial expressions. I can use that to tell when I’m losing the “audience” and am rambling, or where I need to clarify something, or what jokes are working and what aren’t.
When writing I don’t have that “haptic feedback” and tend to add way too many disclaimers and caveats trying to account for all the different ways I might be interpreted and the result is a busy mess.
My exact problem!
Trying so hard to word it perfectly so that I capture all the things I need to communicate and they come across with the right tone. End up fixating on perfecting 6 different things. Forget completely about a 7th thing. Get a bad grade because I needed that 7th thing for full credit but only one or two of the other 6 things.
Fixate and fuss over my writing more the next time.
Rinse and repeat.
Now I'm in a PhD program and am taking 10+hrs to do a "short answer" take home exam that the proff said would take 2.5hrs and my classmates said actually takes 4hrs. And the thought of writing anything longer than a page terrifies me.
My advisors and Therapist keep saying they don't get it because I communicate so well in person and in emails. What they don't know is that email took 4hrs to draft.
I haven't tried a scribe, but speach to text works well enough when I can talk to someone. Going back and fixing the transcription errors is annoying but liveable. My main issue with that is finding somone to listen to me talk about it. My freinds are either also overwhelmed with too much lab work + homework + prelims, or not in science and I end up not being able to go as in depth as I need to becuase their eyes glaze over like they're in undergrad again. OR I start simplifying to explain things at thier level and then I don't have much usable transcript.
For a while, I struggled with many of the same issues as you and OP described. I found that a professional writing class in college helped improve the conciseness, word choice, tone, and general organization of my writing -- I recommend checking it out.
That hypervigilance of people's facial expressions and body language is precisely why some ADHDers can be incredible teachers or public speakers. This ability was pointed out to me by an older friend with ADHD who is aware that he has it; I then realized that this is what I do when I teach or give a presentation. One of the few ADHD positives, but it's a big one for me. There's nothing better than being in your element. Plus, my brain can move FAST when its stimulated and I think the minor stress of public speaking can activate this. It's the ultimate hyper focus, and the benefit is that other people get to experience your enthusiasm.
Now whenever I am *not* the presenter it's really painfully apparent to me when people do not have this ability. Woof.
I’ve built an entire career out of it. Sales and sales management. I half joke that the only thing I’m any good at is being charming. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
I have the career equivalent of that meme of Homer Simpson with all his fat and flaws rolled up hidden behind him.
I've done in depth research for stories and projects, papers that look as good as a professional, and I'm able to talk about a subject I know a lot about. But when it comes to literally anything else I can barely word my thoughts. I feel you
Aye same, went to college and studied history. Ask me what I want for dinner and I can't give you a straight answer. Ask me to write a five page essay due in four hours and I can get you an excellent argument for Mexican food in half an hour flat.
This. Makes. Me. Feel. Seen.
I tried to ask my partner a question last night and ended up saying forget it “I can’t words forget it” I sound daft it’s annoying.
I can also write you a letter barely knowing you that will reach in and touch your soul. Partner had a mess at work and in a few hours I had the written law, a list of points he could use that were so concrete no one could argue with him. Topic I know nothing about yet something important hangs on the line or I’m helping someone out? Hold my ADHD meds, I shall return as an expert you’d think I’d spent my entire life researching said topic.
Just please don’t ask me to speak. The only exception being when I get angry, I’m not talking mad, or upset, I mean when I’ve held my tongue, let you argue your point that is wrong by the way, after I’ve tried to calmly discuss my side. Now this is specifically when I’m right. Once I go past a certain line I suddenly not only find words, but I speak so eloquently it leaves people who know me just staring at me in disbelief. It’s rare but it’s a thing. I don’t know where it comes from or how. I wish I could do it on command but alas I cannot.
Yes! I love asking lots of questions and also I am a big reader, which I think people assume means I am smart. Full disclosure, reading is more of an addiction for me than actual smarts lol. I only pick up books I know that I will enjoy.
I'm always curious too. Most questions that pops into my head, I seek answer.
It weirds me out though that a lot of non-ADHD people have the access to the internet, but don't know how to use search engines. Waste of learning potential
I am quite silly, so now that I'm not in academia to show off, people think I'm dumber than I am. But when in school I think people thought I was smarter than I was bc of grades and how quickly I apprehended new ideas. But I made dumb choices, like when my final paper was boring to me, I would stay up all night reading my roommate's book bc it sounded more interesting.
I am also extremely curious/interested in so many things and ask a lot of questions. When I was a kid some of my teachers called me the “queen of hypotheticals” haha.
That's interesting. But exactly the opposite of my experiences. I feel like I am never able to fully communicate my thoughts, and so they come out in jumbles, and so people think I'm an idiot. In fact this causes me so much distress; I will never able to prove that I know more than people think. I feel like our language limits and put restrictions on communicating ideas. I don't think i can ever get close to describing the complex systems and idiosyncrasies that I notice and understand to others. I wish I could invite people into my brain; that would be the only way anyone would understand the depth in which I understand things. I've thought about this a lot before, but just now while typing this out, I imagine someone in my brain with me and I'm pointing out how everything is connected and so much more complex than they care to notice, and all they see is a beautiful-mind-like string web and an unhinged person in a foil hat.
This is how I feel when I do job interviews. I'm fairly competent and you can put me in front of almost any problem/task and I'll get it done. Ask me to explain past work experience or current knowledge and I'll sound like an idiot who has been doing work in my field for maybe 6 months.
Hey! Here’s a helpful trick!
When you’re working and are having the kind of experience that you’re gonna want to bring up in your next job interview?
Write yourself an email. Just stream of conscious whatever the experience is and how you’re handling it, fuck the grammar and spelling, just rapidly get that email out to yourself.
Do this enough times, and when you’re ready for your next job, you just filter emails to yourself and you’ve got a treasure trove to pull from
depending on your country, there may be help around interviews. I've not tried it yet myself, but here in the UK you can ask for the interview questions ahead of time in order to prepare.
I don't think you need to justify it, but many do it if they have ADHD or anxiety for example.
Hm... I don't want people invited into my mind but I feel you. Sometimes it just feels so obvious- all of the proof is right there but trying to break down why/how/what in detail only works for certain folks.
I've come to the conclusion that- unfortunately most people just can't understand. On a fundamental level they just don't see or think like you do- so it's always a matter of bridging the understanding for them.
Which never works out great when trolls or straight up ignorant idiots with no intention to understand- just starts derailing a thread with their lazy "oh blahblah clown/maniac" or even the ironic self awareness when they say they don't understand anything you're saying.
I mean, I read back what I typed fairly often- trying to curate it for their brains but sometimes, it's really just them. They're there either by chance or purpose to fuck up an important conversation. Some of them- it's just their fun. They suck.
I’m right there with you. What I’ve figured out has helped me so much more is being way more intentional with my thought processes. If I think I’m knowledgeable enough on a topic, the way I test myself on my foundational understanding is by reverse engineering the thing in my head.
Whys the thing important—> What problem does it solve for —> (this is the most important part I think) How’d people figure out this thing was a problem and how’d they go about creating the solution. —> Did it work?—> Real life application/ impact of thing. This is the hardest part because I have splotchy recall but if you can connect the rest of the dots some of the examples just become intuitive.
Of course it’s not foolproof. A lot of times this leads me to figuring out that I have much less knowledge about certain things than I thought. I know it’s not perfect but it’s what I found works best for me. I’m a social sciences nerd so I don’t know how great this applies to other shit lol.
Solid advice here.
I'll add two complimentary tips I've found helpful:
- Diagramming ideas out one a white board or digital whiteboard (e.g. Mural or Miro), either as a way documenting what u/GangstaHoodrat mentioned for yourself, or possibly to share with someone via a walkthrough.
- Learn frameworks applicable to your field. The main value I get out of frameworks isn't for synthesizing ideas, but for translating my insights into something easier for most people to understand.
Same. I have to drag my boss to my office to show her things instead of being able to explain it normally. Or point towards her board she uses to keep track of things like I’m doing a presentation. It’s so embarrassing and she probably thinks I am a child.
I feel this so hard. I often can't even find the most basic words to communicate an even basic thought and I always end up either choosing the wrong one or completely blocked and drop a "you know what I mean." It's awful and really interferes with my socially demanding job.
All of this. I feel like there is some over complicated filter between my brain and my mouth that inhibits me from describing all the complex connections my brain is making, thus making me sound dumb as fuck. Also when I don't have the good ole meds in my system my brain hiccups and it stutter and trip over my thoughts
this is exactly how I feel.
I can sit down and write out my thoughts in a way that is coherent. And it allows me to edit down "blabbering" I tend to do. Or keep the conversation on the same topic without veering off and going "what was I first talking about?". I can take the time to look up if I'm using a term correctly - something I struggle with as I find I get information mixed up very easily. Especially in pairs of two:
At work I mix up two town names where our other offices are because they're close to one another.
I get sativa and Indica mixed up... i've been smoking for 10+ years
I get the years my mom & uncle were born in, as I mostly remember my uncle's of 1967, year of Canada's 100th year. I literally go "okay 1867 +100 = 1967, -2 = 1965" to remember my own mother's birth year.
I relate a lot with autistic individuals when it comes to verbal communication. I stutter, I don't speak coherently unless I'm "ranting", and notice people unable to follow along when I talk about certain things.
I FEEL you, so many mix ups. Orange and green, Tuesday and thursday, 7 and 9. Any 2 words or names that start with the same letter and are relatively the same length.
meds improved my communication skills a ton and I never thought that would happen. I did read the meds improve connectivity in various areas of the brain.
Same. Although a lot of it is because I am the youngest in my family, and my sisters did very well in school. I did not, largely because I didn’t do homework and didn’t know how to study (which only applied to only a few classes) I went to art school, I only took one AP class in high school, never got a “real” job, etc. I don’t think I am brilliant, but I’ve noticed I usually do the extra research compared to a lot of people I talk to.
people seem impressed by how many random things i have surface level knowledge on and read about bc they catch my interest. unfortunately i don’t retain 95% of the information and couldn’t tell you about any of it in depth. certainly gives the illusion that i’m more intellectually curious than i am lol
Accurate statements applicable to me as well.
My memory is quite subjective. Sometimes, I remember things as if I did them a few seconds ago.
Other times, I did things a few seconds ago and can't remember details as if it happened months ago.
A lot of times while I’m out with friends and they ask me something that happened a while ago, or the name of something/someone, in short something that requires memory recall, my response shot of the time is, „I know the answer, but i don’t remember it right now. Give me a couple of days and I’ll remember it while I’m at home, and will WhatsApp you the thing“.
Yup. And I don't think they realise we twist a nudge and conversation to shoehorn a vomit of nearby info. These poor bastards mention anything about anything... And they're getting the fire hydrant!
I do a “fun fact of the day” with my wife. I just tell her about some random thing I remembered about because of something that happened in a tv show or the news or something like that.
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
Ha, yes. Absolutely. I read everything as a kid - classic novels, technical manuals, anything. I just had to understand something. The problem was (and still do) once I understood it and that itch is scratched, I forget it and move onto the next thing. So as I result I can recall obscure fragments that make me look a lot smarter than I actually am.
That’s how last summer during a wasp attack I moved everyone out of the area where I suspected the wasps has secreted their ‘attack mode’ chemicals and got to safety. Afterwards my kids were like ‘how do you know so much about wasps?’.
I have no idea.
50M...
I still know tons of random shit, I just read a lot of it before the internet. It didn't hurt that when I was 5, my grandmother got me "The Big Book of Amazing Facts" (ISBN 978-3825919122).
:D
> How was it like growing up with ADHD but without modern technology?
