How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Discussion of the nature of Ultimate Reality and the path to Enlightenment.
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Chris
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How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Chris »

I've never taken a class in school that's challenged anything but my patience with monotony, and I'm over halfway through an electrical engineering degree.

When I let my intelligence manifest its self, I intimidate and alienate people. I've never held a job I wasn't fired from, from the military to working tech support. I know that these jobs are not the best use of my talents anyway, but it's still disappointing to fail because of social ineptitude.

I see the solutions to prolems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.

I'm very frustrated with my "gifts" right now, because they've thus far been nothing but a curse to me.

I know that this is perhaps not the best forum to seek group therapy, but I see a huge number of incredibly gifted and driven posters here, and I'm hoping for some perspective that can help me overcome this fear I have of myself. I want to reach my human potential, but I'm confused and frustrated.

I'm here to face these fears, so don't hold back. I can take the abuse. I just can't take being constrained by emotional baggage that limits my potential.

First off, is it even possible for someone with intellectual gifts and the drive to reach enlightenment to even interact with "normal" people without pissing them off? If so, and you know how to make it happen, I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Second, where the hell do I need to go to put my gifts to use for the improvement of humanity? Global society is nearly (if not actually) in its death throes because our leaders are either too inept to find and fix the problems, or so corrupt that they're manufacturing the problems with the end game of enslaving humanity, possibly for eternity. I want to either join the government to contribute to the solutions in good faith, or I want to join the revolution against the manipulators, and help save humanity from another dark age at the hands of corruptors.

Not asking for much, am I?
Conservationist
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Conservationist »

Chris wrote:I see the solutions to problems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.
You will need to get into an area where your skills are rewarded.

Either start your own business, get a professional degree, or tough it out until you get into management.

Otherwise, it's a cycle of failure until you check out entirely and become a Park Ranger (and if you're going to do that, just do it, don't wait around for the fail).

This society is bigoted against smart people, isn't it?
Chris
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Chris »

Conservationist wrote:
Chris wrote:I see the solutions to problems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.
You will need to get into an area where your skills are rewarded.

Either start your own business, get a professional degree, or tough it out until you get into management.

Otherwise, it's a cycle of failure until you check out entirely and become a Park Ranger (and if you're going to do that, just do it, don't wait around for the fail).

This society is bigoted against smart people, isn't it?
I think everyone is bigoted against things they can't understand. It's easy for smart people to become bigoted against dumb people. The reason we get the short end of the stick is because there are more of them than us.

And I don't want to be bigoted or angry at people who aren't as smart as I am. I just want to fulfil my potential, and I'm unsure of how to do that because I can't fulfil my potential without attaining a position of authority. To reach that position of authority, I have to prove my merits to society. To prove my merits to society, I have to demonstrate my intellect. But whenever I demonstrate my intellect to those around me, I'm alienated instead of rewarded with greater opportunity to make decisions.

Of the three options you list, the professional degree route seems to be the best for me, as it's the one I'm currently pursuing, and I don't have the money or credit to start my own business, or the interpersonal skills to climb the corporate ladder. I'm just having issues with that because of my aversion to the monotony of homework.

But I suppose that part of an engineering degree is demonstrating one's ability to deal with monotony as well as exhibit creativity.

I suppose I'm just having problems with the isolation more than anything else. How do you deal with not being able to converse with people in a fulfilling way without blowing their heads off?
Conservationist
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Conservationist »

Chris wrote:How do you deal with not being able to converse with people in a fulfilling way without blowing their heads off?
Pick carefully who you converse with, and don't take the conversation seriously. Most of them make no logical sense, and are instead expressing emotional tokens. Once you can parse that, it's pretty easy.

An interesting place for people of this nature:

http://intjforum.com/
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Kelly Jones
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Kelly Jones »

Conservationist wrote:Either start your own business, get a professional degree, or tough it out until you get into management. Otherwise, it's a cycle of failure until you check out entirely and become a Park Ranger (and if you're going to do that, just do it, don't wait around for the fail).
It seems you don't quite understand the point of this forum, Conservationist. These recommendations of yours don't have anything to do with the path to Enlightenment.

