# I'm too low IQ to have hobbies, talents, or interests



## meco1999 (May 28, 2011)

I think my IQ is too low to have hobbies, talents, or interests.

I tried video games. There really aren't any genres of video games I'm decent at. When I try to play ANY game I find that it quickly gets way too hard and complicated. So I just watch people play video games on Twitch.

I'm a poor reader, and my attention span is too low for audio books. I don't have ADHD or dyslexia though, just a short attention span.

Tried to learn guitar, piano, drawing, painting, and golf, but was too stupid to even get past beginner lessons. Just too complicated. I'm not interested in anything now. The problem with that is nobody wants to be friends with a talentless, unintelligent person who doesn't have any interests. I haven't had any friends (either in real life or "online") in 22 years.

You guys are lucky that you might have social anxiety, but at least you're intelligent.


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## rabidfoxes (Apr 17, 2016)

For someone with a low IQ, you sound analytical and methodical. You're sure you're not just talking yourself down? It might not be the IQ. Maybe issues focussing? If you get distracted easily, welcome to the world of 2021. I know people who can't watch a movie if it's longer than 30 minutes.

Kids have mad gaming skills these days, they train from the cradle. I can't play pretty much any games where I can't control the pace. I can't listen to audio books. I've been 'learning' guitar all my life and I can't play a single song. Oh, I also tried and didn't move past the beginner level of playing the piano, drawing, painting, pottery, baking, tai-chi, stencil-making, sticker-making, sewing, gardening, teaching, accounting, doing qualitative research, playing tennis, playing badminton, swimming and so on. That's a lot of things to suck at! Oh god, I forgot my very expensive Toxicology textbook, I got through like 5 pages. By your standards my intelligence should be something akin to a houseplant's 

Another alternative could be that you're comparing yourself to others instead of enjoying the activities you're doing. You actually sound like you have an inquisitive, creative mind as you've dived into all these different things as a complete beginner. It doesn't matter what your skill level, that's interesting in itself. I draw like a five-year-old but if I draw, I can have fun drawing alone or with someone else, even if they're way better than me. If you see what I mean.

Out of curiosity, what do you do all day now that you've decided that you suck at everything?


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## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

The way I see it, one is only good or great at a respective hobby if they commit enough time and effort to get good at it. Some people with natural talent might need less commitment of such to get good than others. But overall, everyone will still need prolonged commitment of such. 

I am in the same situation, where I am never good or decent at any hobbies I've dabbled in, because I seldom commit to them. Although I like to say, I am only good enough where it makes me enjoy my hobby. At the end, that's all that matters to me. Because I don't really like to look at hobbies as a competition anymore. Just good enough that makes me enjoy them.

While I don't think any relevant or worthwhile people really would care about how good someone is in a hobby as criteria to find someone interesting or someone worthwhile to want to socialize and associate with. The people that do however, I would see it as a flawed logic of sorts.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I don't think that's really a thing. Most people have things they like doing which are hobbies, they don't have to be complex or socially valued or even something you're good at and they're supposed to be fun you don't have to excel at them. If you don't have a hobby it's probably related to mental health issues, depression and social isolation which also kills cognitive ability and attention span btw. But meh don't take my word for it, here's a genius:










I don't watch people play games often tbh compared to other videos but when I do it usually inspires me to want to play games or make content, and I'm definitely not skilled at most games. I enjoyed speed running Spyro but my record was 3 hours lol far from the world record but it's still fun and you can compete with yourself as well which is more productive.

Also I have issues with motivation and attention span as well.


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## Starcut83 (Feb 13, 2021)

I know some very talented people who I wouldn't want to be anything more than acquaintances with due to their attitude.

You can always _change_ your outlook on things.

Like others have said, hobbies are activities you find enjoyment in. It doesn't matter how good you are but also like anything, with practice, you will get better. I think the problem many have with finding a hobby isn't failing, failing is a part of success and the idea of failing at a hobby is only due to the expectations you put on yourself, it's the giving up that's the problem.


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## either/or (Apr 27, 2020)

It sounds like you're choosing hobbies that are very difficult to learn and then getting frustrated when you don't intuitively take to them. The activities you listed can take years of regular practice to build proficiency and I'm sure the initial phases of that practice are very dull and unrewarding. I don't think it has anything to do with your innate intelligence. You probably need to find some easier or more enjoyable hobbies or develop a means to power through the boring initial phases of learning a more difficult hobby.


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Hobbies are just things you're interested in - intelligence doesn't really come into it. I've been into rare books for a really long time and it doesn't really require any great intellect - I just like them. But I'm not into it all the time - it varies. It's nice to have it in the background though - I can just pull a couple of lovely old books off the shelf and admire them every now and then.