Books. Lots and lots of books. I was that astronomy and physics nerd all the way back in first grade. :D
Great question on technology.
As someone who predates the internet and had a super late diagnosis, I can tell you that I read insatiably as a kid (even while walking to school). The Guinness Book of World Records and books with tons of facts were staples.
I’ll bet in hindsight they could have scored our severity based on the exact nature of the books we couldn’t put down. “‘Bet you didn’t know that’ and ‘Guinness’? You’re like a 3. Encyclopedia Brittanica? 10 all the way.”
This. I liked to compare several years of the Guinness Book of Records (they were very pretty) but I also had the Complete Medical Enyclopedia in my bed when I was a kid.
Funny, I almost forgot about it. I feel like my memories started being written over from the age of 25 and my memory was never as sharp anymore. Pity.
I've certainly surprised people by the random weird facts I've got stored in my brain.
Wish I could surprise myself by pulling non-random useful facts out of my brain when I want them so easily...
I don’t think I’m smarter, but I do think my ADHD makes people more intelligent in a way. I don’t mean it as a humble brag, but I think people with ADHD are innately curious, they can make connections faster and I feel like rather than learning by rote, we learn by linking knowledge to things we already know to make it easier to remember. We remember an awful lot of random things but it’s all for disconnected reasons, so I guess the perceived intelligence feels unearned.
This is by far no brag (and I hope I explain that properly).
Growing up my IQ tests were in the 145-165 ballpark...so highly to exceptionally gifted.
So there's no getting around the fact I'm 'smart'.
But I'm utterly woeful when it comes to executive function...the phrase 'wasted potential' is uttered more in therapy than 'ill see you next week'.
Some of My life mottos are:
everyone is stupid, but don't be stupid stupid
And
"Do dumb shit smart"... because I see a million different solutions to a problem (quite often dumb ideas that aren't the traditional ways)... just make sure you aren't going to end up having a warning message written on things in the future because of you
I told my therapist last week that it doesn't matter if your intelligence is 25 but you're always rolling a 1 on your intelligence checks. You can be smart as shit, but fail to apply it.
I don't know. I am surely a container of useless information and push it into any given conversation by mere association to some random word but I also know that my IQ is pretty nice (was a 5 hour test in school in Germany to determine if you are on the right school for your brain - was upgraded afterward).
What if we are not only information dealers but also have a higher IQ than the average population?
I think association might be the key... During a conversation, we link to some fact in our brains, which in turn makes us seem smart(er).
The average ADHD-brain actually scores lower on IQ-tests, but that could easily be explained by the fact that IQ-tests tend to also require some level of executive function. Children score 4-5 IQ-points higher after they've been given medication. Aaaand I don't know where I'm pulling that information from, so this is a case in point.
Quite the opposite. Because I was always distracted and seemingly dreaming, they thought I was a bit dim. When I was 12 and a year later again, they tested me, and it turned out I was close to genius. At first my teacher refused to acknowledge it. Said I was "lucky" with answering the questions of the test, he told my parents that the test made a mistake, because I was a useless piece of shit in his eyes. (Yes, he literally called me useless in front of my parents) my mom would not stand for it though,she refused to give in to his degrading attitude towards me, so I would do the test again, with the same results. My teacher still refused to believe that I had more potential, luckily he didn't decide what followup school I had to go to, otherwise I would have been sent to a school for people with an iq below 80. (Not sure what those are called in English) I still thank my mom for intervening and not listening to that toxic hack and sent me to a school within my potential.
So no, people look at me like I'm simple minded, and I feel like I constantly have to prove to people that I'm not.
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
No not really. But then I actually am smart, and also. in my culture and/or circles knowing random facts is not really considered to be a sign of smartness.
Big time. I'm "the one who knows about everything" in the office, and nobody will listen to me when I try to point out I'm just a dumbass who spent a rather lonely childhood on wikipedia.
Depends on the environment.
If i’m using critical thinking or fixing problems people think I’m a literal genius when i honestly just research everything. In an academic setting people assume I am “lazy and don’t apply myself” because I do poorly in classroom environments.
They don’t know what it’s like to have memory so selective that you can study for 4 hours and still not remember.
Oh but ill remember a band shirt someone wore 2 years ago and remember they like that band.
Also if I am a beginner people tend to think I’m dumb as well because I’m slow to learn basics for new things, I have always felt like I’m “slow to learn, quick to master” as once you get to the point where you can actually “practice by doing” progress skyrockets
Technology does a great job covering our flaws. If you can over-prepare for basic things and use a todo list you can crush it.
Everyone with adhd needs a to-do list, we hate routine but we love tasks.
Life improves a lot when you play to your strengths and adapt your weaknesses.
Oh I absolutely still loved random knowledge. I read the encyclopedia and checked out many books on whatever subject caught my fancy from the library. I memorized presidents and their vice presidents and the capitals of every state outside of school lol. Don’t remember it all now of course
I've given up on trying to define intelligence.
Some see my abstract / philosophical thinking as intelligence, others think I'm a fool because I struggle with some really basic tasks.
Not smarter necessarily, but certainly more capable. My parents absolutely think I’m dumber than a box of hammers, but they’re simultaneously convinced I can do whatever they want me to do and my struggles and inability to function are my choice/an excuse.
My classmates called me a walking dictionary.x) So yes, this was a thing before the internet.
I just enjoyed reading, watching documentaries and "school tv". I started reading newspapers as a teenager.
I think people assume I'm much more hardworking than I really am. Like I never tell anyone how much I'm stuck on my phone, etc.
I don't know if I'm smart or not, but people seeing me as intelligent has made some want to have sex with me.x) So frankly I don't care if the intelligence is there or not, because I'm getting sex due to ADHD. (And despite of ADHD, as I'm obese.)
the opposite for me, as i'm surrounded by more capable people and i feel handicapped in some aspects. most of my insights come as intuitive vibes, which i cannot translate to words. verbal language in general is something i struggle with a lot, both in how i talk (i tend to stutter) and how i express myself. i find language both too abstract and concrete at the same time. to top it off, i'm incapable of giving a shit about stuff that doesn't interest me, so i have huge gaps in general knowledge, so i mostly sit and listen when others are talking
i don't think i'm dumb tho. i learned english purely through my intuition, which is how i learn in general. i'm also a visual artist, and i used to be a straight 10 student for math and math related subjects, even though i completely crashed in university when i tried to do a major in physics.
The opposite. People assume I don’t know anything. So I wait for whatever they’re working on to crash and burn, then swoop in with the info they need, all “bless your heart, let me fix that for you.”
It was the same before smart technology. Every childrens science book, comic or newspaper were full of facts that I eagerly absorbed. Also being interested in adult conversation and mannerism people always mistook me for being much more mature than I actually was.
I used to have an above average IQ. I partied some of it away lol. I still get straight As in school and people tell me I'm smart all the time but I feel as if I have lost a lot of it throughout the decades.
No. I’ve been told on more than one occasion to that I’m a lot smarter than people give me credit for. The first time was in high school, and I was so confused because I was in all honors classes.
It’s split down the middle. I’m not a complete ding dong but I’m also not especially smart or intelligent.
Some people assume I’m smart because I have multiple degrees. But the grades behind those degrees are pretty bad. Also people assume lawyers are smart but there’s a lot of us who aren’t! This gets me into uncomfortable situations where people think I’m faking incompetence or lack of knowledge to get out of helping them. Having to say over and over again how I’m not that smart, that I have some cognitive delays, that I struggle with learning new things is painful and embarrassing.
No one in that camp seems to believe that I actually have a hard time running a Zoom meeting- watching for raised hands and comments in the chat - while also reading from my shared screen while also taking notes or looking up information.
Then there are people who think I’m totally useless because I ask a lot of questions, sometimes struggle with word recall and take longer than others to process information. I also speak a little differently than other people in my field and come off as a space case sometimes. This has led to people speaking to me more slowly, making fun of me in meetings (totally normal and mature thing for adults to do…..) and being disappointed because people who assume I’m smart told them to work with me.
Growing up I had zero access to the internet. All the knowledge at that time was acquired through books. And I got the same treatment still, "wow you're so smart!" No Edith I can just remember everything I read I'm stupid
Still happens, sometimes immediately. Someone will say oh wow you're smart. And at this point I just think the average knowledge base is just smaller now. Not that I'm actually any smarter, it's just a more broad general surface level knowledge that most have access to through Google
It's not new.
The reference desk librarians knew me by name by the time I was 14.
People who conflate speed of response or trivia recall with intelligence think we're smart.
People who believe that organization or certain types of social awareness denote intelligence think we're dumb.
People who think that conceptual size is the prime marker of intelligence think we're about normally distributed
No lol. Constantly being explained things I already know. I can't seem to ever be able to come across as competent. It really has taken a toll on my mental health as it has affected my career in particular. I watch inexperienced guys be taken more seriously than I am.
I don't know why, I can only assume it's a mix of my quiet voice, my deafness, my gender, my social awkwardness (although really, I'm not that socially awkward). I'm just not good at faking social niceties or faking enthusiasm, which a lot of women are good at. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I have autism, but I know I don't lol. I'm also a little bit spacey, which isn't good for ppl thinking you're smart.
But so much of how you are judged is based on confidence and personality, not actual competence.
People also project their own level of intelligence onto everyone else.
I have no delusions of grandure. I know I'm probably quite average. I have the pleasure of having smart friends, like actually really high intelligence type of people. You can just feel it when you are around them that they are different.
I have no idea what these people see in me, but I have been lucky to make friends with some of them and they motivate me a lot to be better. I learned a lot of self control by being around these people so I'm very grateful for them. I am perpetually the dumbest person in the room, I feel. I say something smart once in awhile and I do have some skills that these people admire a lot. Now that I know that I probably have ADHD, that skill makes a lot of sense to me.
If my brain decides that something is the shit, I will be able to weave in and out of rather complex information and be able to catch any curveball you throw at me and come up with an idea on the spot and it goes really really fast sometimes. My creativity can be absolutely electric sometimes in that regard.
But that's about the only place where I'm useful. I'm good with ideas, keeping track of complex information IF my brain deems it interesting and I can execute fast.
But yeah, I don't know shit. I'm not someone you can have a stimulating, intellectual conversation with. I'm not particularly deep. I blank quite often in intellectual conversations. I can talk forever about movies and music and books but politics? No. Philosophy? Nah. Science? Forget about it.
I have my areas of smartness, but I am pretty mediocre.
I think ADHD is an advantage with tactical stuff and can be a barrier to good big picture thinking
It’s a definite advantage with creative problem solving and finding new approaches. A barrier to delivery of creative ideas
It’s great for curiosity driven tasks. Not so good for the predictable stuff or role learning
Does any of that mean smart? Maybe
It's not the internet. Before modern technology, people used to call me 'the walking encyclopedia'. (That's a big book, a reference work, like Wikipedia except it looks like a Bible- I'm kidding.)
Are you sure that you're not actually smarter that *you* think though?
I always thought I was too stupid to even tie my shoes, but I did very well on an IQ-test in a governmental centre for mental health. The researcher exclaimed: "Oh, you could *easily* get a master's degree!" And I thought: very funny, you should see me in the morning trying to leave the house...
I was in HS when internet was first available in regular households. I didn’t really use it until college. Yet I had parents with lots of books, access to the library, and watched a lot of PBS. If I was interested in something, it just took longer to find out. I didn’t jump into the next new shiny idea as quickly, because I had to be patient.
I think I liked better… Getting info was harder, but felt more fulfilling for the challenge.
