Current Events > Did you ever grow up thinking your parents were the smartest people ever..

(+) Yeah! (+)

Only to realize that, when you reached mature adult hood, they were the complete opposite?

Yeah, Im dealing with that right now

---

I never really associated intelligence with my parents. Idk. They certainly navigate life better than I do though.

---

Not quite, I could tell they had a lot of problems. But I did find things about them interesting. In certain fields they are smarter.

Idk, I guess my opinion has remained pretty static

Only until I very easily surpassed them both.

---

And when you get a bit older still, you realise the apple didn't fall that far from the tree.

---

I thought they were stupid, but I also thought "well I'm just a kid, there are things I don't understand so I might be wrong".

Nope, they really were always stupid.

---

I definitely did. It was probably between 5th and 6th grade when I started noticing that they struggled helping me with my math homework and that they had hit their own peak in math ability. It was kinda shocking as I had them built up in my head as knowing so much.

---

My father is a smart man, but he is the laziest fuck I have ever met in my life.

Im just having one of those mind blown moments and its depressing me. I can see all of the stuff that he didnt do for my mom over the years


---

Zanzenburger posted...

I definitely did. It was probably between 5th and 6th grade when I started noticing that they struggled helping me with my math homework and that they had hit their own peak in math ability. It was kinda shocking as I had them built up in my head as knowing so much.

It wasn't even for academia, for me; I was some kind of wunderkind and put in advanced classes far beyond anything my parents remembered from school. Just things like "we spend way too much money on junk food while saving to get a car" and "you guys fight when you drink, why do you keep drinking"

---

i mean i dont think they're dumb, but human. they make mistakes.

---

Zanzenburger posted...

I definitely did. It was probably between 5th and 6th grade when I started noticing that they struggled helping me with my math homework and that they had hit their own peak in math ability. It was kinda shocking as I had them built up in my head as knowing so much.

Why did it take me until my 20s to realize any of this?

wait, dont answer that.

---

Guide posted...

Just things like "we spend way too much money on junk food while saving to get a car" and "you guys fight when you drink, why do you keep drinking"

Those sound more like addictions or vices rather than an intelligence thing. They probably knew those things weren't good for them but it's not always easy to break a bad habit.

---

No I still think they're a lot smarter than most people.

No, I knew I got my stupid from somewhere.

---

No, I grew up thinking everyone was stupid to some degree. Including myself. I was always told I was wrong, and boy was it great to see that I was more right than i even knew once I became an adult.

---

Oh, you said mature adulthood
MedeaLysistrata posted...

---

omg no

I'm smarter than my mom. I own a home. She still doesn't to this day. I ordered a Tesla Model 3. She doesn't even have a car anymore. She has a bicycle. That makes me sad. :(

---

Oh yeah, I'm realising a lot of problems stemming from a fucked up upbringing.

On a more wistful note, there's a great How I Met Your Mother scene where Marshall is recounting a story about his dad in the wake of his death. The first part is here:

https://youtu.be/j0wfV_RQ7pc

And I can't find the second part.

The second part is a mental conversation Marshall is having with his dad where he reveals he never knew what was out there in the darkness. He just put on a strong front and hoped for the best.


---

I did know what was the Elite but I though they was real good. Which they was. They weren't my parents btw. They was my Brothers and Sisters.

---