Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:53     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Couple of masters degrees, IQ - 155, find some of DCUM to be quite entertaining. Try to be helpful in my posts which vary in length and time taken to respond. Fine motor skills are subpar so frequently hit by autocorrect when responding on my phone. Agree that the DCUM has gone downhill a bit over the past few years, but still entertaining and sometimes useful.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:42     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That’s why DCUM is a much better place than Reddit.


+1. Although the quality of responses has declined considerably in the last several years. I miss the days when DCUM was mostly full of highly educated DC-area posters.


+1. A lot more trolls with simple responses like “you idiot.” Old DCUM would have wit with their insult.


Those are the loquacious ones. "Idiot" is sufficient.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:40     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:Many of us have been on DCUM longer than 15 years. I started in 2004 when it was still an email listserve.


+1 2002 or 2003!!
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:15     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
I got a 780 on my SAT’s, barely graduated hs, went to a mediocre community college. But I was raised in a family of high achievers, and have always read a lot.

A lot of people mistakenly think people lacking formal education are dumb. I hold my own .
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:13     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
I am in MENSA.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 09:05     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:That's why it's the only generalist messaging board I frequent. I haven't found another one like it, and I've lived in multiple countries.

It's just the nature of the DC area. It attracts cerebral types with advanced degrees that come from all over for their work. DC is a white collar town of subject matter expertise. Boring in all other respects, unless you like geeking out over patent law or whatnot.

No, you don't need to know my IQ.


Many of us are not from DC. In fact, I’ve never been, although not proud of this.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:55     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That’s why DCUM is a much better place than Reddit.


+1. Although the quality of responses has declined considerably in the last several years. I miss the days when DCUM was mostly full of highly educated DC-area posters.


When I first found DCUM I was delighted with the content and the intelligence behind postings. It's gone downhill.


Unless you have been around for 15+ years, this is what everyone says about every online community. I can guarantee you there were plenty of crappy posts/discussions back then, they just eventually get buried (as witnessed by people bumping some really dumb/divisive threads found via search engines).


Many of us have been on DCUM longer than 15 years. I started in 2004 when it was still an email listserve.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:52     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
I use grammar cleanup and other tools to form intelligent communicationsn after grunting text into a field
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:51     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:Another book writer here. I am here mostly bc I have a procrastination problem. But also I sometimes see posts that genuinely move me. And sometimes I get glimpses into people who think and approach the world very differently than I do, so that’s interesting too.


I'm also a book writer -- same on procrastination (it's actually alittle helpful to write words into these little boxes) and because seeing people's unvarnished anonymous thoughts is completely fascinating.

IQ tested in middle school and was 147.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:49     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Two of the smartest moms I know IRL are also frequent DCUM commenters (I know because we have commiserated about how this is our guilty pleasure that we can't quit.) Women with Ivy degrees and Phds.

Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:46     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That’s why DCUM is a much better place than Reddit.


+1. Although the quality of responses has declined considerably in the last several years. I miss the days when DCUM was mostly full of highly educated DC-area posters.


When I first found DCUM I was delighted with the content and the intelligence behind postings. It's gone downhill.


Unless you have been around for 15+ years, this is what everyone says about every online community. I can guarantee you there were plenty of crappy posts/discussions back then, they just eventually get buried (as witnessed by people bumping some really dumb/divisive threads found via search engines).
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:35     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That’s why DCUM is a much better place than Reddit.


+1. Although the quality of responses has declined considerably in the last several years. I miss the days when DCUM was mostly full of highly educated DC-area posters.


When I first found DCUM I was delighted with the content and the intelligence behind postings. It's gone downhill.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 08:01     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That's why it's the only generalist messaging board I frequent. I haven't found another one like it, and I've lived in multiple countries.

It's just the nature of the DC area. It attracts cerebral types with advanced degrees that come from all over for their work. DC is a white collar town of subject matter expertise. Boring in all other respects, unless you like geeking out over patent law or whatnot.

No, you don't need to know my IQ.


Agree. I’ve lived in multiple countries and multiple parts of the US and haven’t found a board similar to it anywhere else


Years and years ago Lonely Planet mantained a forum like this called Thorn Tree but I broke it.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 06:14     Subject: Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Anonymous wrote:OP it can be a bit lonely much of the day for high IQ types. I know someone here will match or push my thinking. So an odd, erratic community that allows me to feel seen.

From Wikipedia:

An IQ difference of more than two standard deviations (approximately 30 points) can lead to challenges in effective communication and interaction, as it may create significant gaps in understanding and cognitive processing. Generally, individuals with IQs that differ by this amount may struggle to relate to each other's perspectives and problem-solving approaches


My DH laughs, but this is why I’m rooting for regression to the mean for my kids! There’s definitely an inflection point beyond which added IQ points make life harder, not easier.

And OP, thanks for pointing out why I keep coming back here.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 06:12     Subject: Re:Wait, some of you on DCUM are really smart!
Why thank you OP.

Assuming that you are referring to me of course. 😉
Lol.

Writing is my strong point - - I am awful w/anything having to do w/math + science.

I like to use correct spelling, even in my everyday text/email messages.

My (adult) children do not and it drives me crazy.
……………………………………..
Example:

Me: Did you get tickets to the game tonight?

Kid: oh yaay kk