/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.4736665]

I'm extremely paranoid about losing my intelligence.

It sucks. While I'm not the next coming of Feynman or Von Neumann or anything, I'm very bright (2310 PSAT, 2270 on my first SAT, scored in 99th percentile on IQ tests in the logic and similar sections, have always learned things very quickly and easily, etc). I think that I have some Ashkenazi Jew in me, as my family is very German on both sides, both my mom's and dad's original last names are very similar to German Jewish surnames), and their physical and mental characteristics are very similar to mine- almost eerily similar.

But I literally cannot stop worrying that I'll lose it and become average. Essentially every moment of my day is consumed by thinking about it.

When I drink a Pepsi Max, I get paranoid: "What if the caffeine and acid in the pop ruins neural connections?"

When I'm in the sun doing stuff: "What if the radiation from the sun is penetrating my skull and ruining my brain's DNA?"

Etc, etc. Absolutely miserable. Is there any way to stop thinking about this?

[Anonymous No.4736670]

>>4736665
>white girls problems

[Anonymous No.4736679]

Can't really tell if this is serious, but I'd argue that all the intelligence in the world is nothing if you don't work a lot.
And Erdős took chemicals all the time and didn't worry about it - so chill.

PS: If anyone is going to talk about jews in this thread...

[EK !EKFnQG0UBo No.4736675]

>>4736665
lol, chill the fuck out, dumb faggot.
you'll get dumb and forgetful when you get old anyway, it happens to everyone.

[sage No.4736676]

>I'm very bright
>radiation from the sun is penetrating my skull and ruining my brain's DNA
>caffeine and acid in the pop ruins neural connections

yeah, nah, fuck off

[Anonymous No.4736682]

>I'm very bright
>radiation from the sun is penetrating my skull and ruining my brain's DNA
>caffeine and acid in the pop ruins neural connections
>pop

4/10, some people will fall for it

[Anonymous No.4736689]

>>4736665
Sounds like you are only getting so worked up because you feel like your intelligence is the only thing you have going for you, am I on the right lines buddy?

[Anonymous No.4736694]

>>4736665
Play go.

[Anonymous No.4736718]

>>4736689
I mean, I'm somewhat above average looking- although I'm not muscular, I'm a decent height, I have a relatively cute face (if I may say so myself), and I can be personable. I'm also very moderately athletic- while I'm not jock-ish, I was always able to hold my own playing basketball against guys on the varsity team.

It's just that after mentally standing out from the crowd my entire life, I'm extremely jealous of my abilities.

[Anonymous No.4736727]

I really wish that I could say that I'm trolling, btw. But I'm not.

It's to where I literally can't be near areas that have been cleaned with chemical cleaning products. I'm HORRIFIED that the vapors from the harsh cleaning stuff will fuck up my brain, and I'm not exaggerating.

[Syan No.4736776]

>>4736727
Just help contribute to society. Otherwise your intellect is as useless as a box of sand.

[Anonymous No.4736791]

>>4736727
Then get psychiatric help for this irrational phobia.

CBT is effective and quick

[Anonymous No.4736794]

>>4736665
hahahaha oh man good one op

[Anonymous No.4736801]

>>4736665
brain cells naturally decay on their own. What's important is how many connections you make between neurons, just be actively in though every day.

[Anonymous No.4736803]

Stephen Hawking was worried he might lose his intelligence when his ALS began to impair his motor functions.

What did he do? He immediately dived into his studies and research.

SO GO DO THAT, FAGGOT, AND STOP WHINING ON 4CHAN

[Anonymous No.4736804]

maybe just live in a bubble. No need to worry about the sun when your in a bubble, those harmful UV rays can't get you in there. Just go to the beach in the bubble and sit in the sun laughing at death because you've cheated it. Then after go to sleep on the beach, just relax.

[Anonymous No.4736833]

If it helps OP, I've been drinking Pepsi, going out in the sun, drinking alcohol and doing a fair amount of drugs since I started uni about 10 years ago.

Now I'm 6 years into working life and am a team lead stress engineer for Airbus. My IQ has actually gone up since I was at Uni.

So I wouldn't worry provided you take things in moderation.

[Anonymous No.4736892]

When I was 10 I began conducting an experiment on myself as to the effects of pepsi max and sun radiation had on my intelligence (I was professionally tested by one of Freud's decendants to have an iq of 230). I would stand in the sun for up to eight hours a day and consume at least 3 litres of Pepsi (Specifically the 'Max' variety). And over an eaight year period it had no effect. So you're all good.

