High IQ, Insanity, and denial (an experiment)

[Warren Whitmore]

My wifes aunt is a genius as are her husband and children. Over the past 5 years she has suffered 3 major strokes. She is disfunctional but does not accept this fact. She is in a lock down facility in a nursing home. Tries to escape constantly. She has "picked" the security locks which are easy to pick. Yet failed the kitchen test by attempting to reach into a pot of boiling water to remove an ear of corn.

To make a long story longer she failed every single competency test at the nursing home. Then her son gave her an IQ test in which she would still qualify for mensa and I wonder...how does the brain work?

[Darryl_P]

Sounds like she had strong emotional or physical needs early on in her life that required IQ test-type stuff to satisfy and since so much of her energy was used to develop those parts of her brain, there wasn't enough left to develop the everyday stuff properly.

Am I close?

[Darryl_P]

I think Paul Erdos, the famous number theorist, also had similar issues. Tying shoelaces and peeling fruit were quite difficult for him, according to a biography I read.

[tek]

To use a bad comparison, the nerves, neurons, synapses, etc work like electrical wires and get short circuited from strokes.

My mother had a couple of mini strokes earlier this year before she died. When the pain medication that she had been taking for a car accident (from many years ago) would wear off, she couldn't formulate sentences and would get frustrated. When a new dose of pain medication kicked in she could speak perfect.

However, she would sometimes forget what year it was and drift between 1945-1965. One day she would think she was late for a job she had in the 1940's, another day she would think I was in grade school and ask her nurse to call me in for dinner. Another day she would be completely here...

[Warren Whitmore]

very interesting, thank you

[David Sklansky]

"Sounds like she had strong emotional or physical needs early on in her life that required IQ test-type stuff to satisfy and since so much of her energy was used to develop those parts of her brain, there wasn't enough left to develop the everyday stuff properly.

Am I close?"

I doubt it. What percentage of people with this affliction have mensa IQs? I'm guessing it is about the same as in the general population. It wouldn't surprise me if it was smaller than that.

[Darryl_P]

True, but I never suggested that a mensa IQ had any correlation (positive or negative) with the condition.

My theory is that a stroke weakens the brain in all areas, but it has a lesser visible effect on areas that were better conditioned and a greater one on those which were not so well conditioned.

An assumption in my theory is that environmental factors in childhood and adolescence can contribute greatly to having a mensa IQ in adulthood, particularly in women, and where such factors played a big role, the observed phenomena are possible (or even expected).

Of course I don't know for sure if my theory is correct, but I will believe it until I see evidence to the contrary.

[ QUOTE ]
An assumption in my theory is that environmental factors in childhood and adolescence can contribute greatly to having a mensa IQ in adulthood

[/ QUOTE ]
The generally accepted theory is that future adult IQ is set by the time you're between 3 and 5. Anything you do after that makes little difference. Sorry I don't have a link, but it's standard psychology.

Sorry to here that. /images/graemlins/frown.gif
Shooby