How to Know Your I.Q. Level without Taking the Test & Brainy Stories by Billy J. Burton - HTML preview

2.The Moderately Gifted Range [MG] or [HIQ]

 

(IQ: 130 to 144) nearly 2%

 

Moderately gifted people (MGs), also known as “High I.Q. People” (HIQ) represent nearly the entirety of gifted people. While they comprise only roughly 2 % of the general population, they

characterize 95% of “The Gifted”. Their struggles and skills are depicted in all the books about

giftedness266.

There are two underlying reasons why psychologists usually portray moderately gifted individuals. First of all, they represent a very high percentage of “The Gifted”. Second of all,

they are more likely to seek professional help, being more social291 and closer to the average

health professional's intellect level89 than individuals in higher ranges.

They are overrepresented among famous people, may it be in the arts, because of their natural

creativity 179 179 179-204 and intuition , or in sports thanks to their higher stamina, or even sometimes

in politics by means of their greater motivation181. However, they don't necessarily hold prestigious positions such as doctors, lawyers, managers, engineers who are primarily occupied

by smart Neurotypicals 89-90 (see chapter about The Superior Range) still, many may be found in

academia366-373.

Moderately Gifted people (MGs) display a type of psychology that is reasonably close to that of the Superior Rangers except for a few peculiarities.

They amount to about 2% of the general population; their I.Q. score is found between 130 and

144.

 

Here as well, I will resort to situations taken from the lives of members of that range: Cecilia, Roger, Wolfgang, Aldric, Frank, Thomas, Noel, Igor, Gerald, Mary, Mario, and Gloria.

 

All the names have been changed and all the situations have been somewhat altered.

 

Cognitive Abilities at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

Moderately Gifted individuals [MGs] are much smarter than average, but not as much as the

untrained eye might believe, for, their cleverness in mainly focused on a couple of strong areas178-181-186.

They tend to be good or even excellent at those fields, in which their attention293 292- and memory

293 are tremendous, yet their cognitive performance is regular in most other domains.

In their average-skilled spheres, their perception and opinions are usually both uninformed and lazy179. Overall, it gives an impression of high pervasive intelligence along with a surprising lack

of reflection179 suddenly appearing, from time to time, during the course of a conversation. The

closer their score is to the bottom of the range (130) the more they tend to exhibit this surprising

inconsistency.

Consequently, they often suffer from the “impostor syndrome”179 in their strong domains

(estimating they perform much worse than they actually do) coupled with a complex of superiority in their weaker fields92-93, (thinking they are right while basing themselves on

dubious facts or inferences).

Not unlike Superior Rangers, MGs show a fervent desire to know181 certain matters, but not

strong enough to bypass their sometimes natural narcissistic need to be right179-290 or their

emotional necessity to join very mainstream-thinking179 intellectual groups.

 

Cecilia would tell everybody she is always right while carefully forgetting each time she had been wrong in the past.

 

Similarly, Roger thinks he knows very little about science (although he knows quite a bit) but likes to school his friends on geopolitics although all he knows he heard it from a handful of talking heads on TV.

 

Aldric has a knack for history but no real grasp of scientific concepts although he thinks he knows better in that realm.

 

Mary is very competent at her job but lousy at expressing herself in written English, nevertheless she keeps correcting other people’s perfectly grammatical sentences.

 

Unlike the average person who reflects primarily in an analytical103, step by step, fashion, the

Moderately Gifted think in images, intuition, feelings179 ... taking one thought and extending it in

all directions at once179. Their efficient information processing enables them to synthesize several parts of an idea into one single step 103. Being equipped with a more conceptual brain than

the “Normies”, they are able to extrapolate ready 189-made notions into an enhanced broader

understanding and expand those views further.

That peculiar brain functioning may present problems for students who, in spite of knowing the right answer to a question, may show difficulty in explaining their reasoning 179.

Wolfgang once thought his geometry problem was so obvious that he was unable to explain his answer to the teacher and was awarded an F.

In spite of their enhanced cognitive style, MGs are still reliant on binary logic 189-217

(right/wrong), seeing many matters in black and white instead of shades of grey.

