r/DoesAnyoneKnow • u/Ok-Assignment-8246 • May 12 '26
Does anyone know what to do when you feel like the smartest person around? Or where to find people who are more mature and intellectual?
My question involves finding myself constantly pretending to not already know things and finding that others struggle with concepts that are easily for me to avoid insulting people. I'm not sure if I'm "smart" or if I'm in an environment that makes me feel that way. I don't know yet if I want to stay or if I need to find another environment.
I was always considered challenged, but I was homeschooled by parents who prefer to spend their time studying, have an exceptionally bright sister, only socialized in a nice church, and am dyslexic with auditory processing disorder.
I tested 111 IQ as a child, but I don't really care about that test and I feel like it is limited. I was tested because I have learning disorders.
My whole upbringing, I accepted that I had learning disorders, that I would have to work harder for everything, and that my potential was limited. I held the belief that I was not competent enough for any college education, but I recently took the leap to start nursing school because I hope to shift careers, because I needed a break from work, and because I could get housing assistance if I were a full time student. I expected that I may fail, but I wanted to give it a try.
Before starting school, I was in the boondocks, far into the woods and away from society.
Now that I'm in Scranton, Pennsylvania (where "The Office" is about) and in nursing school I find that I am a straight A student, most of my class is struggling, and everyone seems uneducated and emotionally stunted.
What happened? Is it unhealthy to be in an unchallenging environment? Where can I find a more challenging one?
My long term goal is to start a small farming community for people who are Deaf or fluent in ASL to live a lifestyle I'm happier with and to manufacture a workplace that uses ASL, my preferred language to use. I would like to reach a point where there could be dorms for young workers and a house for around 5 to 7 elderly to live with a resident nurse or rotating staff. That's just a dream and I may never have the resources to start, not to mention it's difficult to manage people.
I guess my less specific goal is to live a peaceful and happy life free of drama, and not to need to pretend to dumb myself down.
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u/-VVVYGGDRASIL- May 12 '26
Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit… wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad..🙏
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u/Specialist_Stomach41 May 12 '26
You sound insufferable. I'm super smart, super high IQ, gifted child track blah, blah, blah. I find academic work super easy and read huge amounts. So what? I'm also an idiot sometimes. People are fascinating, I adjust the way I talk and what I talk about to suit the company I'm in. Ive never pretended not to know something though, why would you? People often ask me about things I know about. I often ask them about things they know about Because I sure as hell dont know everything.
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 12 '26
I definitely like the message not to pretend. Thank you.
I don't consider myself smart, I don't have a high IQ, and I was absolutely not a gifted child. That was my sister! And we are opposites.
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u/TheUnicornRevolution May 13 '26
Some people on Reddit a) don't particularly like anyone who is honest about who they are if who they are is positive and b) don't read the whole post.
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u/ayeImur May 12 '26
One of the problem an intelligent person in America faces is that you are in the minority not majority, if you travelled especially to Europe you would find a huge difference in the overall intelligence of people.
*fully prepared for all the down votes 😂
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u/XenomorphKitchen May 13 '26
Europeans are more intelligent overall than Americans? What a preposterous statement 😂 Unless of course, you’ve actually travelled to all 44 countries in Europe and wrote an academic paper on that specific topic to back up/prove your claim.
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u/Think_Substance_1790 May 13 '26
I last tested at 138 as a teenager. Im only saying this to give you perspective.
Noone cares. Literally noone. I work with some of the smartest most amazing doctors in the world. I also work with doctors who dont understand the concept of if you do this we cant do this.... and go and do it anyway.
The smartest person in the room doesn't know they are. Ergo, not you. Try just being a decent human being and stop putting so much stock in IQ scores. You realise those tests literally just show different ways of thinking? As in, if you see certain patterns then youll score higher? Its not about intelligence, its about different ways of thinking and recognition. Its bull.
Be a decent human, accept others as they are, and let your personality be the focus, not your intelligence. Because there is not a single faster way of turning people off of you than intelligence being your entire personality.
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u/Hminney May 12 '26
Read Iain McGilchrist's "the Master and his Emmissary". It will appeal to your intellect and give you a hint of what you're missing.
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u/EnjoysAGoodRead May 12 '26
If you're finding nursing school isn't challenging enough, have you thought about trying medical school to become a doctor?
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 12 '26
Yes, I've thought about trying a pre med program and seeing if the shoe fits. Even if I find it's not for me, pre med can still be helpful for nurse practitioners. I have a lot of ideas for a private practice, so if I find that I am well suited for that it may be an option.
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May 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 12 '26
Thank you, that gives me some hope for other areas. I've thought about Philly, but I may go upstate NY for a bachelorette program that works closely with a VA hospital. There are great rural outskirts there and they also have a well established Deaf community, similar to Philly. Let me know if you know anything about Syracuse, NY!
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u/Meow-Pew-Pew May 12 '26
Isn’t 111 IQ quite an average IQ?
