Most people think they're above average

[Thalassa]

I'm surprised that you bother to say no offense.

And you're right, I'm probably not depressed. If I were to give a wild guess, I'd guess obsessive-compulsive.

It's just that some people react to depression differently than others. When I am depressed I am more emotionally reactive, less rational, and become anxious, sometimes can't sleep, will push myself to keep "performing" because I don't like the idea of giving up, it's just not in my nature. In that case, yes, I often am more angry.

I tend to be more rational and relaxed when I'm not depressed. I'm less emotionally reactive and actually can be lazier, because I don't feel any anxiety to "prove myself" or "push myself."

Some people become depressed and feel nothing, like they don't think they have feelings anymore. Numb.

Then others are emotional, but don't fight it, and give up completely.

 

[SecantSquared]

It's just that some people react to depression differently than others. When I am depressed I am more emotionally reactive, less rational, and become anxious, sometimes can't sleep, will push myself to keep "performing" because I don't like the idea of giving up, it's just not in my nature. In that case, yes, I often am more angry.

i often have trouble sleeping when i'm depressed......heh, look, i'm awake at 1:30....and not any sign of falling asleep...

I tend to be more rational and relaxed when I'm not depressed. I'm less emotionally reactive and actually can be lazier, because I don't feel any anxiety to "prove myself" or "push myself."

+1, as evidenced by my recent performance.

 

[Glycerine]

I honestly think I am at least slightly above average in looks and intelligence based on what others say, IRL.

 

[SecantSquared]

I KNOW i'm above average in intelligence....significantly. looks....well, there had to be some balance, right?

 

[Glycerine]

PROVE IT!





jk.

 

[SecantSquared]

lulzzzz...at the moment, i'm too tired...orr...zombie-ish to prove anything.....but if you wait till after the beep, errr....after i rest, you will have your proof.

 

[ajblaise]

We all know, in this study, that if we just don't count one stupid person, then most people are above-average.

 

[SecantSquared]

dude, that made no sense....at least, i didn't see any sense in that. EXPLAIN!!!

 

[Glycerine]

dude, that made no sense....at least, i didn't see any sense in that. EXPLAIN!!!

Off topic but what was your former name?

 

[ajblaise]

dude, that made no sense....at least, i didn't see any sense in that. EXPLAIN!!!

If you have to ask, you'll never know.

- from Rugrats.

 

[SecantSquared]

Off topic but what was your former name?

I had a former name? I didn't know that.

 

[Glycerine]

Nevermind then. I thought that you might have a former name on here because I have never seen you around and you have been around for over a year...oops.

 

[SecantSquared]

yeah, i've been busy screwing things up, so i haven't had time to be on here in a few months.

 

[William K]

Just realized something... It's not that the chess player overestimated his own ability. It's that he mistakenly considers his opponents that he regularly beats as average when they are really below average.

 

[Thalassa]

When comparing themselves to the average, people tend to look at the local average instead of the global one since most of the time it won't apply. I'm of average height where I live, but in the NBA I'd be shorter than most if not all point guards!

This is very, very true. I think back in my small town in WV I could easily say I have above average intelligence, but faced with the rest of the world, I don't see myself that way anymore, I see myself as definitely being more average.

I'm surprised that the invention of the Internet hasn't managed to keep people more humble because it widens our view of just how many people exist in the world who aren't that much different than we are, or are doing better in terms of education/intelligence/appearance/wealth.

Then again, you could just look at all of the idiots who comment on YouTube and think to yourself you were waaaay above average.

 

[AOA]

I've found that, combined with determination, I don't really need to think about how intelligent I am. However, without determination, I would say I'm pretty relaxed - thus, think of myself slightly more intelligent than I really am.

 

[nolla]

I disagree. I think it just creates a cultural disease of narcissism and entitlement.

Yeah, when thinking about society, yes, it is harmful to have these people thinking so highly of themselves. But I said that I think it serves these people well. When you look at it from their perspective, there is nothing that would make them as successful as they are if they didn't have the narcism. So, I wasn't actually saying anything about the desirability of this phenomenon on the societys scale in my original post.

Personally, the fact that there are so many people overestimating their talent makes my success less likely, since I rarely use so big words, nor appear overconfident. But, that's just the way it is... I've given up on changing the world. If the people hiring these people want to take them in instead of the less confident but more talented person, then that is the way it works. Maybe the confident person will do all right in the position... probably not the best for the job, though...

But no, I don't think that it's good to have a culture of narcism like that. The people appearing most confident will get all the top positions, and there is a funny thing about confidence, that it is always about deceiving yourself, since who can assess their talent properly? And I happen to believe that the more you are able to deceive yourself, the more sick you are in other ways too. So, we are giving the top positions to sick people. What the hell do we think will come out of it?

 

[rav3n]

How far must people put themselves out to be good or bad for the societal whole? What is good or bad? These are subjective terms and looking at some of the responses, source from self-interest. Can't people see themselves clearly? The vast majority of human beings are driven by self-interest.

 

[nolla]

How far must people put themselves out to be good or bad for the societal whole? What is good or bad? These are subjective terms and looking at some of the responses, source from self-interest. Can't people see themselves clearly? The vast majority of human beings are driven by self-interest.

Yeah. This is why I've given up changing the world. I see it is my personal view that overconfidence is not good on the top positions, but I'm sure there are other takes on this issue. And even if we all agreed on this, the issue would be how do you measure excessive confidence...

 

[rav3n]

Yeah. This is why I've given up changing the world. I see it is my personal view that overconfidence is not good on the top positions, but I'm sure there are other takes on this issue. And even if we all agreed on this, the issue would be how do you measure excessive confidence...

IMO, that's a good opinion to have in that everything is debatable based on perception.

Three questions people have to ask themselves are:

1. What ethics have I learned by rote and if that's the case, what do these ethics really mean?
2. Do I live by my ethics 100% of the time?
3. Do I benefit from any of these ethics?

In doing so, it might shake up personal ethical frameworks.