 

Frank is adamant that, in every conflict, there’s always a right side and a wrong side that some of the combatants are honorable while others are immoral.

 

Aldric believe that whoever disagrees with him is necessarily wrong.

 

Independence of Mind at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

The openness of mind and curiosity of Moderately Gifted people stops at what can be considered a random point by higher ranges. Out of laziness or lack of interest179 in gathering their own

facts, MGs are no stranger to ready-made ideas189 they may use as a weapon in conversations

with anyone who dares think for themselves or share opposing views (especially at the bottom of the range). Likewise, they may ignore facts when their mind is already made up.

In most intellectual domains, these individuals keep inner models179 acquired before adulthood,

may they originate from relatives or society, and readily endorse anything that might make them look noble or accepted by their intellectual sphere. Often needing the social cushion of

conventional ideas, as if anxious about thinking for themselves, they adhere to very mainstream179 or trendy concepts, advocating any opinion considered cool or widely recognized

as respectable by their intellectual bubble. If for some reason the group evolves, they are likely to change opinions accordingly. Fearing the judgement of their peers 179-294, they regularly strive to

appear politically correct but not as much as people in the Superior Range.

 

Aldric thinks that if someone starts questioning what he was told, they necessarily are idiots and should not be included in any further conversation.

 

Roger, Gerald, and Noel who think of themselves as very upright, like to insult anyone who disagrees with them on politics.

 

Frank repeats blindly, his beloved movie stars’ opinions, as he believes they are always right.

 

Fairly Good Intuition and Introspection at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

MGs show instincts and intuition 179 about situations, events, other people, but also occasionally about themselves. However, for especially narcissistic MGs, introspection may occasionally

cause distress, for they intermittently get a glimpse of how others view them when their

behavior is less than pleasant.

 

Frank feels bad when he realizes he’s hurt someone’s feelings by putting them down, but that doesn’t prevent him from doing it again and again.

 

MGs frequently guess the likely adverse consequences of a behavior or what the synergy of a

conversation will translate into.

 

Frank can tell whenever two people are at odds with each other, even if no word is being exchanged, just by noticing body language and tension in the atmosphere.

 

Some Moderately Gifted individuals even exhibit psychic faculties, such as lucid dreaming 184 or having a hunch of what is going to happen a few hours or days before the event.

 

Cecilia dreamt her grandfather was going to die a couple of days before it happened .

 

Roger is very intuitive even if what he foresees doesn’t always occur.

 

Gerald, who dabbles into esoterism, experiences lucid dreams regularly.

 

Enhanced Empathy at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

MGs are more naturally in tune with their environments than the previous ranges, they perceive

nature and other beings more intensely.

They display strong compassion for the underprivileged, together with a propensity to sense people’s feelings and emotions, to such an extent that, they sometimes attempt to save the world

with humanitarian179 endeavors.

Mary has many compassionate qualities and once thought about helping the poor. Frank always tries to help a friend is distress but complains about it afterwards.

MGs’ superior empathy, or rather their predisposition to being overwhelmed by other people’s

feelings179, is often noticed in their life goals (see end of MG chapter).

On the contrary, when they don’t resort to empathy, male MGs especially, frequently appear

conceited and arrogant189 179 . This behavior may be explained by unexpected low self-esteem

(due to the “Impostor Syndrome294-367 179 ”) combined with high self-confidence due to having their opinions and skills regularly praised by family and teachers.

 

Cecilia can show incredible empathy at a moment and be insufferably full of herself the next.

 

Aldric is very indulgent with people in difficult situations but not with someone who disagrees with him.

 

Noel is very smug but always ends up supporting his friends.

 

In addition, MGs may, at times, feel threatened or exposed179-294 by those who appear more intelligent or knowledgeable than them. Depending on their level of insecurity during the debate,

they either feel humbled or prepared to intellectually destroy that person.

 

Roger shows empathy for the little people of the far lands he travels to but needs to humiliate anyone who disagrees with his views during the course of a conversation.

 

Of course, due to elevated sensitivity 293, if an MG hasn't been raised in a supporting

environment, he or she is bound to exhibit very low self-confidence and humility.