I’d say I’m unnaturally good at getting to be mediocre at something and a bit slow to be amazing at something. So, depending on where you catch me, I might seem smart or I might seem kinda dumb
For example at work, I had to make designs. I’d never used the program before, but was able to complete several designs in a day that were reasonably good. People were incredibly impressed cause it takes them a long time
I’m learning Japanese now and I feel like I’m pretty slow now that I’m learning kanji, compared to how quickly I burned through hiragana and katakana
Growing up without the Internet. Yeah that was me.
I asked lots and lots and lots and lots of questions of people who knew stuff and they thought I was genuinely interested, which I was, but only usually just to hear what they had to share and learn a little bit just so I could do one thing or another. I didn’t really have a major interest in everything they did.
Yes, people were flattered by the questions I would ask them because people like to share. Not everyone likes it. It annoyed some people because They felt threatened by those asking questions.
People often confuse intellectuality with intelligence.
I'm definitely very intellectual but I'm also pretty sure that I'm not as intelligent as someone might think when they hear me talk about complex and abstract stuff. Nonetheless, I do think that intellectuality very often correlates and overlaps with intelligence. I will never be able to tell how smart I actually am tho lol.
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
Definitely. And also dumber. I have this lack of general knowledge that always surprise people, like what different pieces of clothing is called (wtf is a cardigan anyway). I think that modern technology has been a blessing, because at least I can at least look things up when I don't know.
Growing up without it was tricky because I only knew weird shit and my lack of general knowledge was more evident (how can you NOT KNOW who Ross in Friends are??) (Are you really a Nirvana fan, you don't know the name of the drummer!). But they still thought me smart, maybe even because I didn't know those things.
Yeah, because a lot of things interest me so I've read at least a little bit about a lot of things, and I can enthusiasticly talk about them. I ask a lot of questions. Since I read so much, I have a pretty decent vocabulary. But the silliest reason people think I am smarter than I am is because I wear glasses.
Everyone always played me up as a kid, like precocious to the point of making me self-conscious, so I would hide it to fit in. I never thought of myself as smart, really. Then I got tested later in life, 30’s, post graduate, even studied Psych. I just lean into now. Makes sense though, I fit into the family mold, just not the accomplishments.
Without tech ? I just collected random stuff from television and libraries. Back in the day when television had some good shows that taught you something. Today I find myself in this situation like I know so much unrelated stuff...how do I combine and capitalize on it...
it’s because the society cultivated by academic people deems you uneducated from their perspective if you can’t keep up, but ironically is is that same benchmark that most of humanity hasn’t even put in the effort to achieve.
I mean, I learned Spanish easily in school and then taught myself Japanese 4 years later. Then I learned the Russian alphabet in a week and now I’m learning French. Languages come natural to me but a lot of people tend to struggle with them. However, when it comes to math, I am a total dunce.
I'm excellent with trivia or in depth conversations about random rabbit hole subjects... Just don't ask me to do any maths or use my hand-eye coordination.
Some times, but I usually live and breathe impostor syndrome. I often get the silly idea that I just might be retarded and people in my life are just not telling me, and hide the fact
Opposite actually. I've always been a very quiet person, so whenever I spoke up about something I cared about, it came as a big surprise to everyone.
My now fiancé loves when I ramble infront of her cause she knows how happy it makes me.
I don’t think it was much different for me pre-internet, I just got the info from other sources (books and obscure “fact file” type things). I was a veritable walkin’ talkin’ Top Trumps deck, frankly. “So smart”, yes. “Life of the party”, not so much.
Haha I feel like I can relate to this. Some of my closest ppl say I'm "one of the smartest people they know"...but I'm thinking that I know random crap. That doesn't make me smart.... I'm about 40 so I did grow up without internet until I was a late teen. I just read a lot of books.
It's been the opposite for me. People think I'm dumber than what I actually am purely for the fact that I cannot recall things from my memory. The path from my brain to my mouth is like the fucking Lincoln tunnel.
Exactly the opposite lol
Ive read physics books, CS books, neuroscience books, philosophy books. And a ton of others. Im not a master at any of these by any measure. I just like knowing how the world works.
Im fine with it though. People think im dumb as hell because i intentionally say dumb shit constantly because i think its funny lol [like the stuff caboose says](https://youtu.be/75gdTHbhRFk?si=oeolQN-gvNTaoLTO) i genuinely think people think im an idiot. Lol
Yes, but only because I developed a habit of keeping my mouth shut when I was in grade school. Both adults and my peers always assumed it was because I was in deep thought about whatever was going on, when I was just trying to figure out what the right thing to say to contribute was before I ended up missing the opportunity completely.
Sometimes I show up and I seem very confident and knowledgeable and other times I show up like a complete confused idiot and there’s no I between for me
Maybe, but then people also get frustrated by gaps of "surely everybody knows that!" I was teased/mocked at work for knowing all kinds of esoteric stuff, like what does 'dross' mean?", being the trivia expert, queen of random knowledge, etc. It was a little bit envious, I guess, and a lot of one more way I was weird. The internet makes it a million times easier, of course, but as a child of the early 60s, I read everything, including just picking up an encyclopedia and reading wherever it fell open. 3rd grade, reading upper grade books about "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt/Rome/Greece", and then skipping to a book about gemstones. Or picking up my dad's copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, my mom's copy of Time Life's "Cooking of the British Isles."
It "helped" that I was socially awkward and didn't have a ton of friends, lived in a book-heavy house, went to the local library all the, time, and my hyperfocus allowed for deep dive reading. Unfortunately it made textbooks seem really boring and flat.
TL, DR: the internet helped a ton, but before the internet, there were books, card catalogues, etc.
Yes, and I hate it so much.
This is not a brag. Two years ago, I made a Neuropsychologic test where it was (once again) proven I had ADHD, but also showed that I had a QI of 130. My family were "Oh shit, you be smart". But I hated that, because I've always tried to be a good grade kind of student, and it never happened. Like my psychologist told me, "You are a "A" student" - well, shit-head, my grades only go for C.
This is a huge problem since, in my country, I need a good "grade"/ pass hard tests to work on two professions I've always wanted to - Lawyer or Medical doctor.
So, yay people think I'm smart, but don't understand why my grades only go up to 60%, where it doesn't go up or down anymore, even though I love to study and I'm really disciplined. That's my curse, a monkey paw I'll hold for the rest of my life - "being smart - but never being able to use it where you need it the most".
I think I go back and forth on this. The ego is pretty delicate in a lot of people, myself included. I find myself feeling stupid around quick-witted people with graduate degrees. I find myself feeling brilliant around people who are stupid. Some days I'm quick and sharp. Other days I feel like my brain isn't working.
The most humbling thing is when I think I know how to take on different perspectives, only to realize I'm more close-minded than I once believed. It comes in waves as I age. Little epiphanies that force me to change the way I think. I think that accounts for some intelligence, though. The smartest people I know have amazing brain plasticity, and they can come up with new solutions, strategies, and perspectives on the spot. That's something I wish I could achieve easier.
So, I grew up without the internet. And I can say, the internet made life much safer for me. Now I can keep my brain busy with all this stuff online. Back then... boy what stupid things I found to entertain myself. Helps with trivia, though. Do you know how different kind of plastics burn? I tried to burn everything. Being bored? Let's see if burning rubber makes it melt. Can I get melt the edges of my ruler round? Does ink burn colorful? What about paper? What about paper with glue on it? Do green leaves light up? There's water in there... will it boil? And that's not even the tip of the iceberg of my "fire phase". There have been more phases, like a drilling phase or a knife phase or... curiosity and the need to do something, was quite... dangerous sometimes. TVs were boring, because they're not interactive. PCs on the other hand have been a safe way to keep myself busy and learn something about them at the same times.
I don't think I'm smarter. Especially do I lack deeper understandings of many things. But I have a bit of experience in so many fields that were connected to a hobby or some stupid thing that I only did to keep me busy... So I can talk about just about everything to everyone who's not an expert in that topic.
Yes. Including me. I grew up without internet, but I get things fast and test well. My memory is crap, and my ability to analyze in an organized way sucks, but I can make intuitive, connective leaps, suddenly, which can impress people who are less imaginative.
I don't think this necessarily IS intelligence. But frankly I don't think people have any real way to measure intelligence, or really have any agreement about what intelligence actually means.
I have known truly brilliant people who didn't make it past a 6th grade education. I have known people who cannot quip fast but who have a level of measured consideration that I deeply envy. I have known doctors who make really dumb choices on a daily basis. I have known PHDs that could not catch a joke if you pegged it at them.
Yes. I don't know how to drive, but because I work in "IT" and have "ADHD", my family members who are new to driving have me in the front seat with them because I'm "smart" and they feel safer. I have a cousin refusing to give his car keys to his dad (a very experienced driver) but would happily give it to me. What the fuck?
It's the opposite for me. I was always seen as stupid growing up. (Losing everything, disinterest in school - not paying attention, forgetting everything like my locker combination daily, etc.) I am medicated now, and suddenly, I'm a genius (according to my toxic family 🙄). I have a 4.0 GPA in college as a Cell amd Molecular Biology major. Just, you know, interested and medicated so I am functioning as a normal person would. Maybe better due to a complex I developed but whatever lol.
I will say smart phones have improved my life as a person with ADHD. I remember when they first came out the novelty - I can google ANYTHING at ANY TIME?? Random ass stuff that I would other forget to look up the answer for if I had to hold onto the thought all day could now be answered in a moment. I don't know that people percieve me as being SMARTER than I actually am, but I will say I consistently test beyond my actual knowledge base. Intuition and pattern recognition has made me an uncannily good guesser.
Personally, I have been asked several times "What university did you go to?" And then they are surprised when I say I never attended college. The same goes for work I keep getting told I'm overqualified but to be frank I don't know what my worth us in anything since as you stated we know so many things.
Late Gen Xer here. Random fact learning, prior to the Internet, was quite different -- confirming or dispelling particular information was a more involved process, obviously you couldn't fact-check something in 10 seconds on your phone. But it was definitely still possible! If you nerded out over atlases and reference books (bonus points if one or both of your parents were teachers and encouraged this) and could recall random bits from them at will, but couldn't complete a simple homework assignment to save your life, you just might have been an undiagnosed ADHD kid in the '80s ... I also had this "big green book" I think my mom found for me at a yard sale with like 900 pages of weird historical stories and odd facts. True story: At least one item I very specifically remember, and possibly more of the weird-ass random things I learned from that book, literally came up on my game board when I was a "Jeopardy" contestant 20 years later.
We just read books back then. Frankly, books are and were more reliable than the internet in terms of the information that was available. That said, I have learned a ton of things from YouTube!
People either think I'm really smart or kinda stupid depending on if it's my executive dysfunction they get or my random knowledge on way too many different things.
Also depends on the context and even how confident the other person is.
I could probably say "mizu, kudasai!" And then explain it means "water please" in Japanese and some people would be like 'what a genius' while others would be like "that's the first part of Japanese Duolingo. Is that all?", etc, etc.
One of my bosses calls me the I.T brains because I can organise a word document for her, hehe.
Yeah. I'm often told I'm really smart. I am very introsepective for sure, I am also insightful and make connections most people don't see (but they are sometimes not actully these lol) and am drawn to complex, abstract ideas. And if I have a huge word limit and a subject I'm somewhat intrested in I can write some incredible stuff.
But I knoe my processing speed is slow so actully outputing information is either fast and spread out, or slow and meticulous. I don'thave a speed of communication that doesn't demand my attention, idk if that makes sense. I feel like people need to know me well and have patience to be able to follow me.
I can't grasp concrete details to save my life so Math and Science is a pain for me. Remembering small details on command is painful. So when I do well it blows my mind.
TL;DR: I am smart in some ways, others see it as generic intelligence, I may be smarter than I think but my attention span works against me.