If a person is really intelligent, they'd see that human problems don't really stem from stupidity, as such, but from egotism.

Egotism is based on wrong ideas about how the self exists. There are very, very few intelligent people who put their gifts to correcting that mistake.


..
Chris
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Chris »

Kelly Jones wrote:
Conservationist wrote:Either start your own business, get a professional degree, or tough it out until you get into management. Otherwise, it's a cycle of failure until you check out entirely and become a Park Ranger (and if you're going to do that, just do it, don't wait around for the fail).
It seems you don't quite understand the point of this forum, Conservationist. These recommendations of yours don't have anything to do with the path to Enlightenment.

If a person is really intelligent, they'd see that human problems don't really stem from stupidity, as such, but from egotism.

Egotism is based on wrong ideas about how the self exists. There are very, very few intelligent people who put their gifts to correcting that mistake.


..
Right. That's what I'm talking about. I'm having trouble reconciling myself, and I need to figure out the faulty assumptions I'm making, that are causing me to be hesitant and fearful about myself.
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Kelly Jones
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Kelly Jones »

Chris wrote:I need to figure out the faulty assumptions I'm making, that are causing me to be hesitant and fearful about myself.
The best tool I can suggest is to pour your energy into understanding cause and effect. By thinking as logically as possible about how things are causally created, and by plumbing the very depths of causation, any faulty assumptions you're making about the self will immediately be figured out.

There is an e-book here, that I believe is very helpful for your kind of quest.

.
Chris
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Chris »

Kelly Jones wrote:
Chris wrote:I need to figure out the faulty assumptions I'm making, that are causing me to be hesitant and fearful about myself.
The best tool I can suggest is to pour your energy into understanding cause and effect. By thinking as logically as possible about how things are causally created, and by plumbing the very depths of causation, any faulty assumptions you're making about the self will immediately be figured out.

There is an e-book here, that I believe is very helpful for your kind of quest.

.
Excellent! I'll give it a read.
Conservationist
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Conservationist »

Kelly Jones wrote:It seems you don't quite understand the point of this forum, Conservationist.
Keep beating that dead horse.
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jupiviv
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by jupiviv »

I'm pretty sure I saw this same post somewhere else on this forum.
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Kelly Jones
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Kelly Jones »

Conservationist is like a guest visiting the home of a stranger, who imposes his or her needs on the host without asking first.

One says please and thanks if one's request may inconvenience another, rather than making demands. Consequently, I asked, please, could he read the introduction to the forum, before making any more of his abundant posts. Rather surprisingly, he took this request as "passive aggression".

I mean, how is one to engage him in a philosophical discussion, if he refuses to see reasonable questions as anything other than offensive? It's beyond me.


.
cousinbasil
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by cousinbasil »

Chris wrote:And I don't want to be bigoted or angry at people who aren't as smart as I am. I just want to fulfil my potential, and I'm unsure of how to do that because I can't fulfil my potential without attaining a position of authority. To reach that position of authority, I have to prove my merits to society. To prove my merits to society, I have to demonstrate my intellect. But whenever I demonstrate my intellect to those around me, I'm alienated instead of rewarded with greater opportunity to make decisions.
Are you alienated or are you alienating others? I regret to inform you that this situation is what it is and is what it always has been. Therefore, since it will not adjust to you, you must adjust to it, or be slowly driven off your rocker.

You will be proving your merits to those who are aware of you, not to society at large, at least not right away. These people are likely to be facing the same difficulties as you are. Or else they are facing their own difficulties which differ from yours, but as you attain position, others will feel threatened by you and challenge your qualifications before even entertaining your ideas.

Before long, you may find yourself doing the same thing. Your efforts to attain a position from which you can express your ideas may not have panned out to your satisfaction. You wonder why people have not listened to you instead of fighting you and questioning you instead of what you are trying to say. "Why should we listen to you? We have been working here longer and no one listens to us." Soon, you will be defending your own "turf," if for no other reason than you find it to be distressingly small as it is and now it is you who find new ideas threatening.