 

The “Overexitabilities” of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

Moderately Gifted folks are impatient, easily frustrated181 179 and excessive in everything they do,

think, plan, hope for, love etc… It’s one of the most reliable signs of giftedness.

They are highly intelligent in a few fields only 178-181-186, all other skills being close to average. Therefore, they regularly exhibit a feeling of inadequacy, or illegitimacy in their achievements,

either questioning their intelligence or feeling obnoxiously superior to everybody else,

sometimes at the same time. With one foot in the neurotypical255 world and another in the gifted

realm, their discrepancy in neurological abilities exacerbates their anxiety 179.

 

Gloria, Frank, Thomas, Wolfgang, Roger, Aldric, Gerald, Mary and Cecilia have a tough time sleeping at night because of their easily excitable brains and their pervasive anxiety.

 

Fearful of their thoughts and emotions, because of incontrollable mental excitabilities, they are inclined to succumb to any type of addictions179. Those can range from gaming to drugs,

anything to ease their often-tortured self. As it has been remarked that alcohol transitorily lowers

one’s intelligence182, at least during the drunkenness phase (and maybe also permanently if

heavily absorbed) some MGs resort to drinking, in the unconscious hope of bridging the gap 183 between the Neurotypicals and themselves.

 

Roger, Thomas, Frank, and Gerald drink alcohol every day to relax, Mary resorts to yoga.

 

Thomas collects comic books as if his life depended on it, carefully categorizing them in many ways and making sure nobody reads them lest a page is slightly creased.

MG's brains being more easily excited 108 than those of the “Normies”, they are sensitive to a

large number of stimuli. Usually bothered by strong lights, noises, smells, rough fabrics, comments they consider stupid, they are known for outbursts of annoyance at people for

seemingly no reason whatsoever.

 

Frank is in the habit of putting people down for nearly no reason when he gets annoyed, of course he doesn’t accept this behavior towards him.

 

Cecilia attacks people whenever she feels overwhelmed by a situation, becomes jealous of them because she feels she’s losing control and finally attacks them constantly.

 

Similarly, MGs’ inquisitive curiosity and their propensity to oppose what they don’t value spur

high resistance to authority166.

 

The Shifting Ethics of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

Morality179, at this range, can be quite elevated, at least in certain areas. Surprisingly, this noble

stance may suddenly transform into very fluctuating ethical standards to accommodate a strong

wish, a personal opinion, or to reject a person whose views are too alien to comprehend.

 

Frank, who is pretty ethical and law-abiding, loves TV shows. Consequently, he thinks he’s entitled to download them for free on illegal websites, even though, he would feel really bad if he were to be in a theater without a valid ticket.

 

Roger, Aldric, Noel and Gerald are very civilized, until they face someone who disagrees with them on anything they hold dear.

 

Cecilia believes it’s okay to be horrible to someone as long as she feels annoyed by that person.

 

Still, MGs generally unwaveringly advocate the causes they believe in, especially in their youth.

 

The Semi-Introverted Lifestyle of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

Being around the limit of “perceived intelligence” 94 (an I.Q. score of 140), these people are

regularly praised for their intellectual abilities, but not necessarily challenged enough to doubt themselves much (as opposed to individuals with a score above that threshold).

Still, many male MGs feel emotionally insecure179 189 enough to regularly compete with others so

as to convince themselves of their intellectual superiority. Moreover, many MGs are inclined

towards stubbornness and emotional immaturity 179 as well as prone to self-sabotaging tantrums or at least harsh unsolicited remarks.

 

Aldric, Cecilia, Frank, Thomas, and Roger cannot think past their cherished opinions, becoming frustrated and attacking dissenters rather than pondering what they just said.

 

As a rule, MGs remain loyal179 to their loved ones but highly unreliable, able to endanger their

relationships over meaningless squabbles. Besides, because they value intelligence291 and

knowledge186, they customarily exhibit deep-seated frustration with others, in short, they don’t “suffer fools gladly”.

Noel relishes in putting down those who, according to him, hold illogical standpoints.

 

Frank is annoyed at incompetence and ignorance.

 

Additionally, some MGs dread the judgment of their peers179-294. They may appear terrified at the

idea of being socially rejected or not perceived as part of the “smart and cultured” group.

