It's nothing to be proud of!

by Rob
(England)

I have an IQ in the 145-155 range, depending on which particular test I use and how "on the ball" I am when I take it.

I don't think a high IQ is anything to feel superior about - it's a curse as much as a blessing.

Firstly, I suspect high IQ goes along with certain personality traits that can be quite isolating in some ways - I suspect most people with an IQ up in the 140+ area are natural problem solvers and thinkers who get caught up in what they are doing or thinking about rather a lot. People like that (me) can seem distant or thoughtless to others - this can make friendships and relationships difficult to maintain.

Being of "exceptional" IQ can be difficult at work in the normal world (i.e. not an environment where it is essential and everybody is a borderline genius). When you are given something to do which gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your intelligence, it can cause all sorts of problems - from outright bitchiness from insecure/ambitious colleagues you made look a bit slow, to bosses who want to tuck you away somewhere and keep you to themselves rather than letting you progress your career.

I currently work as an analyst - there is another guy at work who is quite like me, he is a capacity planner - we have both been hived off into specialist jobs working on our own; you could describe what we do as "being clever". We both earn quite a good living, but I would much rather be in the mainstream working as part of a team and managing others & think my longer term prospects would be better doing that as well.

Lastly, IQ also doesn't indicate any degree of emotional or philosophical maturity, or wisdom, which are all probably more important, especially if you believe in the pursuit of happiness as the ultimate meaning of life.