Chris, people are small-minded. The only thing I find that has made life bearable is to be relentless in refusing to become that way yourself. Be patient. Retain some humor about the failings of others lest you begin to take your own self too seriously.

It takes perseverance as well as luck to keep life from grinding you down to a pulp. If you are an engineering student, you are most likely surrounded by other people who have intellectual abilities not too far from your own. As Jimmy Carter once said with his customary trace of wry humor: "It is not enough to always be right."

You will have heard the old latin adage: "Illegitimi non carborundum...?" They will always be with us, you know. The illegitimi will always outnumber the illuminati.
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jupiviv
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by jupiviv »

To the OP: I can understand what you are saying, as I've felt an aspect of it myself. In my case, it started when I was 8. One day, I realised that my parents and everyone else around me is insane, and I haven't changed my mind in the 11 years since.

Your problem is that you are still placing value on what people say or do, which is why you are still looking for ways to impress them in some manner. My advice is to function like a robot - choose something you truly believe in, and then go about your business regardless of what anyone says or does.
longsincedead
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by longsincedead »

No one can give you advice on this. They can only provide you with personal anecdotes, or related thoughts.
You sound young so here are some thoughts.

If you want to lead, you need to improve your people skills, and become a decent at politics*.
Right now you have an idealists mentality (at least partly so). You want to achieve you potential. On rare occasions this happens for people. They have people backing them. Example: A pro tennis player does not make it to the top on their own. Their parents pay for lessons, coaches, etc. A pro boxer does not make it to the top, by being thrown into the ring on their first fight, with the reigning champ. They are nurtured along with challenging bouts, designed to test them while giving them a good chance of success. This carries though for virtually all activities. It is the rarest of all rarities for a lone individual to achieve greatness without help (I can offer no example).
*Also note that substance is always what makes things work, but image is what influences ignorant people. Note I am not using the word ignorant as an insult. Just a generalized statement used to describe a persons inability to understand the substance of any given situation (or thing - concept etc.), and thus look to be sold on image.When the substance is truly understood, the image becomes irrelevant.

Note: This does not mean you can not become a spectacular success intellectually. Nothing can stop you from building your intellect - to what ever degree you are able. The more skilled you become, the greater your life experience (the more you can take in, and appreciate). It might be wise to keep this in mind when you run into road blocks, or glass ceilings.
Have a good one.
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skipair
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by skipair »

Humans have the ability to recognize facts, but the truth is that we are also emotional at all times. Philosophy and logic answers the question 'what can I absolutely know', and facts are neither positive or negative. Feeling better on the other hand means STOP following the fear and start following the pleasure, like love, humor, happiness, and my personal favorite, awesomeness. If it were me, I would re-write that entire post and reinterpret everything about it into something that made me feel good. The way to overcome fear is remember pleasure and awesomeness at all times. If you let up on that conscious practice EVER guess what you will find again...
Animus
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Animus »

Yea, I'll stick with the "suggestion" theme.

I suggest, contemplating your own death. Contemplate it and you will feel the loss of attachments. And then contemplate it some more and you will feel the loss of attachment to the feeling of the loss of attachment. And contemplate some more, maybe you will stop feeling loss when you've already lost everything. Then, maybe, the clouds and the grass will be the only friends whose opinions you need, and they will provide you with life.
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by mensa-maniac »

Chris wrote:I've never taken a class in school that's challenged anything but my patience with monotony, and I'm over halfway through an electrical engineering degree.

When I let my intelligence manifest its self, I intimidate and alienate people. I've never held a job I wasn't fired from, from the military to working tech support. I know that these jobs are not the best use of my talents anyway, but it's still disappointing to fail because of social ineptitude.

I see the solutions to prolems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.

I'm very frustrated with my "gifts" right now, because they've thus far been nothing but a curse to me.