More at ease in the neurotypical world than in the realm of highly gifted individuals, MGs' natural Boolean (right/wrong) logic189-217 is always a sad surprise for people of higher ranges

who assumed they had run into an intellectual peer and are left frustrated.

 

Frank, Cecilia, Thomas, and Roger usually think in a black and white, right, or wrong, yes, or no, logic with no place for very nuanced points of views.

 

Roger rejects anyone who does not subscribe to scientific theories he barely understands, because, according to him, replacing older flawed theories with better ones is, somehow, being against science!!!

 

Whereas MGs usually spend prolonged periods of time by themselves293 exploring their many

areas of interest293 291 , most of them enjoy the companyof the professed intellectual crowd:

members of their own range and the Superior Range. Like the latter, they are likely to enjoy being regarded as the knowledgeable one186 at a dinner party.

Frank and Aldric spend inordinate amounts of time watching TV shows and reading comics. In spite of that solitary tendency, they often spend entire evening chatting with their like-minded friends.

 

The Moderately Gifted enjoy talking about knowledge, facts, science, ideas, traveling, mainstream opinions, food or wine in a gourmet fashion, experiences they’ve had, occasionally

how they shut somebody up. Often very talkative in their preferred fields 293, their speech is

elaborate179-180-293 186 , sometimes intricate and shows substantial knowledge.

 

Aldric can talk for hours about arts or politics rarely letting his audience squeeze in a word edgewise, when that happens, he swiftly thinks about it, answers briefly and goes back to his grandiloquent speech.

 

Frank, Cecilia, and Thomas dominate conversations by staying on their preferred topics regardless of the interlocutor.

 

Creativity at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

A consequence to MGs’ emotional and intellectual sensitivity is a tendency to be creative171-172, or at least, to be extremely interested in the arts 293. Many writers, many musicians, many chefs,

many actors and so forth are moderately gifted179. They frequently need that fame or recognition,

for heaps of praise give them the validation they seek 290. When they are interested in something,

their strong energy level helps them get in the flow and keep their focus293 going for extended periods of time, thus, facilitating the creative process. That’s one of the main traits of giftedness.

 

Cecilia and Noel write stories; Roger’s hobbies revolve around the movie industry; Wolfgang plays piano and composes scores; Frank is into symphonic music; Gerald draws and paints regularly; Gloria dances and cooks.

Many MGs are what is colloquially referred to as nerds 293. They are big fans of music, TV

shows, movies, games, comic books etc… that they frequently collect from an early age and know everything about.

 

Wolfgang and Frank collect anime and TV shows; Cecilia and Aldric collect children’s books; Gerald collects seashells; Mario collects comic books; Noel collects old LPs albums.

 

The Adventurous Way of Life of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

Very adventurous147-162, ready to dive into new experiences of many types, Moderately Gifted

individuals are fun to be around while they keep their congenial and playful mood.

 

Noel, Wolfgang, Roger, and Frank love traveling to faraway lands, sometimes on their own to better mix with the locals. Cecilia went to China on her own because it had been her life-long dream.

 

Mario and Mary go to many places to do many exciting activities, but always with their spouses and children.

 

Wolfgang and Frank love trying very exotic foods and drinks as well as unusual sports.

 

However, if they start seeing the glass half-empty, the adventure, may on occasion, take a more

frustrating turn of events for the rest of the group.

 

In social settings, Frank keeps noticing every little detail that is not to his liking or rather like knowledgeable or cultured people are supposed to do it, according to him.

 

Cecilia throws a tantrum when she doesn’t get what she wants.

 

On the other hand, certain MGs are too terrified179 by improbable unpleasant outcomes to let

their adventurous self take over and choose a sheltered lifestyle.

 

Gerald, on the other hand is overly cautious; he rarely leaves his home, his adventurousness is only witnessed in his many passions; Aldric doesn’t travel either.

 

The Selective Exceptional Memory of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

MGs retain a large quantity of factual knowledge 293 thanks to their highly observantminds as

well as their stupendous memory185-293 in their domains of passion, but also in any matter

attracting their attention because of its noteworthy quality. At times, they are able, years later, to

remember a figure or a fact and mention it to an astonished audience.

