<p>I have taken the GRE and scored a respectable 710 V 770Q.
I have also taken an IQ test and scored a 135. </p>
<p>I am still very worried though and do not feel qualified to do anything beyond pushing grocery carts let alone go to Grad school.</p>
<p>By far the greatest challenge I face is communication. I just dont know how to do it. Talking to people is near impossible. I have never really held a conversation with anyone and have no clue how to do it. My mind is always a blank slate and nothing connects. I have absolutely no analytical or critical thinking skills. I am incapable of writing papers and do poorly on essay tests any time I take them. For some reason though when something is presented in a clear cut multiple choice format I can solve it like on a GRE or IQ test.</p>
<p>I cant understand this discrepancy between my life experience and my test scores. I am relieved that the tests say I am not an idiot as I was starting to suspect, but I am also more confused than ever. Why is it that I cant write, talk, or pretty much think critically at all yet I do fairly well (certainly better than one would predict given how retarded I sound) on tests of intelligence? </p>
<p>Both my parents were IVY league educated and my sister was valedictorian and went to Oxford. I am the black sheep of the family and I know they are ashamed of me for being so stupid. I wound up at University of Connecticut and when they discuss politics or philosophy I can not contribute anything. Words start spinning in my head but nothing comes to my tongue. </p>
<p>Please help me understand what is wrong with me. I dont have autism or anything like that. I am also not insane. Is there an explanation for how a person can have a 135 IQ but have no critical thinking skills? Thank you for any replies. Maybe you suffer from a similar problem. It would be nice if I could meet other people who have the same problem.</p>
<p>That's very interesting. You should go see a psychologist.
I can't relate to what you're experiencing but maybe with professional help you can improve your situation?</p>
<p>You should get past your belief that you have inferior critical thinking or reasoning skills. It really sounds like a mild form of autism in an otherwise brilliant person.</p>
<p>Ya don't need to be smart to talk philosophy and politics. maybe watch the news for a few nights.</p>
<p>you are being to hard on yourself, honestly you dont need a college degree to be smart, actually most people who have college degrees are idiots. Most graduate students are idiots to. You seem like a smart guy, hindered by a disability. I am the same way. But I just say screw the rest.</p>
<p>Find something you love, excel in it, and everything will work out. Being book smart doesn't mean much. Just doing what you love well is all that matters,</p>
<p>Look at my father and uncle and countless other Americans. Il tell my fathers story.</p>
<p>My father never graduated from HS, never went above 9th grade. Ya know how much he is worth now. 566 Million. My uncle is the same way.</p>
<p>They took what they loved, cars. Knew them well enough to reverse engineer a part in the transmission and now both live very well. Both never even graduating from HS.</p>
<p>Your post is very well written, so I'm surprised that you say you can't write essays. You've got the writing and analytical skills to do it.</p>
<p>Talking to people is a different skill. You may be so anxious around people that your mind goes blank. A lot of shy people have this problem.</p>
<p>I'd recommend a therapist, because although you're perfectly sane a trained professional can teach you to relax and make conversation. The therapist can help you to learn not to compare yourself to your sister and set your own appropriate goals.</p>
<p>You might also have some kind of learning disability that ought to be diagnosed and treated.</p>
<p>Don't let anyone discourage you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Both of the universities I've attended made accomodations for students with documented learning disabilities. People have strengths and weaknesses. There are some very intelligent people who find certain aspects of school difficult. If you think it would help, perhaps you could talk to a professional about this; a diagnosis of some kind might help you to get help/accomodations if you were to continue with schooling.</p>
<p>BTW, I got a mere 1070 on the GRE (v + q), and that was after studying. I never took an IQ test, but maybe it's a good idea for me not to. I don't find school easy, but there's not much else in life I find easy either. I'm not good at socializing, and I didn't excel at any of the jobs I've had so far either. Sometimes I spend a few hours reading a chapter in a book, yet comprehend very little. Yet I guess I'm fairly motivated, because I'm doing okay on the master's degree I'm currently working on, and I plan to apply to Phd programs before too long.<br>
Sometimes you just have to make the most with what you do have.</p>
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Go talk to a school counselor. They'll be able to help you better than a bunch of random people on an Internet forum can.
