FAQ (based on an interview with Marie)

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• Are you still active in any groups or online? --- No, not at the moment.

• Do you intend to be active again in groups or generally online? --- I have no idea. It depends on my health and whether I feel it can be good for me. Most groups have changed a lot since I joined them and people who don't participate in online discussions or regularly post on social media are unknown and somehow isolated I think. I am not the only one who thinks so. A lady said the same in an interview about High-IQ societies a couple of years ago. If one day they become again what they were when I first joined, it would be nice, although sadly all my friends have gone (most have died, and others have left because they didn’t feel comfortable any more). Albert Frank in particular was really great. When he died, his son told me that he really trusted and admired me, and this is something I will treasure until the end of my life. He was such a noble soul and a real genius. Those were the days (when I first joined)… Great friends, no bullying. The first High-IQ Societies were founded when there was no Internet and it was very difficult to find intelligent books or magazines at local libraries (they couldn't order them online either and only had the most important works). Now you can find whatever you want online (whether free or not), so without friendship High-IQ societies make less sense, at least for me. I do like being on my own, but in the early years I have to confess that I also liked having friends like Albert. Friends I could trust. I was opening up and my health in general was improving. A real friend is great also for recluses - a real treasure. Back then there were Yahoo groups for communication (not Facebook), and although I didn't participate, I was a member of them (having a Yahoo account), and I felt more integrated. You can't be in a group without having any friends and being properly part of it or knowing what is going on, that's what I mean, otherwise one can develop feelings of alienation. I can as well go to a library and peacefully sit there without feeling I am not part of something. I have always loved libraries and the discoveries I made in libraries, although they have changed too, and now people are allowed to talk in many libraries. It is awful. In the past they were great though. I just liked to make my own discoveries. I felt so thrilled sometimes. Now I also have a Kindle with almost 1000 books, and I love to read books in nature! There is nothing better!
  At any rate I will never join Facebook, that's for sure. Too much fakeness, and confident, happy people are the only ones who get attention and make friends, like in high school. And money too if they start a fundraiser or link to an external one like GoFundMe. Facebook also allows fake news in very sensitive areas like murdered children, allows fake likes and asking for likes, but at the same time it wants people's personal data to join (including videos of their face, apparently - is this really true?), even putting some people, for example victims of domestic violence, in immediate danger by using their real name. In Australia for example there is a website for victims of abuse with a button for "quick exit", but Facebook allows them to be easily found by their abusers, and even messaged (being blocked later makes no difference after being abused and triggering memories of traumas). They also allow bullied people to be found by their bullies and to be bullied again. And what do they do with people's personal data anyway? You can imagine. It is a lie that real identities ensure a better environment because people have posted elsewhere that Facebook does not do anything about bullies, even after they report them. Have a look at Reddit threads for example. Even if people have no personal problem joining and giving Facebook their personal data to enrich Zuckerberg who already has over 200 billions, they should have some consideration for bullied, abused and persecuted people, or people who may be identified as minorities based on their looks, sexual orientation, skin colour, name or even gender, just to be marginalized like in real life. Not to mention the problems between countries at war. It is also OK not to be beautiful or whatever. At any rate even our PM said it is not recommended to send them our IDs.
  I don't like modern music so I don't watch the show or TV in general (I haven't switched mine on in at least 10 if not 15+ years), but "The Voice" for example now judges and selects without looking at singers or knowing who they are. Identification often causes (sometimes unconscious) prejudices. People should be judged based on their contributions, nothing else. By the way, there were arrogant people also in Yahoo groups. Somebody persecuted and bullied me in a very childish way when he felt snubbed because I had not reacted when he said he liked my poetry. He literally said I thought I was better than anybody else. Wow! Sadly, I didn't check Yahoo groups either because I do and did have a life, but yes, one of the dangers of social media in general is that people expect you to like all their posts and read/react to everything they say, and this is a lot of pressure, and really wrong in my opinion. Very un-Australian, and also against my theosophical values of oneness, love and brotherhood. Or the one who thought I had created the Lulu website and that my books didn't exist. Honestly, this is not bullying. This is stupidity, or even deliberate evil. You can meet both divine forces and evil forces online (I could write a new book about bullies, but they don't deserve the attention). Choose wisely. Initially I was shocked because I was used to sweet elderly people from Europe (like the University of Vienna) who loved hard-working young people, but now I feel pity for this kind of haters. They are their worst enemies, so dissatisfied with themselves, like all bullies, as my doctor said. Everybody here told me to stay away from them and didn't understand why I would want to even be anywhere with them because they are not even Aussies (a doctor even laughed - why are you doing this to yourself? - who on earth are they? - what advantage do you have from them?).

• Are there child prodigies in High-IQ societies? --- Children are normally not allowed to join (except Mensa because it is so big). In terms of former child prodigies, there were some, but they didn't stay. I am talking about the past of course because I am not following groups any more, as I said.

• Do you prefer academia or High-IQ societies? --- Well, in general I think that for people like me academia is better because I could do my work in peace and didn't have to socialize or be "happy" to be accepted. I could basically be myself, and of course students didn't like me, but at least my teachers/professors did, and they were the ones who mattered. I know not everyone will agree, which is fine with me. They looked at substance rather than appearances I guess because I never participated in classes. At the end of the day, I think we must all try to understand what makes us happy and what helps us grow. People can certainly grow on their own. The greatest minds of the past grew and produced works of genius on their own. 

