IQ tests are supposed to assess human intelligence, not human worth.

My IQ is higher than 130. This number says that I am intellectually superior or very superior. However, that neither makes me better than you, nor gives me the opportunity to be better than you. Though, according to an article which was featured in Science Magazine, “What Does IQ Really Measure?” it means that I might live longer than you. Michael Balter, the author of the previously mentioned article, found that:

“Kids who score higher on IQ tests will, on average, go on to do better in conventional measures of success in life: academic achievement, economic success, (and) even (have) greater health and longevity.”

Another article written by David Z. Hambrick, “Sorry Strivers: Talent Matters,” which was published in The New York Times, reported that people with larger IQs typically go farther in academia. According to Hambrick:

“Compared with the participants who were only in the 99.1 percentile for intellectual ability at age 12, those who were in the 99.9 percentile — the profoundly gifted — were between three and five times more likely to go on to earn a doctorate, secure a patent, publish an article in a scientific journal or publish a literary work.”

As both the articles anticipated, my IQ has certainly helped me in numerous parts of my life. However, it also hinders me in ways others will, thankfully, never deal with.

Some of those with raw intelligence determine there is no need for further effort. They get by on that above average number and are content. Others, like me, feel guilty for crawling out of the gene pool with an advantage.

I do not care if I’m remembered. I care if I make my luck of the gene draw worthwhile. I want my luck to become a gift to everyone else.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m smart enough to realize all the problems of the world, but not smart enough to fix them. Not getting an “A” becomes emotionally devastating because I was made with a greater ability to get one.

Sure, my IQ is not what is going to put me into law school. It will not keep me alive through the trials and tribulations of the Peace Corps. But, I know it gives me advantages.

I do not think I will ever stop trying to achieve more and do better so I may earn my intelligence. However, I understand now more than ever that being smart does not give you a greater capacity to be happy. Moreover, it does not mean you will have the best relationships or make the best choices.

People oversimplify intelligence. They strip away the significance of the 100 billion neurons in each of our brains.

“It has always seemed to be odd that we like to call the human brain the most complex known object in the Universe, yet many of us are still prepared to accept that we can measure brain function by doing a few so-called IQ tests,” Roger Highfield, director of external affairs at the Science Museum in London said.

I’m done wishing I was dumb so my brain would stop thinking, or brilliant so I could fix the world. Life is here, but not for long, and it really does not care what numbers you throw at it.