Every now and then I sell some too - or more accurately I buy and sell. That's sort of a skill set all it's own. As with everything with me though it sort of depends on my mood and how I'm feeling. The internet has really helped with that actually - I can take my time and "work" when I feel up to it.


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## Yulp (Nov 14, 2021)

You seem very intelligent from what I've read in your posts. As far as learning something new it's like anything it takes practice itmhas nothing to do with intelligence


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## Unforgiven17 (Apr 15, 2016)

I'm jealous of people who can find things they genuinely enjoy doing. I have a short attention span and I have never had the commitment to learn something like an instrument. Not being good at things straightaway frustrates me. 

I'm working on this and would love to find something I can do just for enjoyment. Im 35 so I can just about remember not having 24/7 accessible technology (phones, tablets etc...) a million TV channels (we had just 4 TV channels until I was 10). I think this has a lot to answer for, I can spend hours doing absolutely nothing enjoyable/fulfilling/productive on my phone/watching TV but yet why can't I get lost in a hobby I enjoy??? But I don't remember being as bored as I am these days. I used to draw and read for fun, but thinking about finding an enjoyable hobby seems impossible and pretty exhausting. 20 years ago if I was bored I would check all 4 channels and then get up and find something to do. Now I just get my phone out and browse the same places over and over again. What a waste of time! 

By the way, I can tell from your post you are far from having a low IQ.


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## strange_world (Jul 13, 2021)

Well I'm not intelligent or multi-talented.

Whenever I want to try something new I'm feel like I'm really having to battle against something - depression, low-self esteem, overcompetitiveness, fear of failure - that stops me trying new things. It doesn't help that I can't sit still and have no attention span.

When I decide to cook or write songs I have to struggle mentally against myself to get it done. It's not something I enjoy, I absolutely hate doing my hobbies. I get stressed and bored and feel awful. I just make myself do it and accept I'm not going to have a good time.


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## Socialmisfits (May 14, 2021)

@meco1999 You are most likely my twin brother I have never known.


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## EmotionlessThug (Oct 4, 2011)

I also think that I don't have the skills/intellect for any talents or hobbies. I tried playing Street Fighter V online on PSN and one of the players criticized me, so I watched streamers play Street Fighter V on Twitch instead. I tried picking up on writing as a hobby, but the people insulted my grammar or confronted me about my words not being clear. I applied for jobs over and over and walked up to asked the employees about how to get the job, but they all told me to apply online or fill out job applications. I never had a job before or an income of my own since I graduated highschool in 2012. It seems to me that people avoid me and they all have a nasty belief about me to prevent me from being part of society. The people are responsible for triggering my anxiety making me very self conscious about myself and my environment. I don't feel welcome by the people in society at all.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

There are/have been a ton of very smart people on this forum. I am not one of them.

My hobby is watching people achieve the things I can't and being happy for them. It may not work for everyone but it's rewarding enough for me. Let's say there's something I wish I could do but I just can't. If I can find someone on Youtube who's doing it, chances are that their primary motivation is to share their joy with everyone else. They're not keeping it all for themselves. They're showing people how to do it (if it helps) and if not, they're just trying to make other people happy.


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## Manooffewwords (Jun 25, 2015)

I watch Youtube all day and rarely some movies which help me occupied but now I'm having chickenpox and can't do anything. Mostly lay down and feel bored.

I like hiking in mountains, playing tennis, golf but it doesn't exist here. I can only play online.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I wish i was smart like you say but sadly im part of the dumb club. I'd beat on myself a little more but ill spare you lol. But then i can go read yahoo questions and feel pretty smart.

And hobbies need persistence, the more you do them, the better you get. Everyone has a talent or two, you just have to discover yours.

As for games, well nothing wrong with playing on easy or using cheat engine lol. Sometimes that's more fun than struggling through legit.


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## caelle (Sep 9, 2008)

I've tried several things too and don't really stick with any of it. I don't think watching youtube videos or tiktok videos counts as a real hobby.
I still try to dabble in reading once in awhile but it's so much effort. Since I don't really have hobbies or interests, i'm very boring to talk to so I can relate to that.


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## CNikki (Aug 9, 2013)

If you're able to articulate your post this well then I doubt that you have a low IQ. Sometimes the worst critics for when we feel like we fail at things can be ourselves. Nobody is skilled at anything 100% over night and sometimes people acquire things faster than others. Unfortunately for something that is considered normal we are disregarding them as such for the sake of a fast-paced, glamorized society.