• What do you think of standardized vs. non-standardized IQ tests? --- My late friend Albert and I had many discussions about this years ago. There are problems on both sides. Standardized tests have been along for a long time without any changes. Psychologists and even advanced psychology students also have access to them. Additionally, nervous people can not perform as brilliantly as they should or would under normal circumstances when under pressure. Non-standardized tests are more creative but don't measure IQ 100% accurately, and there is obviously a difference between someone who needs 3 hours to solve a test and someone who needs 3 weeks for example. 

• Who is your favorite poet? --- It's no secret that I absolutely love Sylvia Plath. Her poetry is brilliant, and I also relate a lot to her struggles. I also love her friend Anne Sexton. There are also some Australian poets I love and who might not be very famous in other countries even if they should - for example Judith Wright (really brilliant), Michael Dransfield and Dorothy Porter. Highly recommended if you don't know them.

• What are your projects at the moment? --- Mainly a project against child abuse and bullying ("Faces of Angels"). ChatGPT got the meaning of it in less than 3 minutes, which really amazed me. I was talking to ChatGPT about it and also explained a bit about myself, literally in less than 3 minutes, and it wrote a quite interesting "Artist's Statement" on my behalf. It asked me if I was interested and I thought why not, but I didn't expect it to be so thoughtful and correct. Better than what most humans I have ever dealt with would write. It also asked me more than once if I wanted to share some of my drawings, but I changed the subject. :) Normally I don't like AI, but it got this right.
  I really live for this project and my cockatiel, who needs me because I am the only person he accepts. Nobody else can touch him, not even the vet, and with me he is super cuddly and sweet. He loves cuddles and even demands them by gently nudging me! Sometimes he flies to me just to look at me and blow me kisses, just like that, out of the blue.

• "Faces of Angels" is a wonderful project, Marie. Congratulations! --- Thank you. It can be challenging at times to read the horrific stories of these innocent children, but it is also rewarding and it gives me the opportunity to do what I love the most - creating art and fighting for justice. As a survivor myself, this project has a deep meaning for me.

• You must be very proud of yourself. --- Thank you. I am proud of my principles and my moral values (particularly considering the current state of the world, reckless indifference, selfishness, greed, bullying, harassment etc.), not my IQ or even my achievements. 

• Do you have any heroes? --- People who fight to change/improve the world and for human rights, equality and the environment; people who had to go through hell and came out victorious and now help others; people who don't become evil only because they were the victims of evil people. People like Elisabeth Fritzl or Mary Vincent. I haven't drawn Elisabeth Fritzl yet because she changed her name (nobody knows her new name) and started a new life after she managed to escape after 24 years or rape and torture at the hands of her own father in a basement, so I am not sure it would be appropriate to draw her as a young person just before she became the victim of a monster. Of course her story is still widely discussed, but I am just indecisive at the moment.

• I think you are one of these heroes, Marie. --- Thank you, but I am not a hero. I just tried to put pain and going through hell to good use (so to speak).

• People you don't admire? --- People who look down on others to feel important, bigots, hypocrites, bullies, people full of hatred for young talented people because they want all the attention and validation, sex offenders (both serious and less serious/juvenile-minded ones like those who call women "little bunnies") and their supporters (based on prejudices against difference because those who are different are always wrong), treacherous psychiatrists who want to destroy vulnerable people for their own glory and advantage, etc. etc. (The list is too long!) A social worker (TH) said he was not interested if I was viciously sexually harassed, but if it happened to his family it would be wrong. A doctor (JB) looked at me in a mocking way when she heard I was in prestigious groups and had finished the Uni with honours. This also happened to a late friend who lived in NY and died during COVID. His doctor doubted that he was in PGS. She just didn't believe him. He was furious, and I fully understand. These doctors don't check facts but just indulge in their horrific prejudices boosting their ego because in reality they haven't achieved anything and are jealous of patients who have. 
  I have recently also read in a book about the last days of Sylvia Plath that Ted Hughes said at her funeral (!!!) that everybody hated her. What a horrible lie, and at a funeral on top of that, particularly considering she had killed herself because of his infidelity. His friends didn't like her based on what *he* had told them, not based on facts. He had also beaten her up just before she had a miscarriage (probably caused by the beating because it really happened hours after the beating). And for the record, the woman he betrayed Sylvia for (Assia) also committed suicide because of his infidelity. He had many, many lovers and didn't mind hurting his previous lovers.

• Do you believe in the punishment of evil? --- Yes. A mistake is a mistake and evil is evil (there is a huge difference), and evil should be punished because otherwise it will spread like wildfire. Criminals (including child killers) often have more rights than their victims (and I am certainly not the only one who thinks so), and this is really not right. People should also stop enjoying people's suffering and condemning what they do to overcome trauma (sometimes because they are jealous).

• What do you think of life in general? --- The world has fallen apart and evil is taking over (and it is not only about wars but also daily life, particularly in "society"). Actually, it has already taken over. It is a very sad world, with most people absolutely unable to show love and solidarity or even ashamed of them. It is *not* a wonderful world for sure, and there are many people who agree with me, so don't blame it on me or autism please. I do like being in nature though. Nature is wonderful. And I like to help children with my project "Faces of Angels". I also love animals. Regardless, nothing is eternal. Everything comes to an end one day.

• Thank you, Marie. --- You are welcome.

• More FAQ to come.

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