Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Finding out your own high IQ as an adult

I like this - this resonates with me - and a much better summary of how I feel at this time. I would also say "Don't devalue your successes to date with someone else's yardstick"

I think that some of these messages may be dismissing what the OP is trying to relate (in spite of trying to help). If something works for one person, great. But maybe the OP wants more. That's okay. It's also okay to want to remove barriers to your own success as well as doing so for your child. I say this because there's a message in our society saying that it isn't okay.

For some people, professional success is more than having a big title or a big salary. Similarly, there are those for whom giftedness is more than the day-to-day stuff.

As to the OP's question, over the last several years, and in part because of this forum, I've come to realize that the way my mind works is very, very different. It's not just that I process information more quickly or pick up ideas quickly, it's that I see things differently. Sometimes I see complexity where simplicity is assumed; sometimes it's the reverse. Sometimes I question ideas that are taken for granted.

For me, the answer to fulfilling what I consider to be my potential has been to work on large problems that require a lot of cognitive ability, a lot of creativity, an ability to question accepted ideas, and an ability to get stuff done. I'm fortunate to have a tiny bit of funding that lets me get paid (a little) to create a free new software tool for diagnosing rare diseases. I'm doubly fortunate that I have two other incredibly smart people working on this project with me. So that's how I spend my work time.

If this funding hadn't come through, I had decided to get another one of those dull part-time-but-well-paid jobs I can get, and work on an idea I have in mathematics for the rest of the time. Now I do the math stuff outside of work hours.

OP, here's my advice to you; take it or leave it. If you want more, you can get it --- but you might have to step outside your comfort zone (doing so can be very rewarding in the end). Continue to learn about yourself and your abilities. Do you do best with detailed work or the big picture? With people? With animals? With data? Etc. Don't sell yourself short, ever. Learn to tell yourself, "I can do this, even though it's hard (but also keep an eye out for when it's time to say you were wrong)."

Do you want a traditional job, or do you want to blaze your own trail? Either way, find a problem that suits your talents and find a way to do something about it.

Good post, Val.

I did once find out my IQ as an adult. For some reason I can't now recall, I had gotten a copy of my high school student file, and in it was a copy of the results of an IQ test I took in the 1st grade. I can't remember what test it was or what exactly the number was, nor did I really know much about IQ results at the time. I just knew that it was high enough to be gifted, and I remember thinking to myself, "Gosh, that explains why they put me in that program back in 2nd grade, and then in the high math group at that school where I did 3rd, and how I got into the gifted program in my other school district in 4th." But I was younger and probably full of myself and didn't any any other results to directly compare myself to.

That said, I do think that an IQ number really represents a possibility. There is a great deal more to success in any field or endeavor other than sheer intelligence. Your interests and personality are important, and so are your family environment and school experience, and the opportunities you had to learn particular life skills. I've said before, with much frustration, that I don't care if DD is ahead of the other kids, or if she graduates early, or whatever. But I DO care that she's challenged, because if she never experiences challenge, she'll never learn to handle it, and she'll never learn the organizational, motivational, and self-confidence skills she needs outside of school.

I think personality has as much of an impact (if not bigger) on one's so-called success.

Perservance, ability to step outside the comfort zone, being flexible, being able to see the big picture, etc are just as important to climb the corporate ladder than being gifted.

Also, a lot of people enjoy the work/life balance of not being on the top.

I couldn't have said this better.

I think I was a gifted kid but i am pretty average with spatial stuff so nowhere near as bright as my kids. Unfortunately i got the anxiety and existential depression full strength and am not good at social stuff (maybe a bit aspie since in the current generation of the family there is a lot). I do well in an academic setting but not so well in real life. I constantly have to remind myself that i am happier in my current job than i have ever been even though it is way below my education level.

Thanks for all of the replies.