 

Frank and Aldric can name actors, film titles, directors, book authors, music composers, the number of seasons in a TV show along with what happens to the characters, the year it was released etc.…

 

Gerald remembers many scientific facts and, at the drop of a hat, is able to start lecturing whoever happens to be in his vicinity.

 

Mario can cite the publishing year of every comic book he owns out of thousands.

Noel remembers all of the games played by his favorite football team.

 

At the same time, what they are not interested in may slip their minds altogether, even if it’s common knowledge.

 

Thomas can remember many details about the cases he’s working on, many more than his co-workers but one day he forgot which city was the capital of Canada.

 

Frank once forgot some of the names of the planets in our solar system.

 

The Extensive Culture of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:

 

Since MGs possess impressive memory in their fields of interest, they are quite learned and exhibit encyclopedic culture186 in at least a few fields. Their cultural knowledge is often located

in the arts but may also be scientific, historical, geopolitical etc… It can either be focused on

certain aspects or all-encompassing, mainstream, or niche. Because of their intellectual intensity, MGs’ culture frequently extends further and deeper than that of Superior Rangers.

 

Noel, a writer, is at the same time truly knowledgeable about football, music, literature, and political figures from the last decades.

 

Frank knows his way around classical music, Flemish painters and Sci-fi.

 

Mary’s culture revolves around sculptors, portraitists, novelist, and chefs.

 

Cecilia is into anime, manga, and the Japanese language which she speaks well.

 

Life Goals at the Moderately Gifted Range:

 

Because they aren’t that emotionally removed from them, MGs’ life goals are frequently close to

those of Neurotypicals289, but artistical and idealistic selfless aspirations exist as well.

 

Igor studied to become a surgeon and repair injuries to improve people’s lives.

 

Cecilia’s goals involve buying a house and moving to Japan.

 

Noel wants to be a successful novelist and inspire people.

 

Gerald and Aldric, who are in their 40’s, still want to heal the world.

 

Roger wants to become a famous actor.

 

Gloria wants to build a large mansion to be able to share it with her whole family.

 

School subjects being sometimes unchallenging for them, MGs show a tendency towards poor

self-discipline179 if they’ve never had to work hard at anything. As a result, they may well show incredible laziness and procrastination179 in every situation they don’t value enough. I’m told

there is even a habit among members of Mensa (I.Q. level in the MG range for most adherents) to promote a purposeless lazy lifestyle204.

Frank would have liked to be a musician except he has never been dedicated enough to learn how to read a score or play an instrument, he wishes knowledge would enter his brain by osmosis and he would know how to play violin instantly.

 

On the contrary, because of their many skills, these individuals may also be tempted to carry out too many projects simultaneously204. Certain MGs alleviate their anxiety that way by being too

busy to think.

 

If your I.Q. is in the moderately gifted range, most of what’s below reflects who you are: (Pay close attention to the wording before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)

1-You are often annoyed by stupid comments or behaviors.

2-You are passionate about a couple of topics, you are very knowledgeable about, in which you show strong memory skills.

3-You don’t mind being alone to enjoy your passions.

4-You often feel smarter and more knowledgeable than others, but also feel lacking in certain intellectual areas.

5-You think scientists are always right and people who think differently are dumb.

6-You are a keen observer and notice many tiny details all day long.

7-You can remain engrossed in a task you enjoy for hours without losing your focus or feeling tired.

8-You value culture and knowledge but most importantly intelligence in other people.

9-You are afraid someone might notice how little you know about (or understand) certain topics.

10-You are always ready to try something new.

11-You can tell how people are feeling just by looking at them.

12-Some of your dreams are larger than life or difficult to achieve.

13-You feel misunderstood by most people.

14-You either feel full of energy or really lazy.

15-You are very interested in arts and sometimes are an artist yourself.

16-You rarely doubt yourself but fear being judged by people you consider intelligent.

17-You are easily bothered by noise, light, rough fabric on your skin….

18-You are regarded as condescending or harsh by lots of people.

19-You have innocuous addictions such as: gaming, binge-watching, collecting, researching topics etc.

20-You understand and know a lot more than most people without really studying much.