Not as smart a people think you are?

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Anyone not as smart, or don't have abilities that people preconceived you do. I have this problem, people think because I'm coherent then automatically I am going to be the same as another coherent person.

Really I'm a thicko, in many respects.

I think there is perception that certain abilities go hand in hand, which is not he case for neurodiverse.

I can identify with this. But it depends on the situation.
Like right now. I can express myself very clearly through writing.
I am usually eloquent and precise, if not a bit verbose and pedantic.
When people see my writing, I've had comments in the past about how I should pursue a doctorate, I should be published, I am a beautiful writer, a poet, etc.

This contrasts sharply with my speaking abilities.
When I speak, I fumble for words, stutter, say wrong things, speak too quietly or too loudly, drone on in a boring monontone voice, and so on.
So when people hear me speak, they think I must either be rather thick-headed, or just extremely anxious, or perhaps both.

So there can be misperceptions both ways.
I think of myself as somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

It's the opposite way around for me, everyone thinks I'm stupid because of the way I act but I still keep getting the highest test result in my whole year (about 200 people) in maths and I'm in the top 95% in science. I also managed to make complicated games on PowerPoint that no one else knows how to make. I hate it when people say stuff like “He’s stupid him” and “Oh, he’s just a mong” when they talk about me.

Last edited by robo37 on 29 Jan 2009, 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I got an award last year for being one of the top 9 people in the Maths department at my university but I can still be an absolute idiot. Both academically and socially (mostly socially of course but that's expected from an aspie right?).

I get a similar problem. At work people come and talk to me about something technical (I'm a coder BTW) and nine times out of ten I haven't got the faintest idea what they're on about. What I have learned is how to look as though I know what I'm talking about by throwing a few 'yeah, maybe's in, nodding, giving totally non-commital answers, and trying to simplify what they're saying into English. For some reason doing this last thing makes them have 'oh yeah, of course' moments and then they seem to give me the credit for solving their problem for them...and I still don't even know what their problem was in the first place.

When it comes to social I, somehow, manage to disguise being a complete klutz through the magic sarcasm or just pretending to be invisible and keeping schtum...if I haven't managed to get out of the situation before it even started of course.

Strange creatures these NTs.

I'm surely not the smartest one on this site, but I was surprised how high my iq really was. I think ppl in general percieve me as a bit stupid, before they get to know me(not many does). So I would say the opposite. Before I joined this site I actually doubted my own btightness, even though I was picked out for some special assignments in the army, based on my iq test, when signing up. I never thought about this before I joined this site.

I am an interesting situation. My deep thinking abilities are tremendously enhanced compared to most people's. This means that if someone explains something the right way I will understand it very well. It also means there is no upper bound on what I can learn given the appropriate amount of time to learn it. Deep thinking just means that I can think with a focus most people aren't capable of, and it is something that is useful in learning something in any areas, as it allows someone to make better connections in their head. I am very capable in philosophy, and have had amazing grades so far, simply because it is purely deep thinking. If I understand the math I am working with I can get farther than most people just because I can focus and think through it. Things that require me to cite resources require more work as it means that I won't be able to think as deeply becuase I have to also find resources that support my thinking, and it just becomes messy. My problem with university is I am hands on for my learning style, and I have to be walked through something rather than shown an example. So I have a tutor for math to help me with that portion of my math courses.

Yeah- I keep on telling people I'm the biggest 'tard I know but they never seem to get it.

people usually think I'm dead smart and they start asking me about aload of brainbox stuff and I don't know what they're on about. People say I come across as clever, I am, but I never said I was FANTASTIC

People always assume I know everything, when I actually know very little.

I can't figure if you are joking, or not, and I'm not talking just about this post

Not joking. I'm no where near as "smart" as some people think I am. Or as "creative" or "talented".
And when I try to explain how very little I know/am I am told I'm not being gracious in the face of compliments.

People call me smart because I remember a lot of information about stuff (as many Aspies do) and because I can memorise numbers and such quite well, too, but people don't seem to distinguish between intelligence and memory! In fact, last time I done a IQ test I got 88, although I have never done a "proper" one but to be honest I don't want to, either, because IQ testing is crap anyway.

Opposite here, too. I Look kinda goofy because I hate to wear makeup so I look a bit homeless and look young, too. So people tend to think I am rather dim witted, but I am actually not at all.

THen they think I was trying to fake stupidity, like Claudius or something, and they get defensive.

I tend to know a lot of things about stuff that interests me, and I can do well at school, but socially I act like a twat! Like the time I put my hand through a thin wall (like Joey on Friends). And the time I walked into a door that hadn't even moved. And other such incidents. No wonder people think I'm mentally ret*d or summat!

Actually, I always wonder why stuff like the above is perceived as indicative of intellect. Anyone can accidentally break the classroom wall (LOL), no matter what's going on in their brain!

Oh I am exactly the same. I have evidence of this too: I was in the paper and was interviewed by phone, so my quotes sound like a 10 year olds. It's embarrassing but people still thought I did a good job. These same people have heard me speak, so I guess it's no surprise that they think the article is fine. Had it been an e-mail interview I would have sounded much more mature. Oh well.
I used to always think I was dumb, because that's basically the way my teachers made me feel. They put me in a remedial class, which my mum thought helped me. We learned at a really slow pace, which was not the way I liked to learn. I never did anything in that class but talk to the troublemakers, which were my friends.
I never thought I was smart at all until I did an IQ test and found out I had an IQ of above 90. Then I became obsessed with them and now I have an IQ of between 125-130 and that's fine with me: the girl that used to write notes to her friends in remedial class.