The article about existential depression was great! I will be re-reading it very closely when I have time to take it all in. At the quick glance I have had, I particularly liked the characteristic strengths and associated difficulties for gifted adults. This helped to explain a lot of my "quirks" and frustrations.

I also agree that personality does play a part. I am an introvert and definitely not suited to any type of executive role. I am also a bit of a perfectionist but have been mellowing as I age.

The point about how intelligence lives in day-to-day life was interesting, as I had not considered this before. I do certainly benefit from my intelligence in everyday tasks but had been taking it for granted.

Onto the challenge and boredom.... I am quiet and easy going. At school I remember completing the set exercises and then waiting (or working ahead a little in the math text book - just consuming time with practice questions when I had mastered the concept long ago). I don't recall being bothered by this though - it was just the way it was. I don't remember being challenged and I wonder if this is where the problem lies. I have learnt that I don't have to "try" - no perseverance, drive etc. I've also previously not attempted difficult things for fear of failure.

At my current job (and my previous ones too), I guess I just do the same amount of work my peers seem to do. Then I spend the rest of my time researching topics I am interested in (which change all the time). I have never applied myself and this is what I am kicking myself about. I have had plenty of time to become a specialist in a particular field (which would earn double my current income), but I haven't. Of course, I enjoy the flexibility of my job and being able to do what I please. But I also see it as a bit of a dead-end, as there is no career progression. I'm not sure if I want to spend the next 30 years doing what I am doing now.

I guess I need to figure out what I want, set myself some goals and step out of my comfort zone. Thank you for that advice and making me realise that I can do more, if I want to.

In addition to Val's excellent advice-- I'd also like to point out that it is very seldom too late to start doing things differently.


Oh, sure, there are opportunities that come only once in a lifetime, and you can't regret them when they are gone. I'm never going to tour with the Stones or pitch a major league game. Then again, I was never going to do either thing anyway. LOL.

But what I mean is that life is long, and strange. It takes you a lot of interesting places in due time. ANY of them could be maybe not "THE" thing-- but certainly "A" thing. A passion of the moment or of convenience still teaches me things that are interesting to know.

I am also a DEEPLY introverted perfectionist. I just have to keep my senses open to things that suit my nature. I couldn't bear to go back to being a professor.

Which is just as well, as I rather slammed that particular door shut upon leaving to care for my then-toddler, I fear.

Instead, I do things that help people that I'll never meet. I don't need credit, and I just need to do it well. I can do that. It's complicated, and cross-disciplinary and requires constant learning in two VERY different domains. I can do that too. I'm not someone searching for a deep passion in my life, anyway. I'm content, and industrious-- and that is actually just who I am. I make the world a better place. that's enough for me.


But anyway-- being able to land on your feet is a pretty underrated benefit of a high IQ, in my estimation. My DH and I both have this ability-- in spades.

We learn quickly, we adapt, and we remember what we've learned and can apply it. We also know enough to know when to stop and think for a moment before proceeding.

Those are soft skills that are priceless-- at any age, any task, any endeavor.

I am a data scientist junky, so yeah I wish I could have continuous steaming data for all forms of tests on my body and mind, so that I could analyze them and look for patterns and hidden relationships. I love putting quantitative numbers to physical phenomenon. My job is test intensive, so I am always thinking about tests, making and testing hypothesis.

I believe I could have been more successful in my youth if I had known my IQ score. My mother told me the results of my 7th grade IQ test when I was in my late 20's, and only after that did I develop the confidence to really start pursuing my academic interests. For me finding out my intelligence was key.

My childhood was quite rough for reasons that were out of my control, which accounts for much of the difficulty I had in school. Also, my very high intelligence, I think made me even more of a odd duck. I was dirt poor, but smart. I ended up dropping out in the 8th grade to work.

I think learning my IQ was a benefit for me, but life is so complicated that I think each case is going to be different.

An IQ test as a general predictive tool for success is a subject that I have no interest in exploring in this post, but it is an interesting subject that has been explored by a large number of people yielding differing views.