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## pillbugger (Dec 9, 2021)

I let my brain rot due to years of isolation. I feel like an idiot that might never recover... I recently blanked out and stared at a receptionist as she was explaining something (the poor gal probably thought I fell in love with her on the spot). I constantly think to myself: wouldn't it be great to pause real life like in a video game or movie to process what someone just said before you reply? I constantly wish I can turn on subtitles in real life, so I can better comprehend what the words that leave their mouths are supposed to be.

They say that it is best to start learning music at a very young age (due to brain plasticity or whatnot)... yet, here I am, a few months in with learning how to play the keyboard on my own.
I dropped out of school (and society) and never got my high school diploma, or my GED. I am not musical. I am extremely picky when it comes to absolutely everything - including music.
Yet here I am, on my own, fumbling away at the keyboard, trying to wrap my head around this music thing. It's definitely not as fun as playing video games, but this tardy idiot hopes that eventually it gets to the same level of enjoyment as he improves. How fun would it be to create my own music one day?


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

In my experience, I think it is always harder to learn things when you're stressed out. It might seem a bit clueless for someone to tell you to just try to be happy and things might go more smoothly. Whatever the circumstances of your life are, that's what they are. If you can control them and you want to control them, then do so. If you can't control them or you don't want to try, don't stress over it. Just make your decision and move on from there. The important thing is not to be constantly spinning your tires (inside your mind) because it will mentally wear you down. The more frustrated you get, the less clear your thinking is going to be. Or at least that is my experience. If I think back to times in my life when I learned the most, it was times when I was not either forcing myself or being forced by others. I was just following the natural flow that came from exploring. If something became so difficult that it was harming my mental state, I just gave up on it and went in another direction.

IOW, if you're trying to move on to something new, your mind can't still be back there where you chose to put that down and go someplace else. Otherwise, if you have tried a million different things and you're trying to start on something new, you're going to have the weight of all those other things on your mind while you're trying to start fresh.

I personally don't try to do anything challenging when I'm not in the mood for it. Usually when I'm in a bad mood, I just go to bed and sleep it off.


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## meco1999 (May 28, 2011)

Thanks for your helpful replies. I’m probably not actually low IQ, but I’ve been insulted as stupid many times in the past (in real life, not just on the Internet). And I still fail at every hobby or interest I try that involves any kind of mental ability.

I always used to wonder if I was too unintelligent to have friends. I still wonder sometimes. Or is it because of my appearance, or I’m boring, or I can’t think of things to talk about (and can I not think of things to talk about because I’m stupid?).

I think this "I'm stupid" kind of thinking stems from me being called stupid by people in the past. For instance, before my senior year of high school I had a 4-week summer science research internship at a hospital where my mentor (a 29 year old woman) called me "stupid" everyday to my face and other insults. She would say every time I made a mistake "We're going to stupid town today, aren't we?" I was too shy to say something back to her or stand up to her, plus that probably would have made her hate me even more. She completely hated me for no reason. I did absolutely nothing to her, I always tried to be nice to her. I complained about her to her boss, but her boss didn’t care and made us keep working together. Sure, I made mistakes sometimes, but that was my first time doing science research in a real lab setting, and I was only 17. I think she did some permanent damage to me. Just one of many people in my lifetime so far who have done permanent damage to me.

Plus, in college I felt dumber than everyone else (I factually was dumber than most people there). Three professors insulted me as stupid to my face. One professor told me she didn’t want me in her class because “I don’t like bottom feeders in my class.” I was scared of everyone (including the students) and scared to ask for help with coursework. I graduated in the bottom 10% of my class, despite trying very hard. My bad reading skills probably contributed to that. That really hurt my self-confidence and confirmed in my mind “I really am stupid and incompetent.” Plus, I made zero friends in those 4 years of college living on-campus. I had several roommates three of those years, but they ignored me and rarely spoke to me. I ate alone every single meal (except a few times) during those 4 years and was ignored in the dining halls. And then after I graduated from college with no job (with an economics degree no less), I had to move back home to my mom’s apartment (my dad died when I was 10 and I don't have siblings). It took me 18 months to finally find a job that would take me as an employee, and my salary was only about $22,000 a year (full-time 40 hour a week office job, year was 2005). I had zero, zilch help finding a job. More damage to my self-confidence. And then my co-workers and boss started making fun of my quietness at work all the time…


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## CNikki (Aug 9, 2013)

Sorry to hear about those incidents. Professors should be encouraging students, especially if they are trying, rather than bringing them down and not answering questions. If it weren't for their students they wouldn't be having a career and tenure to begin with. I remember one professor I had back when I went to my two-year who passive-aggressively implied that not everybody was meant for college, and I had a feeling they were referring to me since I didn't start off so great and had a low GPA. I'm sure there had been other incidents aside from high school and below but I cannot think of them right now. Not everyone obtains a four-year degree so don't be harsh on yourself since you still persevered on doing so.