I know that this is perhaps not the best forum to seek group therapy, but I see a huge number of incredibly gifted and driven posters here, and I'm hoping for some perspective that can help me overcome this fear I have of myself. I want to reach my human potential, but I'm confused and frustrated.

I'm here to face these fears, so don't hold back. I can take the abuse. I just can't take being constrained by emotional baggage that limits my potential.

First off, is it even possible for someone with intellectual gifts and the drive to reach enlightenment to even interact with "normal" people without pissing them off? If so, and you know how to make it happen, I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Second, where the hell do I need to go to put my gifts to use for the improvement of humanity? Global society is nearly (if not actually) in its death throes because our leaders are either too inept to find and fix the problems, or so corrupt that they're manufacturing the problems with the end game of enslaving humanity, possibly for eternity. I want to either join the government to contribute to the solutions in good faith, or I want to join the revolution against the manipulators, and help save humanity from another dark age at the hands of corruptors.

Not asking for much, am I?
mensa-maniac

Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by mensa-maniac »

mensa-maniac wrote:
Chris wrote:I've never taken a class in school that's challenged anything but my patience with monotony, and I'm over halfway through an electrical engineering degree.

When I let my intelligence manifest its self, I intimidate and alienate people. I've never held a job I wasn't fired from, from the military to working tech support. I know that these jobs are not the best use of my talents anyway, but it's still disappointing to fail because of social ineptitude.

I see the solutions to prolems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.

Mensa says: I lost two great writings in answer to th

I'm very frustrated with my "gifts" right now, because they've thus far been nothing but a curse to me.

I know that this is perhaps not the best forum to seek group therapy, but I see a huge number of incredibly gifted and driven posters here, and I'm hoping for some perspective that can help me overcome this fear I have of myself. I want to reach my human potential, but I'm confused and frustrated.

I'm here to face these fears, so don't hold back. I can take the abuse. I just can't take being constrained by emotional baggage that limits my potential.

First off, is it even possible for someone with intellectual gifts and the drive to reach enlightenment to even interact with "normal" people without pissing them off? If so, and you know how to make it happen, I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Second, where the hell do I need to go to put my gifts to use for the improvement of humanity? Global society is nearly (if not actually) in its death throes because our leaders are either too inept to find and fix the problems, or so corrupt that they're manufacturing the problems with the end game of enslaving humanity, possibly for eternity. I want to either join the government to contribute to the solutions in good faith, or I want to join the revolution against the manipulators, and help save humanity from another dark age at the hands of corruptors.

Not asking for much, am I?
Mensa says: I've attempted two times to answer this post only to lose both to cyberspace.
mensa-maniac

Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by mensa-maniac »

mensa-maniac wrote:
mensa-maniac wrote:
Chris wrote:I've never taken a class in school that's challenged anything but my patience with monotony, and I'm over halfway through an electrical engineering degree.

Mensa says: You're an adult, you get to choose what you want to learn, which is to your advantage. Being a kid in school you're forced to sit for hours learning to read and write.

When I let my intelligence manifest its self, I intimidate and alienate people. I've never held a job I wasn't fired from, from the military to working tech support. I know that these jobs are not the best use of my talents anyway, but it's still disappointing to fail because of social ineptitude.

Mensa says: You need to learn to let your intelligence manifest it self to influencing people to work for you not against you. You need to stop alienating people, it appears you're deliberately intimidating airheads, so in turn they think you a Smart Ass.

Mensa says: Being fired is an advantage to you, it's just a way to tell you you're not suited for this kind of work, and to move on where you do belong. You didn't fail because you've been fired, you didn't fail at all, you've been promoted to get the hell out of where you don't belong. People don't realize it's to their advantage to be fired. I've come to realize this after I was fired too. It was a terrible blow to my ego, for years I suffered the trauma of being fired, until I came to the reasoning that they did me a favor. So move on Chris, always seek employment only where you would be happy.

I see the solutions to prolems that nobody else sees, but I can't put them into action because I'm not in charge.

