I always felt I was “smarter than the average bear” (I think I just dated myself), but I had no solid evidence growing up, besides my mother insisting that I was very smart for my age. I almost skipped 2 grades in elementary school because I was reading adult books before I even started school, and I could write just as well. But my math knowledge was just average, so they didn’t want me to get behind if I missed a couple grades.

Despite this, I was a solidly C+/B- student for most of my schooling. I aced the tests placed in front of me, but I hated homework, so I just didn’t do it most of the time. I understood the material the first time it was presented to me; I didn’t understand why I needed to continually go over it in my free time. It felt like a waste of time. Plus, I had a hard time learning from the teachers. I did much better if I just read the textbook on my own, rather than sitting through a lecture.

In high school, I was failing a few classes. My mother thought I considered myself stupid and was afraid it was wrecking my confidence. Apparently, when she was a kid, she also thought she was stupid. She was failing a bunch of classes, while her eldest sister was getting straight-A’s. She got her IQ tested and found out she was actually the smartest of all her siblings - her eldest sister actually had the lowest IQ in their family!

So my mother made it her personal mission to prove I was smart. After all, you’re supposed to inherit your intellect from your mother, and my mom had a genius IQ. She hired a psychologist to give me an official IQ test, and to no one’s surprise, I tested in the genius range too. So I finally received validation that I was smart.

It didn’t fix my grades, though. It turns out, I was getting poor grades because A.) I refused to do homework, which lost me half my grade points alone, and B.) I was bored in class and didn’t really pay attention. I would find out 20 years later that I have ADHD, which is why I couldn’t pay attention in class. I have very poor auditory learning skills; when people talk to me, my brain shuts off. So lectures were the absolute death of me.

I joined the US Air Force right after high school, and unfortunately, the military requires you to blindly obey orders and not think too hard about things. Everything is dumbed down so the mission can be accomplished, even in the most stressful of scenarios. The Air Force has the strictest tests to qualify for service, and we tend to have the highest intelligent people in the armed services, but it was still a drag. I spent too many years trying to argue logic and reason with my superiors and coworkers, which fell on deaf ears. So I eventually got complacent and started doing the bare minimum to accomplish the mission and get through my days. By the end of my 2 decades of service, I feel like my brain has been through the blender and I feel much dumber than I used to be. Could also be some added PTSD, too.

Now I’m retired at a young age and living a quiet, relaxing life out in the countryside. I’m not too concerned anymore about being smart or dumb, just as long as I can live in peace.

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That’s always been a tough thing for me to define personally. To me, trying to determine whether you’re “really smart” (or not) vs average requires context, I’d need a definition of who I’m comparing to, what subject/fields (or “types” of knowledge), etc.

As others have mentioned, I’m generally good at sensing what I don’t know and determining that I need to read up on more about a subject rather than just blindly assuming that I do know it and trying to fix the wiring in my house for example (probably an extreme example, because there’s no way I’m ever going to try to do that on my own - even with an infinite time of “research”).

I’m a software developer, and my friends claim that this makes me really smart - but when I compare myself to other developers it doesn’t feel like that. And yet for being “smart” I am terrible at math.

Maybe its not the simple answer you’re looking for, but I guess I feel smart at some things, average in others, and not so smart in certain subjects/fields. I couldn’t place myself in a “one-size fits all” answer.

All of the above.

In some areas, I’m very smart. Others I am a massive idiot. I think I probably average out to a solid average intelligence.

Was “gifted” in elementary school. Was offered to take the ACT at 12. Got a 17 overall, 23 on math specifically. Praised as “so smart” by everyone during childhood. Puberty came with crippling depression and anxiety. Also high levels of ADHD. Fell into drugs. Almost failed out in 10th grade, before my geometry teacher realized I was re-teaching his class as soon as he was done, so I just got to teach the lessons for a passing grade. Ended up dropping out of highschool because I got tired of having to sit through re-teaching of basic stuff (thanks No Child Left Behind.) Aced GED, ended up working random shit until scraping my life back together. Went to school, got degree in Electrical Engineering. Blah blah blah. Solved my depression and anxiety in my early 30s, find out it was hiding Ass Burgers (ASD) yaaay.

I have little trouble understanding things. From machines to relationships. I can fix most of the stuff I own. I also have little trouble explaining things in terms that the person I am talking to understands. I consume information voraciously. I have escaped most addiction, but a good book can derail me in the same sense that a single drink can cause a drunk to fall off the wagon. I am hard-coded to be polite, friendly, and kind in public, so I am generally well liked. I know I am usually the smartest person the room, but I generally don’t care. It just means I’ll pick up on things quicker. That’s all. It means nothing if I am not useful. Also, for some reason I can act as if I were in drama classes my whole life for no reason. I have no idea why. Life is weird and none of this stuff matters. Leave a positive impact on everyone you meet.

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Yeah, very smart. External validation for years since being tested at like 6 and being told my options were staying in public school and skipping to 5th grade or going to private school where my needs could be met within an age appropriate setting.

Then there were all the tests since where I would score in the 98th percentile or higher.

The most impactful was my professional experience where my coworkers were a decade older than me and I found myself being brought in as an expert on stuff for Fortune 500 CEOs, US cabinet nominees, etc.

And yet there are times I’m straight up an idiot. Like not thinking that I can move the silverware off the napkin and lift it up to my face instead of bringing my face to the napkin. Sometimes my SO will do something simple like adding sugar to cereal I find too bland so I don’t eat it, and my brain breaks with the realization that was always an option.

Brains come in a variety, and while I was lucky to get one that aligned in where it excelled with what society measures and values, I’ve generally found that many people are gifted in some aspect of their brains - it’s just unevenly valued by the world around them.

I’d say I’m above average but not a genius, IQ professionally tested at 117.

I have decent logic skills, spatial awareness, but I really think I lack social skills, I have a very hard time picking up social cues and that kind of stuff. That’s something an IQ test can’t measure and it’s my weakest spot.

I‘m stuck in a dunning-Kruger-loop. I think I’m kinda smart so that must meant I’m actually kinda dumb but then if I think I’m dumb that must mean I’m actually smart but if I think im smart it must mean I’m really kinda dumb…

I know two things. I really like to be right about stuff and if we’re going by the usual tests a majority of people are going to be near average intelligence.

So I’m most likely average and real smug about it.

I average out to average, because I know a lot of things and can figure out some things, but I also have huge gaps. Whether I seem smart or stupid depends a lot on the situation and company.

I am both really smart, dumb, and average. It depends on what area you are taking about.

Int score 18 Wis score 16ish Cha score 8 Motivation score 3 Addiction resistance 2

I’ve been known to be smart since I was 7 or so. It’s awful, because my parents assumed that since I could do math I wouldn’t have any mental health problems. D&D is nice because it demonstrates there is more to the brain than a single spectrum, but even that falls short.