Do you get annoyed when people call you "smart" or "bright?"?

Question

I get all A's and B's in school and I am pretty "creative." Adults trust me. But when ever someone gives me a compliment ("You're so good at art!") or particularly when my parents say I'm "bright" I get really annoyed and even mad. I'm not sure why; I think I just don't like to be put above everyone else, or maybe I just want to be like everyone else (if I do want to be like everyone, I don't currently know it), as I've never been part of the "in" or "cool" group or whatever you want to call it. Anyone have a similar reaction?

Answer 1

Yes! I have the exact same reaction. I think that a lot of the time when people call one "smart" or "bright" almost seems condescending. I also get all A's and B's in school and when my American History teacher went into a giant rant over how "smart" I was and how I was such a "beacon of hope" in the class it really embarassed me; however, it wasn't because I found her saying it to be condescending; moreover, it was because she was putting me above everyone else in the class and making them seem like they were lesser. Generally being called "smart" or such gives the illusion of being infallible. In some cases, it is almost setting you up to fail. Additonally, I don't think it is right to label people people by the perceived range of their intelligence because people change. For the same reasons a teacher or parent wouldn't go so far as to describe you as "dumb", giving you the inability to change, they should not label people as "smart." There are many, many other positive adjectives to describe people. The afforemention is why I, personally, am not fond of the term.

Answer 2

I can prove I'm smart - I'm in Mensa (top 2% of IQs in the world - although I actually tested in the top 1%). But you know what I don't like about people knowing I'm so intelligent? When they say, "Oh, she's smart." to explain why I did something so well. It's as if I didn't work at what I accomplished. As if it all came easy to me.

Sure, being smart gives me an edge. But trust me, there are a lot of people in Mensa who never accomplished very much -- as far as other people are concerned. One of my favorite Mensa T-Shirts says, "If I'm so smart, how come I'm not rich?" And it's true. You can have the highest IQ in the entire world, but if you're lazy, or not interested in what other people think of as "success" it won't do you one bit of good.

I've had jobs that took every bit of great thinking I was capable of and made wonderful money. But you know what? I wasn't happy. So as soon as I finished paying to put my sister's youngest child through college, I bailed. I'm now a lawyer's assistant. I made around $45,000 a year instead of the $100,000+ I used to earn. But I work only 8 hours a day. I get to go home and kick back and not worry about all the responsibilities I'll have to deal with tomorrow. I love it.

Now I just use my brains to answer questions on Yahoo. Now is that scary or what?

Answer 3

I know how u feel. My friends call me smart and other names relating to that. I don't like them calling me smart cuz i don't really feel smart. I get all A's pretty much. Except in math (i'm in HS-u know higher math). My friends only call me smart because i get A's in every class except math but i mean it's not that hard to get an A. All you have to do is well do you're homework. I got C's on my tests but A's on my writing assignments and I still passed. That proves my friends wrong.

Answer 4

No, I like compliments like those...it raises my self esteem and pushes me to do better to get more "your so smart" and "bright" comments. Also, I like that people trust me and come to me for help because of said compliments.

Answer 5

Nope I actually take for a compliment