I assume I’m below average (2010)
We should distinguish having above average mental faculty, and above average skills.<p>I vastly overestimated the impact of the former until university. Engineering classes kicked everyone's asses. Everyone was equally smart, but some people studied harder than others.<p>On the other hand, I know I am well above average at certain things because I've been doing them for many years. I have an above average interest in those things, and put an above average effort into learning them.<p>This is also true for other people. My dad is an average dad, until you ask him about cars or motorbikes. I knew he <i>liked</i> cars, but I didn't get to appreciate the breadth and depth of his knowledge until I started wrenching on vehicles. He spared me the details out of politeness, because I wasn't into cars. Now, he doesn't spare me, and it turns out he's a mechanical grandwizard. It was right under my nose this whole time.<p>I suspect most people are like that. They are average, except at one or two things. We tend to judge others based on the one or two things <i>we</i> value, and fail to appreciate them for what they're good at.