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10:23am June 13, 2014
binghsien asked: Thanks for writing the exgifted stuff. I... have a similar history but no drop in IQ, it turns out what's wrong with me doesn't lower my ability to take tests. It's nice to see some of that stuff articulated. -- Also, my thoughts are with you and your dad. Let us know if we can help. <3

patternsmaybe:

withasmoothroundstone:

I didn’t think I had a drop in IQ until I …accidentally found out that this IQ test a guy told me I’d “done really well” on turned out to be… a very different definition of “done really well” than the one I’d turned out to expect.  I actually have a post in my drafts folder about that now.  At this point I figure I don’t even know what my IQ would be if it were tested, because I obviously can’t predict it based on… anything at all.  And I’m very glad that what I’ve written has been useful in some way, IQ drop or no IQ drop, because it’s a whole experience, not a one piece of the experience, thing.  (Sorry, no sleep, brain scrambled.)  Thank you for the thoughts.  Everything helps.

they didn’t tell me what my IQ is. not sure I want to know

That’s something I got to in the draft post just before my brain shut off and I saved it.

My parents didn’t tell my my IQ growing up.  I think that was better.

I’m glad I know now, what it was, and what it currently is.

But I’m glad I didn’t know either way growing up.

What would have been even better is to never have been tested.

But nobody could have foreseen the damage, especially not back then, especially not that the damage would come from a high score.  Usually people think of damage from IQ tests coming from low scores.

Of course my brother had plenty of problems as a result of his IQ testing, so it could’ve been foreseen, maybe.  I think he has similar feelings to me as to the test.  He said the only way to tell a “real genius” is if the kid goes into a test for the first time as a little kid and says “I refuse to take this test because my life can’t be defined by a number.”

(My brother was told by the tester, literally, in these words, “you’re both gifted and retarded at the same time”.  This didn’t help him at all.  Maybe that’s why my parents decided not to tell me the number at all, and to have all the meetings about my IQ away from me where I couldn’t hear anything.)

But anyway, yeah, I don’t know whether you’re better off knowing or not knowing at this point.  I’m glad I know now, because it answers some questions for me.  But I’m glad I didn’t know growing up.

For some people, though, getting tested growing up is a ticket out of special ed.  Of course if they weren’t being put in those horrible classes in the first place, they wouldn’t need the ticket out.  And there’s always the people who can’t get out that way because they’ll never do well on an IQ test no matter what.  So… yeah.