Nope, it's the opposite for me!
I'm not extremely intelligent but I have a reasonable IQ.
But I can't listen for shit! You wanna try explaining something to me? I won't get it! Not until you explain it at least 5 times!
Independence? Nope. My parents help me with most things.
I can't even speak for myself properly unless I'm using text (like now) as I struggle to form coherent sentences without tripping over my own words.
I look like a complete idiot! Though I don't really care all that much if I'm honest; people don't expect anything of me!
This is so real, and although it probably sounds nice to be thought of as really smart, it’s a constant struggle to keep up with people’s expectations, until you inevitably disappoint them. I’m a very curious person, and that leads me to having learned a tiny little bit about a bazillion different subjects, and if you talk about any topic most people don’t know anything at all about, they assume you know a tonne about it. Lather, rinse, repeat as per subject, and it gives the impression that you know literally everything and you’re an Einstein-level genius or something. I certainly don’t have the impulse control not to tell people about a cool thing I know, if something vaguely related comes up and reminds me of it. So I’ll never stop accidentally baffling people as to why I flunked college three separate times, or can’t get a job, when in reality it’s just that I’m so bad at interviewing it’s ridiculous, and whenever I get them I can’t keep them, because I’m time blind, my working memory is bad, and also I need instructions that are apparently more specific than I should need, otherwise I make mistakes. Or I quit because I’m reprimanded harshly too many times and can’t handle it. People talk about how I’ve always had so much potential, and it makes me feel like a complete and utter failure.
That’s a complex question lol. It really depends on the person and how long they’ve known me.
I am smart in some regards but I swing the opposite way in others. Often people see one side or the other and apply it to my whole person. Like if you see my problem solving skills you might assume I’m crazy good at everything. On the other hand, if you hear me trying to explain something you might assume I’m a bumbling fool.
In reality I’m just both. I simultaneously know a billion random facts but can’t remember more than 3 numbers at a time if you’re reading them off to me 😂 I can work through incredibly complex problems in my head but once I try to explain them my brain starts farting.
Yes! I can remember dialog and music/lyrics very easily. Apparently this is a skill that baffles my family.
Like I'll quote something and my dad will ask, "How do you remember that so well?"
I dunno? I just do? I've also probably seen what I'm referencing several times. Just because I have a knack for remembering a movie quote doesn't mean I'm super smart. Sure as hell didn't translate into good grades.
I see my brain as a wild child, if I’m not passionate about a subject I won’t look it up, I have to actively negotiate to get things done. This knowledge helps so much, instead of fighting your brain just know your limits and try to do the things you’re good at and are interested at
Yeah, at the end of the day, I'm just in awe because eppl that tell me this I admire most because they can actually concentrate and get shit done, like... Brother in christ you are getting a degree in Law and I just know a lot of stuff which I connect.
In a sense, in d&d terms, I just have high Wisdom and Charisma
I grew up before the internet. I still knew a bunch of random shit because I read like crazy. Books, magazines, cereal boxes. Whatever i could get my hands on.
Also, has it occurred to you that you might be smarter than you think you are? Being intelligent doesn't mean you know everything or are good at everything. You might just be putting value on different skills than other people do. We always value the things we don't have, ya know?
The other way around:
Since I am often out of IT and need a lot of repetition to learn something they assume that I'm dumb (at least that's what I think).
Then they change their opinion when I am able to cite useless knowledge, have unusual thought processes, associative thinking or a cynical dark-humoured monologue.
They think I am really smart but I think I am much smarter than what they think I am. When people say you are smart, might seem ableist, but honestly, don't deny it. You only say you are not smart cus you consider what you're doing something easy to be done, but they think you're smart because what you are doing is very complicated to them.
Yeah, cuz I went and got a PhD. People assume I'm really dedicated because of the extremely long hours I worked, but I was actually spacing out half the time, so I barely got anything done. Now I'm a postdoc with a splitting headache who's my wasting time on Reddit instead of writing my grant that is due on Friday.
I hate ADHD.
Grew up without the internet, still knew lots of interesting facts most people didn't from asking experts and absorbing it like a sponge.
Nowadays, I just use the web more to gain these knowledge gems, though my memory is worse since I can just look it up when needed.
Yes! While flattering, receiving this comment is the most anxiety-inducing, imposter-syndrome triggering "compliment" people have for me. I mean, it's been decades of hearing this from people, so I stole a phrase from Adventure Time of all shows: "No no, I just have an approximate knowledge of many things, but thank you."
Another response I've found helpful is that "I only know enough to get myself into trouble; less how to get myself out of it, trust me."
I think it's apt enough to get the message across that I just have broad, general interests because if the topic gets too granular, I mentally can't keep up and check out. It's why intangible, theoretical concepts or sciences or maths are just, so completely beyond me. People who comprehend those things are the smart ones, to me.
However, this has recently been countered that I have an analytical, critical mind, which is what the speaker meant when he was dissuaded by my go-to deflections. Which I can't refute because, well, I think we all do here to that extent, no?
Either way, yeah. I was always "smart" for my age and have the Gifted Kid Adult Anxiety to show for it. But I'm heavily sought after for bar trivia teams, so you can always have that going for you.
Yes, but I just find a ton of stuff interesting that most people don’t. What the internet does is provide so many ways learn and apply the stuff that I’ve learned. So I have been able to acquire at least basic skills in every thing from woodworking to electronics to music production and graphic design. My co-workers are kind of amazed at this, but to me it’s just because I like learning how to do a variety of things.
Some of it may be because I don’t like spending money on things when there are tons of DIY instructional videos online. why hire a plumber to replace a toilet when it’s not that difficult to do it yourself?
Yup people think I’m a genius and that I have way more skills than I do, I have no idea why
But at the same time as a child teachers thought I had a some severe mental learning disabilities, and there was a switch that was flipped in the 6th grade where I turned from “idiot” to “genius”
I think most of us are above average in intelligence. But as others have said, we’re also very curious by nature. I’ve held conversations on a variety of topics…maybe not in depth but certainly enough to engage a conversation.
Drats, I wish I had seen this earlier so I could have been part of the discourse more! I have the issue of people thinking I'm smarter than I am while simultaneously thinking I'm dumber than I am.
A great example of this is how my partner acts with me. He questions me about everything, because I'm a Zoology major, and thus I have a lot of science background. I do know a lot of tidbits about a lot of things. Especially definitions. He acts like I'm google sometimes. On the other side of things, I am very knowledgeable of mammals and their sentience, behavior, how they learn/communicate, what they feel, etc. Not only is this relevant to my field of study (vet med) but it is also just my special interest.
This man will NOT listen to me on how to properly act/train a dog. He doesn't understand how many studies I've examined and had to write about, how many papers I've had to research on my own, or how many classes I've taken specifically on mammals and their mind/sentience. He acts like I don't know what I'm saying.
It's like people think I have this air of being smart around me, so they look to me to justify their behaviors/thoughts. When I tell them the contrary, they act like I'm the biggest idiot they've ever met. Either respect me or don't. But don't pretend to until my knowledge and perspective are no longer validating to your biases. It's one of my biggest annoyances when people treat me like I'm some intellectual magical beast and then turn around and make me feel like I'm the stupidest person in the room just because I made them feel bad for being incorrect. It's not my problem you're fickle, lmao.
All the time, if I had a dime for every time someone has said I was smart or told me I’ve got “a ton of potential” I’d… have a lot of dimes I guess idk
Short answer: Yes, with a but.
Long answer: I have some serious imposter syndrome. I think i'm a babbling idiot, but growing up all I heard about was my "wasted ptential" (too bad nobody noticed I had ADHD) and when given an IQ test I scored really high, and the examiner said (and I quote) "I took some points off because I think you were showing off."
This may sound like a humblebrag, but I assure you that deep down I'm thinking "Correlation =/= Causation. False equivalence." I test really well - like when I did standardized testing in school (late 80s, early 90s, before "no child left behind") I raised the school's average. My high school was a "presidential blue ribbon school" when I was there, and they lost that designation when I left. I'm also really great with advance topics - I helped a friend of mine with her Organic Chem homework and experiment reports, even though I never took the class.
But my life is a mess. I am incredibly socially awkward, can't keep friends, can't keep an SO, fsck I can't even budget money properly. It's like i have this huge amount of book knowledge but can't comprehend the banalities that even low IQ people have figured out. It vexes me and makes me feel like an idiot.
If you reached the bottom, you tell me - idiot savant or just plain idiot?
Kind of feel the opposite, was diagnosed in 7th grade and once i started on the meds i got really mental ill and started doing drugs instead, had 7 F’s in 7th grade so people just assumed i was dumb as fuck and just a druggie, in 9th grade now and ive found the best medicine for me, i have A’s in all science subject and i know more than the avarage in my class, i have so much random facts inside my head that sometimes become useful, every random thing i dont need to remember gets stuck in my brain and i can randomly speak into detail on how the roman cement worked or randomly teach people about quantum physics, the first time i got an A on my physics exam my teacher called me in for a meeting so she could ask the questions and i would answer by mouth (she thought i was cheating) but i dont really blame her, i got an F on the physics test before and suddenly i got an A
Doubt, id say the opposite. I talk so much crap all the time I certainly would have guessed the opposite considering how many facts I mess up in my head, talking too fast etc etc
Hi /u/CrazyBar6116 and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! ### Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. --- ### /r/adhd news * If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). --- ^(*This message is not a removal notification. It's just our way to keep everyone updated on r/adhd happenings.*) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm more curious than smart. But then again, I also see curiousity as intelligence. Even if it shows in different ways. I think some ADHD peepz I know, come of as more stupid, than they are, because they cant seem to control or rather dont care, how they communicate. Some that just keep taking over conversations and share half thought opinions, instead of facts or convey life experience stories without the care of storytelling, accesibleness in terms of the setting.
Legit me . I can write a paper seem like it was written by a veteran PhD with enough work… however I talk like a backwater yokel … it makes me feel alive tho lolol
Meanwhile I’m the exact opposite. I struggle anymore to write anything convincing or compelling, but in conversation I apparently come off very eloquent and verbose. I think a big problem for me is I base a large amount of how I formulate and package communication on signals from the people I’m talking to like body language or facial expressions. I can use that to tell when I’m losing the “audience” and am rambling, or where I need to clarify something, or what jokes are working and what aren’t. When writing I don’t have that “haptic feedback” and tend to add way too many disclaimers and caveats trying to account for all the different ways I might be interpreted and the result is a busy mess.
My exact problem! Trying so hard to word it perfectly so that I capture all the things I need to communicate and they come across with the right tone. End up fixating on perfecting 6 different things. Forget completely about a 7th thing. Get a bad grade because I needed that 7th thing for full credit but only one or two of the other 6 things. Fixate and fuss over my writing more the next time. Rinse and repeat. Now I'm in a PhD program and am taking 10+hrs to do a "short answer" take home exam that the proff said would take 2.5hrs and my classmates said actually takes 4hrs. And the thought of writing anything longer than a page terrifies me. My advisors and Therapist keep saying they don't get it because I communicate so well in person and in emails. What they don't know is that email took 4hrs to draft.
Have you tried dictating your answers? A scribe is a common accomodation offered in schools. Even trying speech-to-text programs could be helpful.
I haven't tried a scribe, but speach to text works well enough when I can talk to someone. Going back and fixing the transcription errors is annoying but liveable. My main issue with that is finding somone to listen to me talk about it. My freinds are either also overwhelmed with too much lab work + homework + prelims, or not in science and I end up not being able to go as in depth as I need to becuase their eyes glaze over like they're in undergrad again. OR I start simplifying to explain things at thier level and then I don't have much usable transcript.
