New to the Community...

[Basilwarr]

Actually, other than all the standard social media crap, this is the only online "community" I am a part of. Which is fine, just a point of note. Anyway, very recently I have picked back up on an accelerated interest again in personality theory and the like. I had done all this work a couple decades ago by now with myself, in conjunction with other things like the Enneagram and Gardner's Frames of Mind and EQ Golem material, wisdom theory stuff etc. etc. More from a view point of comparing my lock on the subject matter, to what was actually "out there" regarding these considerations. I wanted to know, to what degree had "others" come to know some of these kinds of things that I knew, so I could in turn learn more about myself. Because for me, as with I suspect most of you, I did all this stuff innately, therefore it wasn't easy to assume that what I was seeing was not seen by everyone. Example, for a very long time, in the spirit of "fair thinking for all", I had to give everyone their due, with regard to the accuracy bit, until they proved me wrong. An innocent until guilty approach. Which naturally they did. But it is no easy pill to swallow that you are bound and dedicated to a path of isolation that few know. Now as a sidebar, I was perfectly convinced in 4th grade that my teacher was a moron and that I was the smartest person in the room, and that has never changed (I do know there are other smart people, and I am aware of manners of intelligence where I am the moron, still I am not referring to any of that. I'm not proud of that fact, (I'm not saying I never was proud of that fact, I like to think that I am reformed in some ways, which is a conversation for another day, just that I'm not presently proud of that fact). Did he once bathe in a bed of narcissism? Hello?! I find it disturbing to be honest, these days. Anyway, people grasp clarity in strange doses, I find...everyone a bit different from anyone else. And, of course, I wanted to understand myself better so that I could see where I should be going, right? No mystery there. Still, at the risk of appearing vague, the convergence of many items in life have presently pushed me back to take another hard look at these concepts, to once again chart a course forward in some capacity. To that end, I say hello to all of you. And to that end, I suspect there may be a few people here that I want to chat with so that WE might forge a path fraught with mutual benefit...Just saying..

 

[Inexorable Username]

I was perfectly convinced in 4th grade that my teacher was a moron

Hah! I had to internally laugh at this one. I could have laughed out loud - and I've done this, but I always feel possessed or like I'm an imposter. I'm not a very outwardly expressive person. It takes practice and...oh, anyways...Yes! This.
I had these thoughts all of the time when I was a kid! I really saw a lot of adults in my life as morons. I was such a little brat. I rarely spoke though, so there's that. I feel like most adults couldn't tell how contemptuous I was of them.

One of the big things that bothered me was how much they lied and how fake they were. I couldn't respect that in an adult.

and that I was the smartest person in the room, and that has never changed (I do know there are other smart people, and I am aware of manners of intelligence where I am the moron, still I am not referring to any of that. I'm not proud of that fact

In a weird way I can be like this...and I'm not proud of it either. It's strange though, because logically, I feel like I know I'm probably not that smart. Maybe slightly above average intelligence, if that? I remind myself of that a lot too. However, I also have a lot of confidence in my intellectual abilities, for the most part....but it isn't because I logically think I must be smarter than others - it's because, unlike most people, I constantly exercise my intelligence and I'm insatiably curious, so I know a lot. I also feel like if there's one thing I'm better at than most people, it's relating information, abstracting concepts, teaching concepts to others, and designing efficient systems.

What I'm decidedly not good at though - is memory, rhythm, and a sense of time and space. Not great spacial relations. No sense of direction. And if I learn information that doesn't fit into a context - it's very hard for me to remember it.

Anyway, people grasp clarity in strange doses, I find...everyone a bit different from anyone else.

This! We feel the same way about this! Later in my life, I've learned to appreciate that all people have valuable information to share. It's because everyone's subjective experience is so different. We are greatly limited and biased by our own subjectivity, but one of the best ways I've found to alleviate that, is to open one's mind to the subjective experiences of others. By learning from people (and especially, by exercising empathy), we can correct biases we never even knew we have. I used to struggle with sexism, for instance (please don't hate me for it, I've tried very hard to correct it), but I found that the only reason I was struggling with sexism was that I was refusing to exercise empathy, and learn of the subjective experiences of others.

Also, though, some people - intellectuals in particular - can go above and beyond in being useful. Intellectual people spend time and effort analyzing problems and reasoning their way to answers. Bouncing thoughts off of these people can provide me with useful shortcuts, or insights born out of the other's subjective experience, which I would not have come to myself - most likely.

I suspect there may be a few people here that I want to chat with so that WE might forge a path fraught with mutual benefit

Oh, me! Pick me!