This sounds interesting! I don't comment on blogs much, but I'm trying to make it more of a habit, so let me introduce myself...

I'm a college student studying Biochemistry but I have a lot of interests and happen to read an excessive amount (including blogs) about psychology/related topics. I have spent the majority of my school years getting straight A's and I was identified as "gifted" in middle school, whatever that means. My journey through school was interesting, mostly because I often found school boring... so I could be a little difficult. I'm the oldest of five kids, and I was aware very early that somehow I'd ended up in the role of the "smart one," and that my younger siblings all thought and learned very differently from me. My younger brother seemed as smart as me at home, but in elementary school he floundered and they tried to convince my mother he was mentally challenged. Turns out he's quite smart, just has a few odd little learning disabilities. He hasn't been a school superstar, but he does well enough and excels at public speaking and cooking. (He's attending culinary school starting this fall.) But anyhow, I got very interested in learning and education because even in my own family I saw so much variation in how people learned and how well they were served by traditional education. My pre-college education almost included college courses + a private school, as I was very bored in my public school, but my family moving to Indiana eventually landed me at IASMH, a residential school for "gifted" kids. That was interesting to say the least.

So anyhow, sorry for the long intro, but as you can see, this blog is right up my alley. So if it goes how I'm guessing it will from your intro above, I'll be sticking around.

Ah yes, I recall my IQ test in 2nd grade.

I had just moved to Florida from Canada, and one of the questions was "How many feet are in a yard?" In Canada, we use meters. I thought they meant a backyard (that was the only sort of yard I knew) and my answer was 22.

Then I was told to take these pictures and "put them in the proper narrative order" (or some 2nd grade version of that language). Who knows how I scored on that section, but I remember thinking, "Well, if I put them in this order, then this is how the story goes, and if I put them in THIS order, then THIS is how the story goes." But who's to say what makes a story "correct"? I'll bet the makers of Memento would have failed that section.

I managed to do well on the test regardless and got put in "gifted," which actually was a great program for students who hadn't asked too many questions during their IQ test (Scott). I got to be creative there. I got to be challenged. It was a great atmosphere, with a silly way of getting in the door.

I'm an artist now, living in LA. Among my pursuits are acting, writing, and reading scripts for a company I'm starting. As an artist, I value my ability to create interesting, creative, innovative narrative structures, structures that the common school psychologist probably wouldn't think "logical." In fact, part of my theater training in college involved bringing in random photographs, arranging and rearranging them in different orders, and coming up with narratives to justify their order. Apparently we all had low IQs at Yale if we were messing around with storylines.

I'm actually working in intertainment (internet entertainment) right now, and it allows for possibilities other than the traditional, linear presentation of stories. IQ-test-makers, beware! You just may encounter a sort of genius you hadn't theorized about or accounted for on your linear spectrum! Uh oh!

I look forward to joining the conversations. :)

faye.

I was also labeled gifted in elementary school, but I was never very satisfied with the gifted classes that were provided to me. Florida public schools are awful. :P

Anyway, I really think I'm going to enjoy this blog! I wanted to take classes at school about giftedness, but the only kind of classes available for that were in the education department, and I would have had to take too many prerequisite classes in order to take them, and I'm not an education major. Funny how there weren't any classes about "giftedness" in the psychology department...

Really looking forward to your blog postings!

I have enjoyed reading all of your comments. It looks like you all have something in common-- you were all labeled as gifted but still question the system. Indeed, it is probably that curiosity that got you labeled as gifted in the first place!

I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts when I start writing about giftedness and the issues surrounding the best ways to identify and nurture those with extraordinary talents. So stay tuned! And please let others who might benefit know about this blog.

Scott

I am really looking forward to this blog. I have always been very interested in intelligence and as a therapist who works with adolescents, IQ tests are included in every client file and to be considered during treatment planning. The thing I most often notice is a discrepencey between the IQ scores and projected intelligence of clients who have been severely abused. It is common knowledge that emotional trauma may lead to cognitive defecits, however, I wonder if there are still intellectual gains being made during the truamatic times that simply can't be accessed until the emotional turmoil is under control. Might people learn to manage thier emotions first before addressing more typical intellectual challanges?

In my own experience, I was never lableled as gifted. In fact I remember watching the HP (High Potential) kids be taken from our fifth grade class every Friday to go discuss things apparently too complex for us AP ( Average Potential) students. I scored very poorly in math thorughout my adolescent years and thought of myslef as illogical and not so bright overall. I also had extreme social anxiety and felt this occupied a large part of my intellectual energy. Once I began taking anti-anxiety meds as an adult, I actually felt more capable and an IQ test revealed that I was in the 96th percentile for intelligence. I don't base much on a number, but couldn't help but question the coincedence of my strong intellectual gains occuring at the very time of my recovery from crippling social anxiety. Who knew I had "high potential" beneath my emotional distress?

Well, this looks fun!!!

I vaguely remember taking the IQ test in the 5th grade and being labeled gifted. I skipped a grade, graduated from high school early, and started college at age 16. I quit college by the time I was 19. I've always loved learning, but I've always hated being around other people or socializing. Like others on here, I'm kinda multitalented too.

I write songs, write poetry and stories, paint, draw, dance, sing, blah blah, etc.

I look forward to this blog.

hi
i stumbled across your article after having taken part in a psychology test. i'd like to say that despite having a fairly average IQ of only 126 i am aware that i have very little in common with the other individuals who have responded to your blog, yet ever since a very early age ive been almost obsessed with the subject of Psychology and psycho-analytical behaviour in people. and since i left school have been unable to pursue my interest any further than the armchair ( due to domestic responsibilities)and also due to one or two emotional episodes in my life that have unfortunately left me with a very low self esteem. i have however participated in many Psychometric test and " emotional intelligence and scored very highly.

Scott, I'd like to thank you for an interesting and informative blog. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts along with the thoughtful comments they are sure to generate.