Have you considered to see if there are any possible learning disabilities? Perhaps if you struggle with reading, mathematics, information obtaining, etc., that cannot be explained by other factors? Sometimes it can be overlooked for a variety of reasons. Keep in mind that just because a person has a learning disability does not indicate that they are 'stupid'. The brain is just wired a little differently and there's ways around it while accepting this. 

Anyhow, I hope that you can find peace within yourself despite the past and that you can find answers if you feel like there is something wrong. I still stand by my statement that you don't seem to have a low IQ. It's simply unfortunate how disregarding people are when they show slightest of difference in how they function and therefore it discourages on trying things.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

I feel like I kind of have the opposite problem. A lot of people seem to assume that I'm smarter than I am. And no amount of evidence to the contrary will convince them (So I usually don't bother trying. Sometimes I will try to explain it to people but they just clearly don't get it. Which probably just further proves my point. I'm not even smart enough to explain how dumb I am to someone else in a way that they can comprehend what I'm saying). I don't know if they think I'm just playing dumb or what. I wouldn't say I'm the dumbest man alive in every possible way but I'm certainly highly limited in some very crucial ways that most people take for granted. And I think sometimes the fact that they've never "been there" mentally, they just can't imagine it and think the person must be making things up or imagining it or not trying hard enough.

I wonder if they'd trust me to design a bridge they have to drive on.


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## zonebox (Oct 22, 2012)

Some people go out of their way to reach the same low levels of IQ that I have attained. Drugs, alcohol, religion, social media, they are all used - but they will never know the power of the stupid..


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## rabidfoxes (Apr 17, 2016)

CNikki said:


> It's simply unfortunate how disregarding people are when they show slightest of difference in how they function and therefore it discourages on trying things.


I agree with this 100%. I also have a feeling that this situation is improving, albeit at a snail's pace. I recall a time when neurodiversity wasn't even a thing, at least in my environment.

@meco1999 You've met some mean people in your life and it makes sense that you feel terrible, that would get to anyone. It seems to me that the world is full of those people, who often behave the way they do in response to their own fears, trauma and low self-esteem. I have also worked with someone like that: the nicer I treated her and the harder I tried, the more openly hostile she was to me. Sometimes I was so upset I'd cry at home after work.

Something that jumps out at me is the recurring idea of 'permanent damage'. I've been told that it can be dangerous to label things that way because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. They've done damage but it doesn't have to be a life sentence. We are often stronger than we think. With effort and the right kind of therapy, I believe you could repair the damage and be free of their malign influence.


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Some excellent replies in this thread. I'm sorry you've had such a rough time OP - and I agree with @CNikki - it sounds like maybe you have a learning disability? Having those horrible people at College treating you like that would only make things much - it was very rude and insenstitive of them.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I just saw this image posted somewhere and it reminded me of the discussion about your mentor/teachers in general.


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## altghost (Jul 13, 2012)

meco1999 said:


> I think my IQ is too low to have hobbies, talents, or interests.
> 
> I tried video games. There really aren't any genres of video games I'm decent at. When I try to play ANY game I find that it quickly gets way too hard and complicated. So I just watch people play video games on Twitch.
> 
> ...


Man, I hope you're able to understand how much can change in a year or two. Especially because someday in the future, it will get harder to learn and grow-- nobody is getting younger. I always struggle with this, myself.

Attention span can be fixed. It takes a while to bounce back after too much binge-watching (god forbid you do that with youtube, or worse, Tiktok). Reading skills can be improved, again with time. Um, lemme just save time and say that if you spend time (like 1-5 years) on anything, you're going to improve yourself and be in a better position than if you do nothing for that same time frame.

Friends are a really tricky thing, and yes, you're no longer a kid and you have to figure out how to click with people. The only thing I can say for certain is that the absolute best chance you have of making friends is to find something you can like, and can pursue to the point of excellence. 

It's worse than pointless to disparage yourself and identify with being a "talentless, unintelligent person who doesn't have any interests." It actively hurts you every day and over the long term and can and will destroy your life. Stop it.


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## christacat (Aug 6, 2010)

hobbies and interests only cause more trouble for me, i'm not meant to like anything


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