6:52am June 1, 2015

➸ Too much about me, clearly.

vagabondsandconventgirls:

jacquez45:

minim-calibre:

Every single fucking time I see any post about “SO AND SO SMALL CHILD HAS AN IQ HIGHER THAN [Scientist]! AMAZEBALLS!”

I just want to start a fund for said kid’s fucking therapy bills because, well…

NEWS FLASH, SO DO I.

WHICH IS HOW I KNOW THAT BEING IN THE IQ RANGE GENERALLY ASSIGNED TO FICTIONAL NERD CHARACTERS IN CRAPPY SITCOMS DOES NOT, IN POINT OF FACT, MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS, AND I AM SORRY I HAVE NOT CURED CANCER YET, ASSHOLES.

IQ IS AN INCREDIBLY FLAWED WAY OF MEASURING ANYTHING.

So, yeah. ANYHOW.

I AM GOING TO SCIENCE NOW

Well, no, but I’m gonna TELL THE WORLD (or tumblr) about some science.

PART THE FIRST

Praising kids for being smart fucks them the fuck up, so don’t fucking do it. Also, having what is called a “fixed mindset” about abilities and intelligence fucks you up and fucks up the people you teach that bull to, LIKE OH SAY A LOT OF KIDS INCLUDING ME. (See the research of Dr. Carol Dweck.)

PART THE SECOND

So one of the exciting bits of genetics research re: intelligence in particular is about mutation load. The theory goes that the base level of evolution that gave us these huge, expensive brains means that our base level of intelligence is very high AND that almost all humans are carrying around those super-high-brain-function genes. So-called super-smart people are probably just carrying fewer mutations that decrease the functioning of their brains *in the very specific areas that IQ tests measure*. (See “Rare Copy Number Deletions Predict Individual Variation in Intelligence” by Ronald A Yeo, et al). Mutation load can affect people in lots of ways, not just this one. But a lot of people think they’re just stupid, because of things like IQ tests, and they are not. They’re smart with some stuff going on that makes things harder for them.

PART THE THIRD

SO, when I mash those first two parts together I come to the inescapable conclusion that what is important is that you should try to have a mindset that includes trying to learn and grow and challenge yourself, no matter what some test told you about your “innate” brainpower. You should work at things that are difficult and not give up right away (a hallmark of children told they are smart, by the by, so DO NOT FUCKING DO THAT).

You are a human. You have value. You can always be learning and growing, no matter what someone else has told you about your brains.

Also, be compassionate and brave, if you can, and take care of you.

this post is beautiful

Seriously, don’t tell your kids they’re smart. I was super smart as a small kid and then got put into an “accelerated” program where I couldn’t keep up with half the material, but since I was supposed to be smart, it was agony to keep failing over and over. My self-esteem shattered.

Tell them they’re awesome and the important part is to try stuff. Failure is okay, it’s how you really learn.

I have had a gifted IQ age 5, a high but not gifted IQ at age 15, and a low but not intellectually disabled IQ age 22, and I hate when people tell me the or the other isn’t my real IQ. There’s no such thing as a real IQ. The only thing IQ is is a test score. It’s not a mysterious innate trait. My last IQ was 85 (I grew up considered very gifted due to one test score age 5). I’m not ashamed of that and yes it is my real IQ because it’s how I scored on the fucking test.

Notes: