h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I mean, why is it that the really intelligent folks are utterly unable to fit into normal society, while the hopelessly ignorant live successful lives?

Did someone mess with the survival of the fittest scheme and surrupticiously change it to survival of the average while I wasn't paying attention?

Oh, yeah, and one more question: why can't I find a good man?

1 : Define 'normal society'.

2 : Define 'intelligent'.

3 : You've obviously never really looked for me.

Ah, yes, you've stumbled upon the quintessential problem, What IS normal? One cannot possibly begin to answer this terribly complex question.

But I will. Normal society is that group of people who keep Coca Cola, Nike, and Microsoft in business, and who's life goal is to work 40 hours a week until they're 60 when they can retire and play bingo.

Intelligent is having the capability to chew gum, walk, and program the little clock on the vcr at the same time.

And clearly, I have yet to meet you. But I'm quite sure that if I did have the opportunity to do so, you would turn out to be some sort of satsnist who still lives with his parents and thinks Kid Rock is a genius! Heh.

I don't think DNA would approve of us talking about him like this

I confess :

I do buy the occasional coke.

However, Nike? - shoddy workmanship;

MS - I DID my mswindows release 2 at one time, but have not bought anything from them since;

40hrs ? - amateurs.

60 ? - for us guys, I believe it's actually 65, and No, thank you very much.

Bingo ? Nah! - far too strenous and exciting

So I guess I must lean towards the category genius then.

BTW, I'm chewing gum, typing, and dealing with tech type queries at the moment - close enough for intelligence for you?

Therefore Genius 2, succesful 0

Ok, Ok, you've scuppered me on the last one. I live with mummy and daddy and don't you dare insinuate that Kid Rock is not a genius. Also i'd really love to be a satsnist(sic), it sounds so exciting.

Rats! and I was doing so well up to that point.

Doesn't really matter anyway, 'coz you'd probably turn out to be a 16 year old school girl with a gym skirt and too many freckles.

Hang about, that sounds kind of kinky! Rats 2!!

Ahhhh, the ups and down of internet romance. Where is my queen?

Sorry but isn't the term "internet romance" an oxymoron or whatever they are called, like Military Inteligence or Quality Software. Such things sureley don't exist. oh I know you see news reports of Mr Sad from Scunthorpe marrying Miss Sad from Costa Rica because of the Internet, But are they true? or just more Urban myths created from this devil's spawn that is the internet.

Back to the question. Are genius's freaky? I think so but that may come from us having to think down to "normal" level to get througgh the day

Ok, I'm starting to get really paranoid about this now. One of my first postings on the guide referred to an oxymoron. Can't remember what is was about, but the point is - It keeps on bouncing back at me. I'm beginning to feel that everyone here knows something I don't and you're not letting me in on it.

Stop posting about oxymorons, OK!

The real secret to being a genius is to play bingo while you're young and put off working until you are 60. Oh, and only drink fruit juice.

Sadly, Taipan, I have no freckles, no skirt, and I've been out of school for a long time.

(And that description of the satanist was one from experience, my last "internet romance". Heh.)

Having read all the postings, it sounds to me as if Ms turtle is a woman of above average intelligence, as I am. I sort of agree with the posting that says we geniuses are freaky because we have to 'think down' to a normal level. My husband keeps telling me that I must remember that not everybody is as intelligent as I am. What makes it worse is that I have encountered men (usually older men) who have trouble dealing with a woman with a higher I.Q. than they have. I end up feeling that I have to 'hide my light under a bushel', as the saying goes, just so these sad b*****ds can feel good about themselves.

It has often been said that there is a fine line between genius and madness. I know which side I am on (genius, of course), but if I was mad I'd probably be the last to know.

PS Define 'a good man'. Good in bed? Good I.Q.? Good sense of humour? Kind, caring, generous, understanding, forgiving? There is one out there, but his name is Richard David Heath and he's married to me. You can't have him, so there!

Yes, intelligent people do have to dumb down inorder to fit in usually. And sometimes you slip up, act all brilliant, and they're on to you! Ha!

It's also frustrating to be so aware of everything, yet not be able to do anything about it. You see so many people making really stupid, uninformed decisions, and it just drives you nuts.

Let's see, a good man? Well, for starters he wouldn't run away every time I showed up! After that it's really not all that important what he's like. Heh.

I was intelligent once, but then I gave up as the strain of thinking down to toher peoples level got to me, it just gets on my nerves when I meet a devistatingly intelligent lass and I just can't keep up anymore, and she losews interest thinking what a moron I am...

Purely as a matter of interest, what is your IQ rating?

What I've sometimes found is that people with extraordinarily high IQ ratings, can often lack the fundamental requirement of common sense. In addition, having taken a couple of IQ test, I find them totally invalid simply because they depend for most of their answers on the simple process of lateral thinking.

I'm not knocking those with high IQ ratings, as such, it's simply an observation.

On another tangent, anyone who feels they have to adjust their intelligence level in order to fit in with others either suffers from lack of self esteem, or is not in possesion of all the facts.

Again, just an observation, viewpoint, call it what you will.

I used to work with a guy at my last place who was really really really clever. A professor. He always wore really boring clothes, that looked odd - you know brown jackets, brown tie that sort of thing.

On my last day I asked him why. He said that he never bothered to think about it, he had other things on his mind.

I guess that sums it up for me. We think they are freaky. They see us a trivial little ants scurrying into the Reebok shop.

Guilty as charged on the zero self esteem rating

My IQ level now is probably well below average, but has been above - I just haven't exercised the ol' girl in 4-5 few years...

And as for 'sus' Prof. friend - it doesn't neccessarily means he looks down on the 'other people', he just honestly doesn't think about such things as clothes beyond "That fits - ish"...I've know quite a few in my travels and some of them are remarkably down to earth people.

I had a friend that did that too--purple shirt, green pants, red shoes, blue socks, orange overshirt. He is definitely a genius, but he takes himself a bit too seriously. He was told repeatedly as a child that he was a genius and eccentric, since his father was too (his dad was a jazz pianist), and he went out of his way to be weird. I asked him once why he dressed with such sartorial...stupidity, and he replied instantly (probably rehearsed, but...), "Because I don't believe in fashion, so I don't dress like according to what people think I should dress like," to which my reply was, "Well, at least buy stuff that *matches*, so you don't look like a blind guy that was dressed by someone with a sick sense of humor," or something along those lines. I don't hold much credence in fashion either, but I go out of my way not to stick out.

Do I detect a hint of goth, there...?

genius goth now there is an oxymoron

Actually, at Uni I knew some _really_ talented/intelligent goths - much more so than the normal run of the mill student...

generally speaking i think people are intelligent if they agree with my points of view but express them better, and are less intelligent/misinformed if they disagree.

as the education system in the UK is designed to weed out intelligent and tallented people i contend that you met anyone at uni who was.

Ah, I have an unusual insight into the world of British indergraduate education - this particular boutique was one of the old Polys, really, really poor - except for a couple of courses where those suitably inclined (about 12.5 degrees off the horizontal) could flourish into fully grown...goths...

No, on second thoughts, they were just an unusual exception