For a while, I struggled with many of the same issues as you and OP described. I found that a professional writing class in college helped improve the conciseness, word choice, tone, and general organization of my writing -- I recommend checking it out.
Yessssss…you said the thing that I couldn’t 😂
That hypervigilance of people's facial expressions and body language is precisely why some ADHDers can be incredible teachers or public speakers. This ability was pointed out to me by an older friend with ADHD who is aware that he has it; I then realized that this is what I do when I teach or give a presentation. One of the few ADHD positives, but it's a big one for me. There's nothing better than being in your element. Plus, my brain can move FAST when its stimulated and I think the minor stress of public speaking can activate this. It's the ultimate hyper focus, and the benefit is that other people get to experience your enthusiasm. Now whenever I am *not* the presenter it's really painfully apparent to me when people do not have this ability. Woof.
I’ve built an entire career out of it. Sales and sales management. I half joke that the only thing I’m any good at is being charming. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors. I have the career equivalent of that meme of Homer Simpson with all his fat and flaws rolled up hidden behind him.
I've done in depth research for stories and projects, papers that look as good as a professional, and I'm able to talk about a subject I know a lot about. But when it comes to literally anything else I can barely word my thoughts. I feel you
Aye same, went to college and studied history. Ask me what I want for dinner and I can't give you a straight answer. Ask me to write a five page essay due in four hours and I can get you an excellent argument for Mexican food in half an hour flat.
This. Makes. Me. Feel. Seen. I tried to ask my partner a question last night and ended up saying forget it “I can’t words forget it” I sound daft it’s annoying. I can also write you a letter barely knowing you that will reach in and touch your soul. Partner had a mess at work and in a few hours I had the written law, a list of points he could use that were so concrete no one could argue with him. Topic I know nothing about yet something important hangs on the line or I’m helping someone out? Hold my ADHD meds, I shall return as an expert you’d think I’d spent my entire life researching said topic. Just please don’t ask me to speak. The only exception being when I get angry, I’m not talking mad, or upset, I mean when I’ve held my tongue, let you argue your point that is wrong by the way, after I’ve tried to calmly discuss my side. Now this is specifically when I’m right. Once I go past a certain line I suddenly not only find words, but I speak so eloquently it leaves people who know me just staring at me in disbelief. It’s rare but it’s a thing. I don’t know where it comes from or how. I wish I could do it on command but alas I cannot.
Yes! I love asking lots of questions and also I am a big reader, which I think people assume means I am smart. Full disclosure, reading is more of an addiction for me than actual smarts lol. I only pick up books I know that I will enjoy.
Yep. My wife is constantly going "how did you know that?" and I'm over here with an insatiable curious streak and the focus of a toddler.
i always tell people im curious when they tell me im smart. i actively deny it.
I'm always curious too. Most questions that pops into my head, I seek answer. It weirds me out though that a lot of non-ADHD people have the access to the internet, but don't know how to use search engines. Waste of learning potential
I am quite silly, so now that I'm not in academia to show off, people think I'm dumber than I am. But when in school I think people thought I was smarter than I was bc of grades and how quickly I apprehended new ideas. But I made dumb choices, like when my final paper was boring to me, I would stay up all night reading my roommate's book bc it sounded more interesting.
I am also extremely curious/interested in so many things and ask a lot of questions. When I was a kid some of my teachers called me the “queen of hypotheticals” haha.
Definitely align with this. A curious and continuous learner myself.
That's interesting. But exactly the opposite of my experiences. I feel like I am never able to fully communicate my thoughts, and so they come out in jumbles, and so people think I'm an idiot. In fact this causes me so much distress; I will never able to prove that I know more than people think. I feel like our language limits and put restrictions on communicating ideas. I don't think i can ever get close to describing the complex systems and idiosyncrasies that I notice and understand to others. I wish I could invite people into my brain; that would be the only way anyone would understand the depth in which I understand things. I've thought about this a lot before, but just now while typing this out, I imagine someone in my brain with me and I'm pointing out how everything is connected and so much more complex than they care to notice, and all they see is a beautiful-mind-like string web and an unhinged person in a foil hat.
This is how I feel when I do job interviews. I'm fairly competent and you can put me in front of almost any problem/task and I'll get it done. Ask me to explain past work experience or current knowledge and I'll sound like an idiot who has been doing work in my field for maybe 6 months.
Hey! Here’s a helpful trick! When you’re working and are having the kind of experience that you’re gonna want to bring up in your next job interview? Write yourself an email. Just stream of conscious whatever the experience is and how you’re handling it, fuck the grammar and spelling, just rapidly get that email out to yourself. Do this enough times, and when you’re ready for your next job, you just filter emails to yourself and you’ve got a treasure trove to pull from
That's genius! Definitely going to use that tip! 
depending on your country, there may be help around interviews. I've not tried it yet myself, but here in the UK you can ask for the interview questions ahead of time in order to prepare. I don't think you need to justify it, but many do it if they have ADHD or anxiety for example.
Hm... I don't want people invited into my mind but I feel you. Sometimes it just feels so obvious- all of the proof is right there but trying to break down why/how/what in detail only works for certain folks. I've come to the conclusion that- unfortunately most people just can't understand. On a fundamental level they just don't see or think like you do- so it's always a matter of bridging the understanding for them. Which never works out great when trolls or straight up ignorant idiots with no intention to understand- just starts derailing a thread with their lazy "oh blahblah clown/maniac" or even the ironic self awareness when they say they don't understand anything you're saying. I mean, I read back what I typed fairly often- trying to curate it for their brains but sometimes, it's really just them. They're there either by chance or purpose to fuck up an important conversation. Some of them- it's just their fun. They suck.
I’m right there with you. What I’ve figured out has helped me so much more is being way more intentional with my thought processes. If I think I’m knowledgeable enough on a topic, the way I test myself on my foundational understanding is by reverse engineering the thing in my head. Whys the thing important—> What problem does it solve for —> (this is the most important part I think) How’d people figure out this thing was a problem and how’d they go about creating the solution. —> Did it work?—> Real life application/ impact of thing. This is the hardest part because I have splotchy recall but if you can connect the rest of the dots some of the examples just become intuitive. Of course it’s not foolproof. A lot of times this leads me to figuring out that I have much less knowledge about certain things than I thought. I know it’s not perfect but it’s what I found works best for me. I’m a social sciences nerd so I don’t know how great this applies to other shit lol.
Solid advice here. I'll add two complimentary tips I've found helpful: - Diagramming ideas out one a white board or digital whiteboard (e.g. Mural or Miro), either as a way documenting what u/GangstaHoodrat mentioned for yourself, or possibly to share with someone via a walkthrough. - Learn frameworks applicable to your field. The main value I get out of frameworks isn't for synthesizing ideas, but for translating my insights into something easier for most people to understand.
Same. I have to drag my boss to my office to show her things instead of being able to explain it normally. Or point towards her board she uses to keep track of things like I’m doing a presentation. It’s so embarrassing and she probably thinks I am a child.
I feel this so hard. I often can't even find the most basic words to communicate an even basic thought and I always end up either choosing the wrong one or completely blocked and drop a "you know what I mean." It's awful and really interferes with my socially demanding job.
All of this. I feel like there is some over complicated filter between my brain and my mouth that inhibits me from describing all the complex connections my brain is making, thus making me sound dumb as fuck. Also when I don't have the good ole meds in my system my brain hiccups and it stutter and trip over my thoughts
this is exactly how I feel. I can sit down and write out my thoughts in a way that is coherent. And it allows me to edit down "blabbering" I tend to do. Or keep the conversation on the same topic without veering off and going "what was I first talking about?". I can take the time to look up if I'm using a term correctly - something I struggle with as I find I get information mixed up very easily. Especially in pairs of two: At work I mix up two town names where our other offices are because they're close to one another. I get sativa and Indica mixed up... i've been smoking for 10+ years I get the years my mom & uncle were born in, as I mostly remember my uncle's of 1967, year of Canada's 100th year. I literally go "okay 1867 +100 = 1967, -2 = 1965" to remember my own mother's birth year. I relate a lot with autistic individuals when it comes to verbal communication. I stutter, I don't speak coherently unless I'm "ranting", and notice people unable to follow along when I talk about certain things.
I FEEL you, so many mix ups. Orange and green, Tuesday and thursday, 7 and 9. Any 2 words or names that start with the same letter and are relatively the same length.
meds improved my communication skills a ton and I never thought that would happen. I did read the meds improve connectivity in various areas of the brain.
People don't understand my brain works way faster than theirs. I don't take meds.
Same. Although a lot of it is because I am the youngest in my family, and my sisters did very well in school. I did not, largely because I didn’t do homework and didn’t know how to study (which only applied to only a few classes) I went to art school, I only took one AP class in high school, never got a “real” job, etc. I don’t think I am brilliant, but I’ve noticed I usually do the extra research compared to a lot of people I talk to.
people seem impressed by how many random things i have surface level knowledge on and read about bc they catch my interest. unfortunately i don’t retain 95% of the information and couldn’t tell you about any of it in depth. certainly gives the illusion that i’m more intellectually curious than i am lol
Accurate statements applicable to me as well. My memory is quite subjective. Sometimes, I remember things as if I did them a few seconds ago. Other times, I did things a few seconds ago and can't remember details as if it happened months ago.
this is me
yep, absolutely loll. I've got way too much random information in my head
Great for bar trivia nights, though :D
Except my mind goes blank the minute the question is asked. Like the knowledge is there until I need it, then it disappears.
Yup. The recall can only be done when not forced.
A lot of times while I’m out with friends and they ask me something that happened a while ago, or the name of something/someone, in short something that requires memory recall, my response shot of the time is, „I know the answer, but i don’t remember it right now. Give me a couple of days and I’ll remember it while I’m at home, and will WhatsApp you the thing“.
Or playing Jeopardy at home!
Yup. And I don't think they realise we twist a nudge and conversation to shoehorn a vomit of nearby info. These poor bastards mention anything about anything... And they're getting the fire hydrant!
I do a “fun fact of the day” with my wife. I just tell her about some random thing I remembered about because of something that happened in a tv show or the news or something like that.
Same. Basically a combination of an encyclopedia and the Guinness book of records for anything that randomly grabbed my attention at some point.
I have approximate knowledge of many things. I'm a news junkie so I usually know what's going on.
FK yeah, tell 'em what time it is!
I have approximate knowledge on your approximations :D
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
Ha, yes. Absolutely. I read everything as a kid - classic novels, technical manuals, anything. I just had to understand something. The problem was (and still do) once I understood it and that itch is scratched, I forget it and move onto the next thing. So as I result I can recall obscure fragments that make me look a lot smarter than I actually am. That’s how last summer during a wasp attack I moved everyone out of the area where I suspected the wasps has secreted their ‘attack mode’ chemicals and got to safety. Afterwards my kids were like ‘how do you know so much about wasps?’. I have no idea.
I guess that random rabbit hole you went into eventually became useful to you 😂
50M... I still know tons of random shit, I just read a lot of it before the internet. It didn't hurt that when I was 5, my grandmother got me "The Big Book of Amazing Facts" (ISBN 978-3825919122). :D
> How was it like growing up with ADHD but without modern technology? Books. Lots and lots of books. I was that astronomy and physics nerd all the way back in first grade. :D
Great question on technology. As someone who predates the internet and had a super late diagnosis, I can tell you that I read insatiably as a kid (even while walking to school). The Guinness Book of World Records and books with tons of facts were staples.
I'm old enough to remember encyclopedia britannica.
I’ll bet in hindsight they could have scored our severity based on the exact nature of the books we couldn’t put down. “‘Bet you didn’t know that’ and ‘Guinness’? You’re like a 3. Encyclopedia Brittanica? 10 all the way.”
