The problem with having a high IQ
Having a high IQ is rarely a cakewalk. Usually, it brings as many troubles as joys, rather like roses with thorns.
A flock of sheep lost its way on the edge of a forest. A giraffe decided to help them out.
'You look lost.' said he.
'How do you know we're lost?' they snapped. 'We're just trying to find our way back home.'
'You probably come from that valley. I have often seen you-'
'You can't have seen us from so far. Nobody can see that far. And, we have never seen you even once.'
'I have a long neck and long legs; I can see for miles ahead.' The giraffe explained but the sheep were somehow offended.
'You are so proud of your height. Are you mocking us because we are short and have shorter limbs?'
'No, no, I wasn't mocking.' he protested. 'I was merely explaining how I have often seen you guys and your valley. I can see it even now. Well, never mind. I can help you find your way back. This path leads straight into the dense forest and is dangerous-'
'How do you know that? We aren't scared of dangers.'
'Of course.' he ignored. 'If you took the other path over there, you will come across a 'sort of' natural rocky bridge in the stream. Cross it and you will reach your valley.'
'Stop preaching us. We aren't stupid. We know this area better than you do; After all, we graze here everyday.'
The sheep took the way the giraffe had told them about, and reached the natural rocky bridge.
'This isn't a bridge.' they cried. 'These are just some rocks in the stream that we can step on. What a liar! How dumb of him to call these random rocks a bridge! I am sure he thought we were stupid and was deliberately trying to mislead us.'
The sheep reached the valley safely and spent many an evenings discussing how the giraffe was so dumb, stupid, proud and cunning. The giraffe on the other hand spent his time cursing his useless height that seemed to serve no apparent purpose and made him a subject of mistrust and ridicule.
Having a high IQ does not always mean laurels. It often spells trouble because many people aren't usually equipped to understand the intricate functioning of high IQ and tend to feel upset, stirred and threatened. And this leads to further problems.
So what exactly is the problem with having a high IQ? Sadly, many problems!
- You have brains. Sharp killing brains. But you can't change the world because the world constantly tries to keep changing you.
- You can help people/ situations/problems with a lot of things, but you can't and won't because they have a hard time believing you can do it and a harder time believing that they can't.
- And it is hard for you to watch them stumble and take neck-stiffening singular pride as they roll. And sometimes you get the blame for their fall...
- You try to gel in with people like a giraffe in a sheep herd, but can't. Not because you are too tall, but because they are too short to even locate where the beginning of your neck is.
- And they mistake your big brains for nuts. Now either you tell them that you are nuts or they are. You do neither. That sucks one big time.
- Calling yourself a giraffe is a problem; you don't want to be snobbish. Calling them a sheep is an even bigger problem; they don't want to hear that.
- The truth is hard to uncover, hard to cover up, hard to listen to and hard to digest. It is much easier pretending 'What's the truth?'
- Even if everyone does accept you for who you are, you have your inner beast rising from time to time. 'How am I genius for doing that shit? I am completely ordinary. Oh wait, what if I am a fool because I don't know so many details in this regard?'
- You hide your long neck and decide not to meddle with sheep anymore.
- You see what they can see. You see what they cannot see. And it is hard to make them see what you can see.
It's a rare thing to be blessed with a high IQ. But it is rather like having a rose with prickles (commonly known as thorns)
One can either hate a rose for having prickles or love it and learn to manage them. The rose remains a rose, beautiful in every sense.
And, let's not forget the purpose of prickles in the life of a rose!
But that's just my opinion. Thank you for reading.