[Anonymous No.4736918]

>>4736892

You only had a sample size of 1 therefore your experiment was flawed then again what do I expect from someone with an IQ 25 points lower than mine.

It's funny that some people do science experiments at age 10 and think they're some sort of genius when I wrote my first PhD thesus at age 5 and invented math at age 9

[Anonymous No.4736930]

>>4736918
>thesus
id say your in the 170-180 ballpark

[Anonymous No.4736955]

>>4736892

freud's notable descendents are a tv chef turned politician, a novelist, a portrait painter, a fashion designer, a head of a PR company and a tv presenter

[Anonymous No.4736970]

my biggest fear is bacterial meningitis. it actually lowers IQ, and significantly so. i'm also like you, OP. probably not the next Heisenberg but pretty damn smart.

[Anonymous No.4736989]

i feel the same way, i used to have an iq of ~150 but its fallen to ~135, i deal with it by smoking weed everyday

[Anonymous No.4737008]

What does it mean to be good at certain subjects, but shitty at others. From what I understand the super geniuses you guys fap to everyday performed well in all subjects. I got a perfect SAT verbal score, but did shitty on the other parts of it. What does this mean? Am I just another retard?

[surprisetalk No.4737039]

>>4736665
OP, you should look into documenting your habits and time.

1. Get a journal and write down what you during your day. Do it every evening without without fail; even if you've done nothing, just write it.
2. After you've finished your journaling for the day, review TWO days of journals from the past. In this manner, you should be able to read through your entire journal every once and a while.

You may ask, "how does this keep me from losing my intelligence?" It doesn't. Nothing can guarantee your intelligence. In fact, one day you WILL die and literally be as dumb as dirt. What this system does is makes you MORE aware of what you do with your life. If you spend your time well, you should be satisfied with the fact that you've done the best of your ability.

OP, I also feared that I was to lose my intelligence. Then I realized that I'm really not that smart. When I started reading about all the great scientists preceding me, I wisened up. I am practically nothing. But it's alright. I should just be the best I can be.

To all above, including OP. Intelligence, as a whole, cannot be quantified.

[surprisetalk No.4737078]

>>4737008
Some geniuses are polymaths, others were highly specialized. My grandfather, who I consider to be a mathematical genius, can barely read. He can't even spell the word 'feel' correctly, and yet he is able to do very complex equations with the greatest of ease.
Don't feel bad about a stupid test score; it means nothing. Just read more books and listen in more classes. Those who proclaim that they're smart generally aren't.

[Anonymous No.4737100]

OP, why are you sitting here crying about it and wasting your time everyday thinking about it when you could be putting it to better use? Get inspired to do something and go after it. Join fellow scientists and go after the world. Don't listen to what others think of you. The world, the stars, the universe is waiting for you! TAKE IT! IT'S YOURS!

[Anonymous No.4737101]

>>4736665

You have Obsessive Compulsive disorder, a mental illness correlated with above average intelligence. I have a friend who had these tendencies and bipolar disorder, and he's very sharp. I have obsessive tendencies, and I'm reasonably intelligent.

OP, I'll be straight with you. The only thing that can chronically decrease your intelligence is some sort of heavy metal contamination, or an impossible illness like prion disease, which they may have found a cure for just recently. When people say "you're more likely to win the lottery", they mean, it won't happen. Indeed, worrying about something gives you no genuine security against the thing you fear, it's just a classic malfunction of your brain's threat recognition.

Increased heart rate, and a sick feeling of movement would be of more use if you were in the middle of the woods at night, eyes darting for threats. In fact, that's the sort of thing your brain is preparing your body for. You recognized something as a threat, but your body is preparing you for it in the totally wrong way. If anything, your fear is more likely to cause subtle impairments to your intelligence.

most of the great scientists in history were visionaries. They chased a mystery, drawn to it from deep within. You'll get nowhere in your present mind set, so just relax. You have more time than you think, there's no rush. Nikola Tesla was stuck digging ditches for like a year after he got to America. Hell, he didn't start doing anything interesting like he was like, 30.

[Anonymous No.4737115]

>>4736665

Have you considered Obsessive Compulsive disorder? Internet diagnoses is not reliable, so I won't even try, but have you gotten stuck in this sort of loop about other things before? I have a friend who had these tendencies and bipolar disorder, and he's very sharp. I have obsessive tendencies, and I'm reasonably intelligent.