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<p>the OP says he/she can not communicate with people and can not form a conversation, you're telling him/her to go talk to someone. if they can, then they wouldn't post this thread.</p>
<p>to OP: this is kinda strange to see. Have you tried talking to your family members or have they tried talking to you or anything like that? How did you learn if you can't communicate to people before?</p>
<p>I know people who can't form conversation because their minds work slow, they need time to formulate sentences, it's like those who learn a new language, their mind can not work fast enough to form a respond (i know you're probably not one of these people). Looking at ur test scores, ur certainly not dumb. maybe you can respond to things well once you have more time to understand it? are you confortable talking with people slowly, like if they allow you time to respond?</p>
<p>I agree with some of the things said. Your scores and your well-written post prove that you have intelligence, or at least some of kind of it. </p>
<p>Perhaps you have a form of the savant syndrome, although I do not think so. We are NOT psychologists/psychiatrists/therapists/experts. I think my best advice would be to visit a real psychologist/psychiatrist/therapist/expert.
I think you problem can be solved with some kind of intensive. </p>
<p>Get help from your college counseling center. You can communicate with them by writing if you're unable to talk directly with a counselor or with the person who makes the appointments.</p>
<p>Getting professional help is what you need to do because while we message board posters may be supportive and sympathetic, we don't have the expertise to help you.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have symptoms of Autism. In Autism there is a deficiency in the "Mirror Neuron", a neuron which enables us to acknowledge other people. Go get checked.</p>
<p>Talk to the staff at UConn's Disabled Student Services office. They should be able to route you to a resource for testing learning and developmental disabilities. Documenting a disability would give you legal entitlement to various accommodations in the classroom, and that could be crucial if you're considering heading to grad school. There will probably be a cost - in Georgia, it's $500, which is much less than what you'd pay for a private diagnosis.</p>
<p>While it's possible you have a form of Autism, I think there might be something else going on. Have you seen a neurologist or a speech therapist for your problem?</p>
<p>What you describe sounds like an expressive dysphasia/aphasia. If you normally write as clearly as you did in your post, but have trouble finding or forming words, it literally could be because your brain is wired improperly. The same thing happens in some people who get strokes when certain parts of their brain lack blood flow during the stroke. I can't guarantee that a neurologist will be able to "cure" you, but they, along with help from a speech therapist might provide you some improvement...or at the very least, some sort of explanation.</p>
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Why is it that I cant write, talk, or pretty much think critically at all yet I do fairly well (certainly better than one would predict given how retarded I sound) on tests of intelligence?
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</p>
<p>You write clearly. Why are you concerned with your writing skills?</p>
<p>i also have the same problem.i can't think critically.can't write paper .i have no wisdom.i am now attending in a the topmost university.still i feel as stupid as one can be.i often feel like autistic.but i dont know why i am so.help me with this</p>
<p>From your post I can tell that you do in fact possess exceptional writing skills. Writing and expressing yourself requires an amount of critical thinking. You're able to analyze your feelings, express them through clear writing, and analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone has his capability.</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat as you. I believe that I'm completely stupid and have no chance at getting a degree (I wish to go to medical school someday), and I feel that I do not have the intelligence required to obtain a master's degree. I'm not sure for you but for me it's become an obsession. No IQ test will prove to me that I'm smart even though the most recent test told me that I had an IQ of 142 (not that IQ tests measure intelligence anyways). Though my case is a bit different than yours.</p>
<p>You also have to consider that there are multiple types of intelligence and aptitudes. Not everyone is brilliant in communication. I have trouble holding a conversation with people as well because I never know what to say or how to formulate what I'm thinking into speech. If you feel that you have a communication disorder, you should consult a psychologist that could better assess your abilities. If you're unable to speak to them through communication, write down your concerns (since you're able to write down your thoughts).</p>
<p>Before you label yourself as mentally handicapped, consider this; why are you good at taking tests? Because you've been taking tests in school since you were a kid. You learned the ropes, you practiced, you figured out what worked and what didn't. You figured out how to study for these tests.
So now, why are you bad at making conversation? Because you haven't been making conversation much since you were a kid (I assume..). You didn't learn the ropes, you didn't practice, you didn't figure out what worked and what didn't. You didn't figure out how to prepare yourself to make conversation.
What can you do about it? Practice! See what works, see what doesn't. Figure it out. Have some fun with it.</p>
<p>The important thing to remember is that what is needed to write an effective essay is critical thinking SKILLS
These are things that you need to learn- natural intelligence helps to a degree but it's not necessary.
I know of people who I consider to be really smart who are poor essay writers and vice versa.
I'm not a psychologist and can't help you determine what your personal problems are but I think you should keep in mind that you should try to learn these skills on your own and things should work out for you.
You seem to write well- maybe all you need is to learn how to organize your thoughts better and things will work out for you.</p>