The Reverse Thieves’s Otaku Diaries continue on, and this time the theme is self-image. More specifically, it’s about how the otaku interviewed view themselves physically and mentally, and probably to no one’s surprise, the vast majority of anime nerds polled stated that while they believe themselves to be average in appearance at best, they also believe they’re smarter than the average person. It’s as if we’ve fully embraced the nerd moniker.
In some cases, the otaku are rather extreme with the degree to which they consider themselves more intelligent than the average, which begs the questions, just how is it that they determine the average, and why do those responses have either a strong or subtle hint of negativity to them?
The concept of intelligence is such an odd thing in that while we are sure that it exists, we are never really sure what entails someone to be “more” intelligent than someone else. We can give IQ tests, we can discuss politics and philosophy, we can converse about anime, but it is difficult to get a complete idea of a person’s intellectual capacity, especially if you see them only briefly. What is the average intelligence actually supposed to be like, and why are we on the winning side?
I ask this question to you, but then I remember I too answered that I was smarter than the average person, so I guess I should direct this at myself as well. So when I think about “average” intelligence, I do tend to think of someone who is perhaps not as perceptive as me in certain ways, but is able to do just fine in the world. They can think about complex ideas, and while they perhaps cannot work out a conclusion, will at least be able to conceive that a solution exists somewhere out there. I mean, average is average right? And environment can play a large role in just where a person directs or cultivates his brain matter.
But then I think about my friends, classmates, previous co-workers, family, just various people over the years, and I’m not sure how many people I know are average or below average in intelligence. Even the bullies who picked on me had to be smart in a certain sense, if they could bother me with just words. Even friends in the past where I’ve thought, “I’m probably smarter than him,” have surprised and humbled me. Maybe the “average” is higher than any of us expect.
OGIUE MANIAX 
“Maybe the “average” is higher than any of us expect.”
I can relate. The key to coming to terms with this is, as always, observation of self, friends, and society. I’m personally not a fast person when it comes to decission-making, but I do proud myself for coming up with solid solutions if I take my time to think things through. Which I guess is the reason why I value creativity (I mean this in the most literal sense, not just having a dev-art account) more than processing power.
I imagine it’s hard for geeks to come to terms with this proposal because, well, if our intelligence isn’t anything out of the norm, what else is there that makes us special? After all, geeks aren’t exactly known to be especially good-looking or overly social people, which are traits that make other people interesting. My theory is that most geeks like to think they’re intelligent because of their scholastic achievements, but more importantly, it’s a mechanism to keep their egos from falling apart. Hard to pick up those pieces, let me tell ya.
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The first thing I thought when I saw the pie chart this morning was “I bet most of those people who said they were more intelligent than average think that everyone else in the “more intelligent than average” category is less intelligent than they. Nearly everyone, if pressed, will state that they are smarter than the average citizen; furthermore, some will even wear that upon their sleeve as though they were better than the plebeians that surround them.
Considering the wide spectrum of “intelligence” (even if you want to argue against the multiple intelligences theory as conventionally accepted, the fact that intelligence manifests itself in multiple facets in differing proportions is as true as anything gets these days), it’s hard to say whether people are right or wrong in their estimation. I’d err on the side that, more or less, they might be right, but that “intelligence” might have a fairly personal definition that might not be applicable to someone else of similar but differently-applied intellectual capacity.
I was actually told once by a school librarian that someone of my intelligence shouldn’t waste my life working in a library and I should pursue a computer science and/or engineering degree. I looked at her funny.
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I think it is entirely reasonable for most nerds to believe themselves more intelligent than the average person. Indeed, one definitional trait of the nerd is her tendency to actively seek information and gather knowledge. That alone puts her above the crowd.
As a former teacher/instructor/lecturer at various levels, I’ve had the opportunity to teach many young people, some very bright, others not so much, and one salient characteristic of underachievers is their strongly antagonistic relationship to knowledge and reflection: it’s not so much that they’re slow or less capable; they just tend to approach any opportunity to learn something new or any situation requiring autonomous reflection with outright hostility.
It may sound harsh, but you really just have to switch on your TV to find countless programs that are blatant insults to intelligence and simply feast on the public’s ignorance and lack of critical thinking. The relativistic stance–to each his own peculiar brand of intelligence–is a nice, generous viewpoint, but the unfortunate reality is that, even in absolute terms, many people are pretty stupid.
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There are varying aptitudes for intelligence–I think the “g” factor theory addresses the concept of potential intelligence from which the various facets pull from–and I don’t think it’s quite to say that even amongst two people who are both mathematically intelligent that one of them is probably going to be better at math than the other. But two people who are equally skilled at math can also have drastically different social aptitudes.
You may not think of your auto mechanic as being “smart”, but it takes a certain level of mental acuity and manual dexterity to perform complicated mechanical repairs. My father worked for almost thirty years with the phone company–never graduated college, where he was trying for a forestry degree as he wanted to be a park ranger–and is hardly a connoisseur of fine literature (he picked up the new Dan Brown the day it came out and that’s the first book he’s read in months), but to say that he’s not “intelligent” is an insult, to say the least–perhaps I’m blinded because he’s my father, but he’s as sharp as I am and loves to learn about different things; the only difference being that I like to learn about different sorts of different things than he does.