OP, I'll be straight with you. The only thing that can chronically decrease your intelligence is some sort of heavy metal contamination, or an impossible illness like prion disease, which they may have found a cure for just recently. When people say "you're more likely to win the lottery", they mean, it won't happen. Indeed, worrying about something gives you no genuine security against the thing you fear, it's just a classic malfunction of your brain's threat recognition.

Increased heart rate, and a sick feeling of movement would be of more use if you were in the middle of the woods at night, eyes darting for threats. In fact, that's the sort of thing your brain is preparing your body for. You recognized something as a threat, but your body is preparing you for it in the totally wrong way. If anything, your fear is more likely to cause subtle impairments to your intelligence.

most of the great scientists in history were visionaries. They chased a mystery, drawn to it from deep within. You'll get nowhere in your present mind set, so just relax. You have more time than you think, there's no rush. Nikola Tesla was stuck digging ditches for like a year after he got to America. Hell, he didn't start doing anything interesting like he was like, 30.

[Anonymous No.4737138]

>>4737115

Alternatively, you could also start running. Running a few kilometers every day ought to calm you down and has been linked with an increase in brain function.

[Anonymous No.4737168]

Write yourself some math equations out and do them, read a few pages of a book and see how much you can remember. Don't strain yourself, just do it. Or go for a walk and be chill as fuck. Let your body take over and stroll.

[Anonymous No.4737182]

>>4736930
>your

>correcting someone's spelling while simultaneously misspelling something yourself
shiggy diggy doo where are you

[Anonymous No.4737209]

Sounds like you have OCD. As for worrying about losing your intelligence, self-doubt is a very useful intellectual trait, most smart people could with more of it. And be critical if others too - one day you will realise you're a chimp stuck in a troop of baboons who think they are humans.

[surprisetalk No.4737226]

>>4737138
Great idea.
Exercise promotes enhanced brain function, longevity, happiness, and self-discipline.

[Anonymous No.4737478]

>>4737115
Actually, yes I have been in these sort of phases before. In late elementary school, I was TERRIFIED of going blind to the point that it affected my behavior a little bit. And then in middle school, I started to have a prolonged existential crisis- what am I, why am I conscious, how do I know that I'm really me, etc. Got fucked up for a while.

Then my fear of intelligence loss kicked in a couple years later. It was incredibly bad (like, I would almost get to the point of tears if I walked into a room that was recently painted, lol) early on until I started to jack off. I became more realistic after I started fapping, but it's still unhealthy what is going on in my mind.

[Anonymous No.4737490]

>>4737209
My fear of losing my intelligence was actually caused by my recognition that other people are absolutely retarded. Earlier in my life, I always kind of assumed that everyone else was as smart as I and didn't pay much attention to it. It really kicked in during high school when I was practicing for the SAT. Before I did any prep whatsoever for the SAT, I was getting effortless 800's (like, with 8-11 minutes to spare per section) on the critical reading section, while all of my friends and stuff struggled to get above a 600. It made me go "wait, is something wrong with me? Is my luck in getting my mental abilities going to go away? Have I already peaked in terms of my intelligence relative to my peers?

My fear of becoming as stupid as the average human being is what's driving this phobia.

[Anonymous No.4737498]

OP, I just want to say I really love your writing style, you eloquent bastard.

[Anonymous No.4737517]

>>4737490

Well, my personal experience is that prevention is better than cure, for episodes anyway. With time it becomes easier and easier to avoid episodes, or rather, the mode of thought that leads to an obsessive episode gets weaker and weaker. For now though...

I don't think there is a single documented case of a person chronically losing their intelligence due to anything other than drugs, poison or degenerative neuron disease (shut up, you do not have one.) Just repeat this simple statement, and let go. Like relaxing a muscle, relax your guard. It is *not* useful.

[Anonymous No.4737531]

lol @ SAT as a intelligence test

[Anonymous No.4737535]

>>4737517
Well, in all honesty, it has been useful. It is easy to take the time to go the extra mile studying in math & science classes when you are constantly trying to validate your intelligence, lol. Every practice problem is like a little validation and reassurance cookie.

[Anonymous No.4737537]

>>4737490

Also, pepsi max has an unusually high amount of caffein in it. You're probably paranoid because the caffein itself causes anxiety!

[Anonymous No.4737552]

>>4737535

But there's more to existence than that kind of living!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy_gap

"For example, when one is angry, it is difficult to understand what it is like for one to be happy, and vice versa; when one is blindly in love with someone, it is difficult to understand what it is like for one not to be, (or to imagine the possibility of not being blindly in love in the future)."

[Anonymous No.4737614]

>>4736833

If you do "stress" engineering you're probably not that smart.

source: aerospace engineer