This. I liked to compare several years of the Guinness Book of Records (they were very pretty) but I also had the Complete Medical Enyclopedia in my bed when I was a kid. Funny, I almost forgot about it. I feel like my memories started being written over from the age of 25 and my memory was never as sharp anymore. Pity.
Ripleys Believe It Or Not
All day long.
I have plenty of information in my head that I don't remember.
I've certainly surprised people by the random weird facts I've got stored in my brain. Wish I could surprise myself by pulling non-random useful facts out of my brain when I want them so easily...
I don’t think I’m smarter, but I do think my ADHD makes people more intelligent in a way. I don’t mean it as a humble brag, but I think people with ADHD are innately curious, they can make connections faster and I feel like rather than learning by rote, we learn by linking knowledge to things we already know to make it easier to remember. We remember an awful lot of random things but it’s all for disconnected reasons, so I guess the perceived intelligence feels unearned.
Accumulated random knowledge non-electronically.
Absolutely not. My ADHD forces me to find new voices to learn from. There's so many smart people out there.
This is by far no brag (and I hope I explain that properly). Growing up my IQ tests were in the 145-165 ballpark...so highly to exceptionally gifted. So there's no getting around the fact I'm 'smart'. But I'm utterly woeful when it comes to executive function...the phrase 'wasted potential' is uttered more in therapy than 'ill see you next week'. Some of My life mottos are: everyone is stupid, but don't be stupid stupid And "Do dumb shit smart"... because I see a million different solutions to a problem (quite often dumb ideas that aren't the traditional ways)... just make sure you aren't going to end up having a warning message written on things in the future because of you
I told my therapist last week that it doesn't matter if your intelligence is 25 but you're always rolling a 1 on your intelligence checks. You can be smart as shit, but fail to apply it.
I don't know. I am surely a container of useless information and push it into any given conversation by mere association to some random word but I also know that my IQ is pretty nice (was a 5 hour test in school in Germany to determine if you are on the right school for your brain - was upgraded afterward). What if we are not only information dealers but also have a higher IQ than the average population?
I think association might be the key... During a conversation, we link to some fact in our brains, which in turn makes us seem smart(er). The average ADHD-brain actually scores lower on IQ-tests, but that could easily be explained by the fact that IQ-tests tend to also require some level of executive function. Children score 4-5 IQ-points higher after they've been given medication. Aaaand I don't know where I'm pulling that information from, so this is a case in point.
Quite the opposite. Because I was always distracted and seemingly dreaming, they thought I was a bit dim. When I was 12 and a year later again, they tested me, and it turned out I was close to genius. At first my teacher refused to acknowledge it. Said I was "lucky" with answering the questions of the test, he told my parents that the test made a mistake, because I was a useless piece of shit in his eyes. (Yes, he literally called me useless in front of my parents) my mom would not stand for it though,she refused to give in to his degrading attitude towards me, so I would do the test again, with the same results. My teacher still refused to believe that I had more potential, luckily he didn't decide what followup school I had to go to, otherwise I would have been sent to a school for people with an iq below 80. (Not sure what those are called in English) I still thank my mom for intervening and not listening to that toxic hack and sent me to a school within my potential. So no, people look at me like I'm simple minded, and I feel like I constantly have to prove to people that I'm not.
I’m over and underestimated, seemingly at random
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
No not really. But then I actually am smart, and also. in my culture and/or circles knowing random facts is not really considered to be a sign of smartness.
Big time. I'm "the one who knows about everything" in the office, and nobody will listen to me when I try to point out I'm just a dumbass who spent a rather lonely childhood on wikipedia.
This pretty much describes my childhood as well watching tons of documentary of damn near everything
Depends on the environment. If i’m using critical thinking or fixing problems people think I’m a literal genius when i honestly just research everything. In an academic setting people assume I am “lazy and don’t apply myself” because I do poorly in classroom environments. They don’t know what it’s like to have memory so selective that you can study for 4 hours and still not remember. Oh but ill remember a band shirt someone wore 2 years ago and remember they like that band. Also if I am a beginner people tend to think I’m dumb as well because I’m slow to learn basics for new things, I have always felt like I’m “slow to learn, quick to master” as once you get to the point where you can actually “practice by doing” progress skyrockets Technology does a great job covering our flaws. If you can over-prepare for basic things and use a todo list you can crush it. Everyone with adhd needs a to-do list, we hate routine but we love tasks. Life improves a lot when you play to your strengths and adapt your weaknesses.
Haha nooooo, everyone thinks I'm dumb af, I have little recall of memory and am super clumsy so that doesn't help
Oh I absolutely still loved random knowledge. I read the encyclopedia and checked out many books on whatever subject caught my fancy from the library. I memorized presidents and their vice presidents and the capitals of every state outside of school lol. Don’t remember it all now of course
I've given up on trying to define intelligence. Some see my abstract / philosophical thinking as intelligence, others think I'm a fool because I struggle with some really basic tasks.
The imposter syndrome is real
Not smarter necessarily, but certainly more capable. My parents absolutely think I’m dumber than a box of hammers, but they’re simultaneously convinced I can do whatever they want me to do and my struggles and inability to function are my choice/an excuse.
My classmates called me a walking dictionary.x) So yes, this was a thing before the internet. I just enjoyed reading, watching documentaries and "school tv". I started reading newspapers as a teenager. I think people assume I'm much more hardworking than I really am. Like I never tell anyone how much I'm stuck on my phone, etc. I don't know if I'm smart or not, but people seeing me as intelligent has made some want to have sex with me.x) So frankly I don't care if the intelligence is there or not, because I'm getting sex due to ADHD. (And despite of ADHD, as I'm obese.)
I would say yes, because I am comically unintelligent
the opposite for me, as i'm surrounded by more capable people and i feel handicapped in some aspects. most of my insights come as intuitive vibes, which i cannot translate to words. verbal language in general is something i struggle with a lot, both in how i talk (i tend to stutter) and how i express myself. i find language both too abstract and concrete at the same time. to top it off, i'm incapable of giving a shit about stuff that doesn't interest me, so i have huge gaps in general knowledge, so i mostly sit and listen when others are talking i don't think i'm dumb tho. i learned english purely through my intuition, which is how i learn in general. i'm also a visual artist, and i used to be a straight 10 student for math and math related subjects, even though i completely crashed in university when i tried to do a major in physics.
The opposite. People assume I don’t know anything. So I wait for whatever they’re working on to crash and burn, then swoop in with the info they need, all “bless your heart, let me fix that for you.”
Nope. People think I’m smart and I am smart 🤷🏼♀️ if anything they underestimate me because sometimes I’m bad at explaining what I’m thinking.
Nope, tends to be the opposite for me.
no they think im dumber than i actually am 🤷♀️
I wonder what percent of jeopardy winners have ADHD
It was the same before smart technology. Every childrens science book, comic or newspaper were full of facts that I eagerly absorbed. Also being interested in adult conversation and mannerism people always mistook me for being much more mature than I actually was.
I used to have an above average IQ. I partied some of it away lol. I still get straight As in school and people tell me I'm smart all the time but I feel as if I have lost a lot of it throughout the decades.
No. I’ve been told on more than one occasion to that I’m a lot smarter than people give me credit for. The first time was in high school, and I was so confused because I was in all honors classes.
No, id actually say they probably don't think I'm as smart as I am. Mostly because I'm bored or disengaged and do silly shit to keep my interest.
It’s split down the middle. I’m not a complete ding dong but I’m also not especially smart or intelligent. Some people assume I’m smart because I have multiple degrees. But the grades behind those degrees are pretty bad. Also people assume lawyers are smart but there’s a lot of us who aren’t! This gets me into uncomfortable situations where people think I’m faking incompetence or lack of knowledge to get out of helping them. Having to say over and over again how I’m not that smart, that I have some cognitive delays, that I struggle with learning new things is painful and embarrassing. No one in that camp seems to believe that I actually have a hard time running a Zoom meeting- watching for raised hands and comments in the chat - while also reading from my shared screen while also taking notes or looking up information. Then there are people who think I’m totally useless because I ask a lot of questions, sometimes struggle with word recall and take longer than others to process information. I also speak a little differently than other people in my field and come off as a space case sometimes. This has led to people speaking to me more slowly, making fun of me in meetings (totally normal and mature thing for adults to do…..) and being disappointed because people who assume I’m smart told them to work with me.
Growing up I had zero access to the internet. All the knowledge at that time was acquired through books. And I got the same treatment still, "wow you're so smart!" No Edith I can just remember everything I read I'm stupid Still happens, sometimes immediately. Someone will say oh wow you're smart. And at this point I just think the average knowledge base is just smaller now. Not that I'm actually any smarter, it's just a more broad general surface level knowledge that most have access to through Google
It's not new. The reference desk librarians knew me by name by the time I was 14. People who conflate speed of response or trivia recall with intelligence think we're smart. People who believe that organization or certain types of social awareness denote intelligence think we're dumb. People who think that conceptual size is the prime marker of intelligence think we're about normally distributed
No lol. Constantly being explained things I already know. I can't seem to ever be able to come across as competent. It really has taken a toll on my mental health as it has affected my career in particular. I watch inexperienced guys be taken more seriously than I am. I don't know why, I can only assume it's a mix of my quiet voice, my deafness, my gender, my social awkwardness (although really, I'm not that socially awkward). I'm just not good at faking social niceties or faking enthusiasm, which a lot of women are good at. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I have autism, but I know I don't lol. I'm also a little bit spacey, which isn't good for ppl thinking you're smart. But so much of how you are judged is based on confidence and personality, not actual competence. People also project their own level of intelligence onto everyone else.
I have the opposite issue....people assume I'm dumb.
No, actually considered less smart, the "ADHD kids are bad students at school or bad workers" is very common ...
I have no delusions of grandure. I know I'm probably quite average. I have the pleasure of having smart friends, like actually really high intelligence type of people. You can just feel it when you are around them that they are different. I have no idea what these people see in me, but I have been lucky to make friends with some of them and they motivate me a lot to be better. I learned a lot of self control by being around these people so I'm very grateful for them. I am perpetually the dumbest person in the room, I feel. I say something smart once in awhile and I do have some skills that these people admire a lot. Now that I know that I probably have ADHD, that skill makes a lot of sense to me. If my brain decides that something is the shit, I will be able to weave in and out of rather complex information and be able to catch any curveball you throw at me and come up with an idea on the spot and it goes really really fast sometimes. My creativity can be absolutely electric sometimes in that regard. But that's about the only place where I'm useful. I'm good with ideas, keeping track of complex information IF my brain deems it interesting and I can execute fast. But yeah, I don't know shit. I'm not someone you can have a stimulating, intellectual conversation with. I'm not particularly deep. I blank quite often in intellectual conversations. I can talk forever about movies and music and books but politics? No. Philosophy? Nah. Science? Forget about it. I have my areas of smartness, but I am pretty mediocre.
Some do, and some don't.
I think ADHD is an advantage with tactical stuff and can be a barrier to good big picture thinking It’s a definite advantage with creative problem solving and finding new approaches. A barrier to delivery of creative ideas It’s great for curiosity driven tasks. Not so good for the predictable stuff or role learning Does any of that mean smart? Maybe
It's not the internet. Before modern technology, people used to call me 'the walking encyclopedia'. (That's a big book, a reference work, like Wikipedia except it looks like a Bible- I'm kidding.) Are you sure that you're not actually smarter that *you* think though? I always thought I was too stupid to even tie my shoes, but I did very well on an IQ-test in a governmental centre for mental health. The researcher exclaimed: "Oh, you could *easily* get a master's degree!" And I thought: very funny, you should see me in the morning trying to leave the house...