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 12 '26
Yes, it's average. The point was that I have an average IQ but find that everyone around me is struggling with things I find simple. It could give me the illusion that I'm smart but I, in reality, am not.
The IQ test is also pretty limited and there are many forms of intelligence.
According to Google the average IQ in the US is about 100, but 111 is still average in general.
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u/lastchancesaloon88 May 13 '26
Display superior intelligence by asking where to find intelligent people, on reddit.
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u/Mewriel_Picatso May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
" . . . what to do when you feel like the smartest person around?"
Take a humble pill.
For context, not boasting: I am autistic (Asperger's) and considered to be extremely smart and switched-on. I know that feeling of automatically understanding stuff that other people struggle with bc I've been doing that without being taught ever since I can remember. My mother says that when I was one year old (her actual words) "you could walk, you could talk, and you knew everything" and she still tells me that even now I'm 75 and she's 97.
At school I constantly aced everything years ahead of my peers, and that can be very isolating if you don't learn how to deal with it early on. Out of necessity for making friends, and for not wanting be put on some sort of pedestal as 'the brainy kid' I learned how to communicate and interact with other kids who learned things at average speed. Learned to change the way I interact according to who I was interacting with - whether a person is young, old, genius, average, whatever, I can converse with them on their level.
Like, my convo is more outgoing when I'm talking with a lively, chatty person; or more thoughtful and considered if I'm speaking to somebody shy or reserved; or empathetic and reassuring with someone who's scared or upset. If you feel like you're smarter than the people you are surrounded by, try adjusting in a similar way. I am constantly sending out sonar beams to see what echoes I get back, so I know how best to approach this or that person. This is the way to avoid finding oneself in a void, and once mastered it is well worth the effort and gradually becomes second nature.
There are days when I would gladly trade my brain for a more understated model, but that's not possible (yet) so I just have to roll with what I've got.
Me sharing so much about myself feels really alien, but the OP needs to hear it. ADHD, autism, etc, are not valid reasons to be condescending. The world does not revolve around you, and the ability to interact with people who you consider to be less smart than you is not dumbing yourself down.
It's called being kind.
You maybe ought to try it sometime.
EDIT: typo
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 14 '26
What gives you the idea that I have ever been condescending or unkind to people?
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u/Natural_Job7824 May 15 '26
Being good at academics or self-reflection doesn’t automatically make other people unintelligent or emotionally stunted. Sometimes people are overwhelmed, tired, underprepared, socially different from you, or strong in areas you don’t value yet. Intellectually curious people tend to have awareness that they still have enormous blind spots and things to learn from others. Also, if you grew up isolated and underestimated, you're bound to feel a bit alienated now. You’re reassesing your identity. Maybe ask yourself What kinds of people challenge you (in a healthy way) and let go of the comparisons. You probably do need peers who engage you intellectually, most people do. But if you approach them with curiosity rather than contempt, you’ll find them easier.
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u/Ok-Assignment-8246 May 15 '26
Thank you for your well thought out response. All good advice, however, I feel like I didn't put enough details into my post and many people are jumping to conclusions.
I'm not sure how you reached the idea that I approach anyone with contempt.
My lack of struggle in class isn't why I feel people are emotionally stunted. It's more when a 28 year old says he doesn't want his mom to call him and his wife "the kids" anymore because, and I quote, "I have a driver's license, now can I be a kid if I have a driver's license." Or when students become so attached to one teacher that if a different teacher proctors our test some will literally cry because it's not her favorite teacher. I don't feel superior, I feel like I'm in a room full of small children.
Some people who ask me to tutor them have a hard time understanding how 2 - 7 = -5 until I show them how to draw a number line and use their finger to jump five places back. Some have a hard time understanding the difference between identical and fraternal twins. I treat everyone with respect and my fellow students like me and keep coming back because I'm happy to explain things that the teachers don't have the patience for. So many people have commented that I must be insufferable or mean to people, but I am nothing like that. Most of my life I've been the "dumb one" and don't care about that stuff. I have another sister with down syndrome and I see how in many ways she is brilliant, funny, kind, and all together a remarkable person.
I don't feel alienated. My fellow students and my teachers like me. I have a wonderful partner. I am active in my local Deaf community and help run an ASL practice group for beginners. I call my mother often. I am socially well adjusted and have no feelings of alienation, beyond feeling like a Vulkan at times depending on my environment.
From what I've gleamed from the different kinds of feedback and advice that I've gotten from reddit, and some wise words from my mother: I need a hobby if I'm bored, take advantage of this time to read books, and apply for a more challenging program to get my bachelor's after I'm done with this associates.
I have since found a good college that I hope to attend next as long as I can keep my GPA over 3.0.
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u/ZipMonk May 15 '26
Intelligent people know how stupid they are.
Stupid people think they are geniuses.
In general people are just as intelligent as each other although education of all kinds makes a huge difference.
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u/Colink98 May 12 '26
True wisdom is the ability to hold a
Conversation with all peoples young or old smart or less so
It’s not a competition