Mensa says: You are definately clever indeed, I too see problems nobody else sees, but, I'm in charge of myself and I am responsible for my actions to inform the no- seers of a problem regardless of where the problem is. You will be commended for your insight. Definately, talk with the person in charge if you have a solution to any problem, that is your moral obligation to society.

I'm very frustrated with my "gifts" right now, because they've thus far been nothing but a curse to me.

Mensa says: That's because you alienate people from you, that's your responsibility, you must learn to influence people for the good, not alienate them. So use your intellectual ability to gain friends rather than lose them.

I know that this is perhaps not the best forum to seek group therapy, but I see a huge number of incredibly gifted and driven posters here, and I'm hoping for some perspective that can help me overcome this fear I have of myself. I want to reach my human potential, but I'm confused and frustrated.

Mensa says: And I'm one of them gifted and driven posters, so take heed in what I offer you, which is good premium advice. I know of the fear you speak of, for I too was afflicted with this fear of being smart, I affiliated my being smart with being rejected. My advice to you is to use these words from the Bible, "Don't throw pearls to swine" In other words don't waste your intellectual capacity on mediocre-mindedness.

I'm here to face these fears, so don't hold back. I can take the abuse. I just can't take being constrained by emotional baggage that limits my potential.

Mensa says: No abuse necessary. Never compromise yourself, you limit your own potential when you do. The emotional baggage will leave once you have a good grasp on your life, that's when everything will run smoothly for you. A good grasp on life is to know thyself!

First off, is it even possible for someone with intellectual gifts and the drive to reach enlightenment to even interact with "normal" people without pissing them off? If so, and you know how to make it happen, I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Mensa says: Anger is a normal emotion, but it is the low mentality that get pissed off when they don't understand the true concept of what's being said to them. Idiocy reigns with them, it's not worth the effort to argue with a dumbpost.

Second, where the hell do I need to go to put my gifts to use for the improvement of humanity? Global society is nearly (if not actually) in its death throes because our leaders are either too inept to find and fix the problems, or so corrupt that they're manufacturing the problems with the end game of enslaving humanity, possibly for eternity. I want to either join the government to contribute to the solutions in good faith, or I want to join the revolution against the manipulators, and help save humanity from another dark age at the hands of corruptors.

Mensa says: Join whoever will listen to you. Get your answers from TakingItGlobal which is youth orientated. I support this cause under my pen name Foresta Gump. Or you could get hold of your member of parliament and discuss what you know with them about politics. Or you could go to http://www.citizenvoices.gg.ca which is in Canada to voice your voice about any topic you want. I'm a member under the name Foresta Gump. It's Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean's forum where many people globally express their voices. Not everyone responds though!

Not asking for much, am I?
Mensa says: You only get what you ask for!
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Ryan Rudolph
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Ryan Rudolph »

Chris,

your fear arises from the possible consequences of becoming enlightened. First of all, for purely pragmatic and survival purposes, you can dumb down your intelligence with mediocre people, and don't challenge humans that have no potential.

This gives you a certain freedom to challenge yourself in deeper ways, to challenge your own egotistical views, values, and thoughts.

As far as being a leader and being in charge, this may not realistic, it depends on who you know, where you live, much much charisma you have with dealing with all types of people, and all sorts of other factors that you have no control over.

Part of ending the ego is putting yourself in a place where you don't achieve anything great in society, and if it happens, fine, if it doesn't, fine.

To be enlightened is to not be tied to particular future outcomes for oneself, meaning one is ready to lose everything, or not achieve what they are working towards.

When you are enlighened, you are essentially a rock, a rock anchored into the earthly existence by logic, rather then the whims, desires, and inconsistencies of the ego. When the ego, which is essentially many emotionally driven values ends, this gives space for an inexhaustible logic to emerge.
paco
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by paco »

I thought geniuses went to camps. Fuck! I've learned a lot over the years!
I am illiterate
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Unidian
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by Unidian »

I couldn't afford camp.
I live in a tub.
paco
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Re: How can I overcome the fear of being smart?

Post by paco »

I am illiterate
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