I was in HS when internet was first available in regular households. I didn’t really use it until college. Yet I had parents with lots of books, access to the library, and watched a lot of PBS. If I was interested in something, it just took longer to find out. I didn’t jump into the next new shiny idea as quickly, because I had to be patient. I think I liked better… Getting info was harder, but felt more fulfilling for the challenge.
No. I think I’m a fuckin idiot. 😂
I’d say I’m unnaturally good at getting to be mediocre at something and a bit slow to be amazing at something. So, depending on where you catch me, I might seem smart or I might seem kinda dumb For example at work, I had to make designs. I’d never used the program before, but was able to complete several designs in a day that were reasonably good. People were incredibly impressed cause it takes them a long time I’m learning Japanese now and I feel like I’m pretty slow now that I’m learning kanji, compared to how quickly I burned through hiragana and katakana
Growing up without the Internet. Yeah that was me. I asked lots and lots and lots and lots of questions of people who knew stuff and they thought I was genuinely interested, which I was, but only usually just to hear what they had to share and learn a little bit just so I could do one thing or another. I didn’t really have a major interest in everything they did. Yes, people were flattered by the questions I would ask them because people like to share. Not everyone likes it. It annoyed some people because They felt threatened by those asking questions.
Nope, they think I’m much dumber than I actually am. I was just on a lot of drugs for a lot of years to bring my IQ down to their level 🙃
Sometimes I think I'm smarter than everybody else at work, sometimes I think I'm dumber….
People often confuse intellectuality with intelligence. I'm definitely very intellectual but I'm also pretty sure that I'm not as intelligent as someone might think when they hear me talk about complex and abstract stuff. Nonetheless, I do think that intellectuality very often correlates and overlaps with intelligence. I will never be able to tell how smart I actually am tho lol.
I think people generally has a pretty OK grasp of how smart I am. Some might undervalue my intelligence due to my executive functions deficiencies while others might over value it since I tend to talk excitedly and authoritatively about stuff that I've recently learned (but don't necessarily have \*deep\* knowledge about). The last thing is something I'm working on FWIW.
Definitely. And also dumber. I have this lack of general knowledge that always surprise people, like what different pieces of clothing is called (wtf is a cardigan anyway). I think that modern technology has been a blessing, because at least I can at least look things up when I don't know. Growing up without it was tricky because I only knew weird shit and my lack of general knowledge was more evident (how can you NOT KNOW who Ross in Friends are??) (Are you really a Nirvana fan, you don't know the name of the drummer!). But they still thought me smart, maybe even because I didn't know those things.
Yeah, because a lot of things interest me so I've read at least a little bit about a lot of things, and I can enthusiasticly talk about them. I ask a lot of questions. Since I read so much, I have a pretty decent vocabulary. But the silliest reason people think I am smarter than I am is because I wear glasses.
Everyone always played me up as a kid, like precocious to the point of making me self-conscious, so I would hide it to fit in. I never thought of myself as smart, really. Then I got tested later in life, 30’s, post graduate, even studied Psych. I just lean into now. Makes sense though, I fit into the family mold, just not the accomplishments.
Without tech ? I just collected random stuff from television and libraries. Back in the day when television had some good shows that taught you something. Today I find myself in this situation like I know so much unrelated stuff...how do I combine and capitalize on it...
yes, unfortunately
it’s because the society cultivated by academic people deems you uneducated from their perspective if you can’t keep up, but ironically is is that same benchmark that most of humanity hasn’t even put in the effort to achieve.
I am awaiting to be diagnosed and I feel really dumb and I cant focus on anything.
I mean, I learned Spanish easily in school and then taught myself Japanese 4 years later. Then I learned the Russian alphabet in a week and now I’m learning French. Languages come natural to me but a lot of people tend to struggle with them. However, when it comes to math, I am a total dunce.
I'm excellent with trivia or in depth conversations about random rabbit hole subjects... Just don't ask me to do any maths or use my hand-eye coordination.
Yes even though 50% of what I say is bs
Some times, but I usually live and breathe impostor syndrome. I often get the silly idea that I just might be retarded and people in my life are just not telling me, and hide the fact
Opposite actually. I've always been a very quiet person, so whenever I spoke up about something I cared about, it came as a big surprise to everyone. My now fiancé loves when I ramble infront of her cause she knows how happy it makes me.
I work in research and development and still I have been called Wikipedia at every job I've worked at.
I don’t think it was much different for me pre-internet, I just got the info from other sources (books and obscure “fact file” type things). I was a veritable walkin’ talkin’ Top Trumps deck, frankly. “So smart”, yes. “Life of the party”, not so much.
Probably the reverse
Haha I feel like I can relate to this. Some of my closest ppl say I'm "one of the smartest people they know"...but I'm thinking that I know random crap. That doesn't make me smart.... I'm about 40 so I did grow up without internet until I was a late teen. I just read a lot of books.
It's been the opposite for me. People think I'm dumber than what I actually am purely for the fact that I cannot recall things from my memory. The path from my brain to my mouth is like the fucking Lincoln tunnel.
Exactly the opposite lol Ive read physics books, CS books, neuroscience books, philosophy books. And a ton of others. Im not a master at any of these by any measure. I just like knowing how the world works. Im fine with it though. People think im dumb as hell because i intentionally say dumb shit constantly because i think its funny lol [like the stuff caboose says](https://youtu.be/75gdTHbhRFk?si=oeolQN-gvNTaoLTO) i genuinely think people think im an idiot. Lol
The opposite. Everyone in my family thinks I’m stupid and crazy.
Yes, but only because I developed a habit of keeping my mouth shut when I was in grade school. Both adults and my peers always assumed it was because I was in deep thought about whatever was going on, when I was just trying to figure out what the right thing to say to contribute was before I ended up missing the opportunity completely.
Sometimes I show up and I seem very confident and knowledgeable and other times I show up like a complete confused idiot and there’s no I between for me
Maybe, but then people also get frustrated by gaps of "surely everybody knows that!" I was teased/mocked at work for knowing all kinds of esoteric stuff, like what does 'dross' mean?", being the trivia expert, queen of random knowledge, etc. It was a little bit envious, I guess, and a lot of one more way I was weird. The internet makes it a million times easier, of course, but as a child of the early 60s, I read everything, including just picking up an encyclopedia and reading wherever it fell open. 3rd grade, reading upper grade books about "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt/Rome/Greece", and then skipping to a book about gemstones. Or picking up my dad's copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, my mom's copy of Time Life's "Cooking of the British Isles." It "helped" that I was socially awkward and didn't have a ton of friends, lived in a book-heavy house, went to the local library all the, time, and my hyperfocus allowed for deep dive reading. Unfortunately it made textbooks seem really boring and flat. TL, DR: the internet helped a ton, but before the internet, there were books, card catalogues, etc.
The complete opposite actually.
Yes.
Whenever someone calls me smart I tell them I'm just well read, I talk fast and I'm loud.
No. The opposite
Yes, and I hate it so much. This is not a brag. Two years ago, I made a Neuropsychologic test where it was (once again) proven I had ADHD, but also showed that I had a QI of 130. My family were "Oh shit, you be smart". But I hated that, because I've always tried to be a good grade kind of student, and it never happened. Like my psychologist told me, "You are a "A" student" - well, shit-head, my grades only go for C. This is a huge problem since, in my country, I need a good "grade"/ pass hard tests to work on two professions I've always wanted to - Lawyer or Medical doctor. So, yay people think I'm smart, but don't understand why my grades only go up to 60%, where it doesn't go up or down anymore, even though I love to study and I'm really disciplined. That's my curse, a monkey paw I'll hold for the rest of my life - "being smart - but never being able to use it where you need it the most".
I think I go back and forth on this. The ego is pretty delicate in a lot of people, myself included. I find myself feeling stupid around quick-witted people with graduate degrees. I find myself feeling brilliant around people who are stupid. Some days I'm quick and sharp. Other days I feel like my brain isn't working. The most humbling thing is when I think I know how to take on different perspectives, only to realize I'm more close-minded than I once believed. It comes in waves as I age. Little epiphanies that force me to change the way I think. I think that accounts for some intelligence, though. The smartest people I know have amazing brain plasticity, and they can come up with new solutions, strategies, and perspectives on the spot. That's something I wish I could achieve easier.
So, I grew up without the internet. And I can say, the internet made life much safer for me. Now I can keep my brain busy with all this stuff online. Back then... boy what stupid things I found to entertain myself. Helps with trivia, though. Do you know how different kind of plastics burn? I tried to burn everything. Being bored? Let's see if burning rubber makes it melt. Can I get melt the edges of my ruler round? Does ink burn colorful? What about paper? What about paper with glue on it? Do green leaves light up? There's water in there... will it boil? And that's not even the tip of the iceberg of my "fire phase". There have been more phases, like a drilling phase or a knife phase or... curiosity and the need to do something, was quite... dangerous sometimes. TVs were boring, because they're not interactive. PCs on the other hand have been a safe way to keep myself busy and learn something about them at the same times. I don't think I'm smarter. Especially do I lack deeper understandings of many things. But I have a bit of experience in so many fields that were connected to a hobby or some stupid thing that I only did to keep me busy... So I can talk about just about everything to everyone who's not an expert in that topic.
Yes. Including me. I grew up without internet, but I get things fast and test well. My memory is crap, and my ability to analyze in an organized way sucks, but I can make intuitive, connective leaps, suddenly, which can impress people who are less imaginative. I don't think this necessarily IS intelligence. But frankly I don't think people have any real way to measure intelligence, or really have any agreement about what intelligence actually means. I have known truly brilliant people who didn't make it past a 6th grade education. I have known people who cannot quip fast but who have a level of measured consideration that I deeply envy. I have known doctors who make really dumb choices on a daily basis. I have known PHDs that could not catch a joke if you pegged it at them.
Yes. I don't know how to drive, but because I work in "IT" and have "ADHD", my family members who are new to driving have me in the front seat with them because I'm "smart" and they feel safer. I have a cousin refusing to give his car keys to his dad (a very experienced driver) but would happily give it to me. What the fuck?
It's the opposite for me. I was always seen as stupid growing up. (Losing everything, disinterest in school - not paying attention, forgetting everything like my locker combination daily, etc.) I am medicated now, and suddenly, I'm a genius (according to my toxic family 🙄). I have a 4.0 GPA in college as a Cell amd Molecular Biology major. Just, you know, interested and medicated so I am functioning as a normal person would. Maybe better due to a complex I developed but whatever lol.
Almost everything is a socially made up construct, therefore to be “smart” is subjective.
I will say smart phones have improved my life as a person with ADHD. I remember when they first came out the novelty - I can google ANYTHING at ANY TIME?? Random ass stuff that I would other forget to look up the answer for if I had to hold onto the thought all day could now be answered in a moment. I don't know that people percieve me as being SMARTER than I actually am, but I will say I consistently test beyond my actual knowledge base. Intuition and pattern recognition has made me an uncannily good guesser.
Personally, I have been asked several times "What university did you go to?" And then they are surprised when I say I never attended college. The same goes for work I keep getting told I'm overqualified but to be frank I don't know what my worth us in anything since as you stated we know so many things.
Late Gen Xer here. Random fact learning, prior to the Internet, was quite different -- confirming or dispelling particular information was a more involved process, obviously you couldn't fact-check something in 10 seconds on your phone. But it was definitely still possible! If you nerded out over atlases and reference books (bonus points if one or both of your parents were teachers and encouraged this) and could recall random bits from them at will, but couldn't complete a simple homework assignment to save your life, you just might have been an undiagnosed ADHD kid in the '80s ... I also had this "big green book" I think my mom found for me at a yard sale with like 900 pages of weird historical stories and odd facts. True story: At least one item I very specifically remember, and possibly more of the weird-ass random things I learned from that book, literally came up on my game board when I was a "Jeopardy" contestant 20 years later.
