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Why aren't smart people happier?

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Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#141

Post by throw0101d »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #87
zdragnar wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I heard someone say, happiness is your reality minus your expectations. Smart people see more variables that could be changed, more components that could be modified, and are less likely to accept things as they are. This creates a false sense of ease by which reality could be modified, and thus higher expectations for the world around them. I suspect this misplaces happiness and contentment, but the two are also…

Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that.

> Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that.

Your choices, (in)actions, and perceptions are things that can cause the release of said chemicals.

Your intelligence, as well as abilities and habits, can effect how (or even whether you can) do or do not do things.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#143

Post by no_wizard »

Mouvelie wrote: post #75

Are smart people even fulfilled ? How many smart people work on industries they can't wait to quit ? On problems they don't even care ? I feel like everyone within 2-standard division of the IQ mean is still susceptible to the never-ending that being rich and having money is all that matters instead of, I don't know, supporting life on the only habitable planet we know.

It makes one wonder why we didn't and continue not to steer our systems to reward supporting life on the planet vs being a destructive force.

What drives us to this short term consumption model

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#144

Post by monkpit »

jfengel wrote: post #23
mfer wrote: post #7

Two thoughts.... First, being intelligent (as defined in the article) doesn't relate to being happy. There is nothing inherent about being intelligent that means happy. Second, our society spends a lot of time shaping culture and people to extract value from them. For example, the focus on "more" rather than "enough". We are shaped to always desire more and never be content with what we have. Even intelligent people…

One would like to think that intelligence leads to making choices that bring more happiness. If that doesn't work, various hypotheses come to mind, but I don't know how to test them.

That’s a bold hypothesis!

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#145

Post by chermi »

kaicianflone wrote: post #60

This answer might upset some people, but it’s really about balance. Spiritual healing is something many intelligent people quietly need. Too often, “intellectuals” dismiss the Bible outright. Relying on arguments they half-remember from TikTok or high-school debates instead of actually reading it and forming their own conclusion, like they would with any other subject. I’m just a developer, but I think intelligence c…

Way to set up a false dichotomy. I agree with the "cleverness" and the pride people take in not being religious, it's silly. But there are many forms of religion/spirituality. At the end of the day, you're just pushing the Bible here, which isn't very admirable. Maybe instead you could encourage people to explore spirituality instead of a specific religion that you probably follow only because of where you were born. At least you didn't say we're going to hell if we don't, I guess.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#146

Post by t-3 »

bluGill wrote: post #46
mfer wrote: post #7

Two thoughts.... First, being intelligent (as defined in the article) doesn't relate to being happy. There is nothing inherent about being intelligent that means happy. Second, our society spends a lot of time shaping culture and people to extract value from them. For example, the focus on "more" rather than "enough". We are shaped to always desire more and never be content with what we have. Even intelligent people…

> There is nothing inherent about being intelligent that means happy. Why aren't intelligent people doing [able to do] things that make them happy? Or at least happier that someone who is less intelligent?

People are more often trying to avoid being unhappy than trying to be happy. People who prioritize doing things that make them happy are called drug addicts usually.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#147

Post by jstummbillig »

Ardon wrote: post #53

Might be useful to ask a different question: What makes people happy? It's things like relationships, satisfying work, accomplishment. (and many, many more) Then the real question emerges: How many of those happiness 'sources' are made better by intelligence? What percentage? Relationships? Seems like no. Work? Also seems like no, lots of work doesn't make use of a high IQ that people enjoy nonetheless. Accomplishmen…

> How many of those happiness 'sources' are made better by intelligence?

Well, theoretically all of them, depending on how you define "intelligence" and, oh boy, if the last 3-ish years have taught me anything, it's definitely not that.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#148

Post by B-Con »

Ardon wrote: post #53

Might be useful to ask a different question: What makes people happy? It's things like relationships, satisfying work, accomplishment. (and many, many more) Then the real question emerges: How many of those happiness 'sources' are made better by intelligence? What percentage? Relationships? Seems like no. Work? Also seems like no, lots of work doesn't make use of a high IQ that people enjoy nonetheless. Accomplishmen…

> Asking why smart people aren't happier is a bit like asking why people who can jump high aren't more empathetic. There's no direct link between the two, you have to dip out to the material conditions.

I think the reason to expect a correlation is simple: Intelligence should produce a better ability to recognize patterns and identify the most useful ones. In a chaotic world, the things that can lead to a desired outcome are not always clear. It takes time and reasoning to cut through the noise and figure out how to get things done. There is absolutely a reason to suspect that reasoning faster and abstractly would make this easier, and thus produce more overall rewards.

Anytime intelligence is not associated with something, I interpret that to mean the topic is likely not a "hard" min/max problem.

Turns out, most of the human aspect of life is not a hard min/max problem.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#149

Post by boogieknite »

tfa makes a point about how 21yo self will answer the question differently than 30yo self based on different perspective alone

for a bachelor-degree-state-school-midwit like me if someone asked me if im happy i can choose to scrutinize and evaluate a real answer. if i were 14 and had just eaten lunch the answer would come right out as "yes"

i never think about happiness. i have fun and i have obligations and balance them

during obligations i use a trick to act happy: i just fake it. i call it "my good time hat". if anyone at work asks how i am, my default answer is an enthusiastic, "great!" the obligations are the same but go much more smoothly when everyone outside thinks im having a good time

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#150

Post by inglor_cz »

dpe82 wrote: post #119
koakuma-chan wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that.

The widely held notion that happiness (or lack thereof) is simply the result of chemical (im)balances is one of the greatest PR victories of the pharmaceutical industry.

Well, people consume cocaine for a reason. But I understand your objection. It is a bit reductive to think like this.
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