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A person is of “average intelligence” if they have the knowledge and capacity of someone with a normal high school education or equivalent (and by “normal” I mean “what is reasonably expected to be taught and understood in a high school” as opposed to whatever tricks schools pull to make people appear to be passing). If you want to account for grades, a person of average intelligence would be right smack dab in the middle with a C average.
If your first instinct is to reply to that with something about the flaws of standardized testing and grading schemes or bring up some blah blah blah about Einstein being bad at math in school, then you’re ignoring my actual point. “Average intelligence” implies that you can read a book and understand the book. It implies you can write coherent sentences without glaring spelling or grammatical errors. It implies you can do basic arithmetic and have at least a passing knowledge of science, history, geography, and the arts.
That’s it. That’s what “average intelligence” *should* denote. Yet despite that, a substantial amount of people in the USA (where the majority of Otaku Diaries respondents were from, per an earlier entry) don’t have this basic degree of knowledge, and have not for several years now. So whether you interpret “average intelligence” to mean what I said above or if you take it to mean “the intelligence level of the majority of people,” it is not at all an act of arrogance to declare oneself of “above average” intelligence.
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I suspect if you interviewed a more general population, most people would think they’re more intelligent than average.
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I think there’s kind of an inherent flaw in the question. If you ask 1,000 random people “Do you think you are less intelligent than the average person?” I would imagine that you would get an overwhelming response of “No.” Likewise, when you ask someone if they believe they are more intelligent than the average person, and their only answers are yes or no, I believe the vast majority will be inclined to say yes. Few people will want to say no, since even though it may mean they consider themselves average, they could subconsciously believe it implies that they are of below average intelligence since the response of “no” could include that assessment.
I believe if they were presented three options and the question rephrased as “Do you believe you are of below, average, or above average intelligence?” most would still say above average. However, I also believe that some would respond with average since it is a clear descriptor and not left open to be misconstrued as saying they are something less than what they believe themselves to be.
Also, lets face it…very few people will freely admit that they are dim-witted or really even want to imply that they are less intelligent than the average person. Nobody really likes to think of them self as stupid. Then again, I was one of those who answered “yes” to the question, so perhaps I’m biased ;)
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How is average intelligence determined? IQ tests. It tests around a mean, and frequently resamples that mean.
Nerds are highly likely to have taken an IQ test at some point and most likely got a >100 result. Therefore they can say they are above average intelligence (or at least were at some point in their lives).
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I think people are more willing to admit anonymously that they are unattractive than being considered less intelligent than the average person.
I think I am pretty thick and slow but if you compared me to the average person I think I would be more intelligent. Its all to do with the location, I live in a deprived area of London where a lot of people struggle just to do simple tasks and I feel I am smarter than them. But if I went to say a university I would really struggle to keep up. So in the end it is your environment.
You could be a big fish in a small pond as they say.
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The problem is the definition of intelligence and average intelligence. I think Daryl and OGT are trying to quantify standard intelligence, but it’s difficult to measure all mental faculties. Even Garner, father of MI theory, never really had a consistent definition for intelligence.
Daryl’s “C student” theory is a great solid standard for basic intelligence, but I doubt many American can meet that requirement. First, the theory implies a liberal arts education with a broad basic knowledge in several fields. However, most people usually focus on very narrow group of interest. For example one person might be an expert at mechanics, but they can’t understand abstraction in 1950s field paintings. Does this necessarily mean that they are below average intelligence? I believe individual intelligence is expressed in many different ways and can’t be bound by the liberal education model.
I remember reading a government survey about the adult reading level in the US. It suggested that most Americans read at the 8th grade level. If we are strictly going by education, I would guess that the average intelligence level would probably closely correspond to their average reading level.
As for the geek and nerd population, they might have an above average intelligence because they are obsessive by nature. They tend to read more books, research information, and spend more time thinking about their interests. These activities tend to increase the depth and complexity of their knowledge.
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Unless they commonly teach abstraction in 1950s field paintings in high school, that example’s not very good. But even if you came up with a more general example, by replying with “well, what if they don’t know [something specific]? Does that mean they’re below average intelligence?” you just went and did exactly what I pre-emptively described as “if you do this, then you’re not actually getting my point.” You focused on that “C Student” phrase and concluded I was trying to quantify standard intelligence when I was in fact stating the polar opposite.
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Yes. Intelligence is not a single number, nor easily quantifiable. (And to be fair, the original creators of the IQ test were very clear that IQ measures only one limited facet of intelligence.)
Very much worth repeating, though.
Heck, a lot of “nerds” are smart in terms of raw brainpower, but not in terms of life decisions. High INT and low WIS, to use a role-playing metaphor. They can comprehend advanced subjects, but they don’t organize their lives or improve their (very valuable) friendships. They focus on a specialty and burn out, compared to their “less intelligent” neighbors who have a broader perspective and are actually content.
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I’m not arguing about testing, grades, or the savant phenomenon. I’m questioning the basis of the statement that “average intelligence” implies a high school education. I’m just asking: Has “average intelligence” ever been correlated to education level?
However, I do agree with your conclusion.
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