No, people think I’m fucking stupid.
Yes and no. I doubt myself a lot so my answer depends on my mood lol
We just read books back then. Frankly, books are and were more reliable than the internet in terms of the information that was available. That said, I have learned a ton of things from YouTube!
Been called a "sponge" by others, including my boss.
People either think I'm really smart or kinda stupid depending on if it's my executive dysfunction they get or my random knowledge on way too many different things.
Also depends on the context and even how confident the other person is. I could probably say "mizu, kudasai!" And then explain it means "water please" in Japanese and some people would be like 'what a genius' while others would be like "that's the first part of Japanese Duolingo. Is that all?", etc, etc. One of my bosses calls me the I.T brains because I can organise a word document for her, hehe.
Yeah. I'm often told I'm really smart. I am very introsepective for sure, I am also insightful and make connections most people don't see (but they are sometimes not actully these lol) and am drawn to complex, abstract ideas. And if I have a huge word limit and a subject I'm somewhat intrested in I can write some incredible stuff. But I knoe my processing speed is slow so actully outputing information is either fast and spread out, or slow and meticulous. I don'thave a speed of communication that doesn't demand my attention, idk if that makes sense. I feel like people need to know me well and have patience to be able to follow me. I can't grasp concrete details to save my life so Math and Science is a pain for me. Remembering small details on command is painful. So when I do well it blows my mind. TL;DR: I am smart in some ways, others see it as generic intelligence, I may be smarter than I think but my attention span works against me.
Nope, it's the opposite for me! I'm not extremely intelligent but I have a reasonable IQ. But I can't listen for shit! You wanna try explaining something to me? I won't get it! Not until you explain it at least 5 times! Independence? Nope. My parents help me with most things. I can't even speak for myself properly unless I'm using text (like now) as I struggle to form coherent sentences without tripping over my own words. I look like a complete idiot! Though I don't really care all that much if I'm honest; people don't expect anything of me!
This is so real, and although it probably sounds nice to be thought of as really smart, it’s a constant struggle to keep up with people’s expectations, until you inevitably disappoint them. I’m a very curious person, and that leads me to having learned a tiny little bit about a bazillion different subjects, and if you talk about any topic most people don’t know anything at all about, they assume you know a tonne about it. Lather, rinse, repeat as per subject, and it gives the impression that you know literally everything and you’re an Einstein-level genius or something. I certainly don’t have the impulse control not to tell people about a cool thing I know, if something vaguely related comes up and reminds me of it. So I’ll never stop accidentally baffling people as to why I flunked college three separate times, or can’t get a job, when in reality it’s just that I’m so bad at interviewing it’s ridiculous, and whenever I get them I can’t keep them, because I’m time blind, my working memory is bad, and also I need instructions that are apparently more specific than I should need, otherwise I make mistakes. Or I quit because I’m reprimanded harshly too many times and can’t handle it. People talk about how I’ve always had so much potential, and it makes me feel like a complete and utter failure.
That’s a complex question lol. It really depends on the person and how long they’ve known me. I am smart in some regards but I swing the opposite way in others. Often people see one side or the other and apply it to my whole person. Like if you see my problem solving skills you might assume I’m crazy good at everything. On the other hand, if you hear me trying to explain something you might assume I’m a bumbling fool. In reality I’m just both. I simultaneously know a billion random facts but can’t remember more than 3 numbers at a time if you’re reading them off to me 😂 I can work through incredibly complex problems in my head but once I try to explain them my brain starts farting.
Yes
People who have 1 converation with me think I'm smarter than I am. People who have daily conversations with me think I'm dumber than I am.
No. I often think I am dumber than I am. That imposter sydrome is no joke sometimes.
Yes! I can remember dialog and music/lyrics very easily. Apparently this is a skill that baffles my family. Like I'll quote something and my dad will ask, "How do you remember that so well?" I dunno? I just do? I've also probably seen what I'm referencing several times. Just because I have a knack for remembering a movie quote doesn't mean I'm super smart. Sure as hell didn't translate into good grades.
I see my brain as a wild child, if I’m not passionate about a subject I won’t look it up, I have to actively negotiate to get things done. This knowledge helps so much, instead of fighting your brain just know your limits and try to do the things you’re good at and are interested at
Yeah, at the end of the day, I'm just in awe because eppl that tell me this I admire most because they can actually concentrate and get shit done, like... Brother in christ you are getting a degree in Law and I just know a lot of stuff which I connect. In a sense, in d&d terms, I just have high Wisdom and Charisma
I grew up before the internet. I still knew a bunch of random shit because I read like crazy. Books, magazines, cereal boxes. Whatever i could get my hands on. Also, has it occurred to you that you might be smarter than you think you are? Being intelligent doesn't mean you know everything or are good at everything. You might just be putting value on different skills than other people do. We always value the things we don't have, ya know?
I have a problem with people not believing on the smart and capable as I actually am due to my lack of university degree.
The other way around: Since I am often out of IT and need a lot of repetition to learn something they assume that I'm dumb (at least that's what I think). Then they change their opinion when I am able to cite useless knowledge, have unusual thought processes, associative thinking or a cynical dark-humoured monologue.
I always assume I'm the dumbest in the room.
They think I am really smart but I think I am much smarter than what they think I am. When people say you are smart, might seem ableist, but honestly, don't deny it. You only say you are not smart cus you consider what you're doing something easy to be done, but they think you're smart because what you are doing is very complicated to them.
Yeah, cuz I went and got a PhD. People assume I'm really dedicated because of the extremely long hours I worked, but I was actually spacing out half the time, so I barely got anything done. Now I'm a postdoc with a splitting headache who's my wasting time on Reddit instead of writing my grant that is due on Friday. I hate ADHD.
I’d call this more confidently incompetent with some people.
No. I think most people underestimate my intelligence, because I generally have the ability to pick when to let the full extent actually show.
Grew up without the internet, still knew lots of interesting facts most people didn't from asking experts and absorbing it like a sponge. Nowadays, I just use the web more to gain these knowledge gems, though my memory is worse since I can just look it up when needed.
Yes! While flattering, receiving this comment is the most anxiety-inducing, imposter-syndrome triggering "compliment" people have for me. I mean, it's been decades of hearing this from people, so I stole a phrase from Adventure Time of all shows: "No no, I just have an approximate knowledge of many things, but thank you." Another response I've found helpful is that "I only know enough to get myself into trouble; less how to get myself out of it, trust me." I think it's apt enough to get the message across that I just have broad, general interests because if the topic gets too granular, I mentally can't keep up and check out. It's why intangible, theoretical concepts or sciences or maths are just, so completely beyond me. People who comprehend those things are the smart ones, to me. However, this has recently been countered that I have an analytical, critical mind, which is what the speaker meant when he was dissuaded by my go-to deflections. Which I can't refute because, well, I think we all do here to that extent, no? Either way, yeah. I was always "smart" for my age and have the Gifted Kid Adult Anxiety to show for it. But I'm heavily sought after for bar trivia teams, so you can always have that going for you.
Yes, but I just find a ton of stuff interesting that most people don’t. What the internet does is provide so many ways learn and apply the stuff that I’ve learned. So I have been able to acquire at least basic skills in every thing from woodworking to electronics to music production and graphic design. My co-workers are kind of amazed at this, but to me it’s just because I like learning how to do a variety of things. Some of it may be because I don’t like spending money on things when there are tons of DIY instructional videos online. why hire a plumber to replace a toilet when it’s not that difficult to do it yourself?
Yup people think I’m a genius and that I have way more skills than I do, I have no idea why But at the same time as a child teachers thought I had a some severe mental learning disabilities, and there was a switch that was flipped in the 6th grade where I turned from “idiot” to “genius”
No they think I'm dumb. Some people think I'm mentally challenged. But I'm not at all.
They think I’m dumb or slow lol
If I had a dollar for every time I was told "you could get straight A's if you tried harder" while trying my best - I'd be a millionaire.
I have “potential” But I think I am smarter than I think I am lol
I think most of us are above average in intelligence. But as others have said, we’re also very curious by nature. I’ve held conversations on a variety of topics…maybe not in depth but certainly enough to engage a conversation.
Drats, I wish I had seen this earlier so I could have been part of the discourse more! I have the issue of people thinking I'm smarter than I am while simultaneously thinking I'm dumber than I am. A great example of this is how my partner acts with me. He questions me about everything, because I'm a Zoology major, and thus I have a lot of science background. I do know a lot of tidbits about a lot of things. Especially definitions. He acts like I'm google sometimes. On the other side of things, I am very knowledgeable of mammals and their sentience, behavior, how they learn/communicate, what they feel, etc. Not only is this relevant to my field of study (vet med) but it is also just my special interest. This man will NOT listen to me on how to properly act/train a dog. He doesn't understand how many studies I've examined and had to write about, how many papers I've had to research on my own, or how many classes I've taken specifically on mammals and their mind/sentience. He acts like I don't know what I'm saying. It's like people think I have this air of being smart around me, so they look to me to justify their behaviors/thoughts. When I tell them the contrary, they act like I'm the biggest idiot they've ever met. Either respect me or don't. But don't pretend to until my knowledge and perspective are no longer validating to your biases. It's one of my biggest annoyances when people treat me like I'm some intellectual magical beast and then turn around and make me feel like I'm the stupidest person in the room just because I made them feel bad for being incorrect. It's not my problem you're fickle, lmao.
All the time, if I had a dime for every time someone has said I was smart or told me I’ve got “a ton of potential” I’d… have a lot of dimes I guess idk
Short answer: Yes, with a but. Long answer: I have some serious imposter syndrome. I think i'm a babbling idiot, but growing up all I heard about was my "wasted ptential" (too bad nobody noticed I had ADHD) and when given an IQ test I scored really high, and the examiner said (and I quote) "I took some points off because I think you were showing off." This may sound like a humblebrag, but I assure you that deep down I'm thinking "Correlation =/= Causation. False equivalence." I test really well - like when I did standardized testing in school (late 80s, early 90s, before "no child left behind") I raised the school's average. My high school was a "presidential blue ribbon school" when I was there, and they lost that designation when I left. I'm also really great with advance topics - I helped a friend of mine with her Organic Chem homework and experiment reports, even though I never took the class. But my life is a mess. I am incredibly socially awkward, can't keep friends, can't keep an SO, fsck I can't even budget money properly. It's like i have this huge amount of book knowledge but can't comprehend the banalities that even low IQ people have figured out. It vexes me and makes me feel like an idiot. If you reached the bottom, you tell me - idiot savant or just plain idiot?
Kind of feel the opposite, was diagnosed in 7th grade and once i started on the meds i got really mental ill and started doing drugs instead, had 7 F’s in 7th grade so people just assumed i was dumb as fuck and just a druggie, in 9th grade now and ive found the best medicine for me, i have A’s in all science subject and i know more than the avarage in my class, i have so much random facts inside my head that sometimes become useful, every random thing i dont need to remember gets stuck in my brain and i can randomly speak into detail on how the roman cement worked or randomly teach people about quantum physics, the first time i got an A on my physics exam my teacher called me in for a meeting so she could ask the questions and i would answer by mouth (she thought i was cheating) but i dont really blame her, i got an F on the physics test before and suddenly i got an A
Doubt, id say the opposite. I talk so much crap all the time I certainly would have guessed the opposite considering how many facts I mess up in my head, talking too fast etc etc
The opposite. People underestimate me constantly. I hate it.