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Why aren't smart people happier?

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Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#251

Post by My_Name »

I think firstly, we should figure out what exactly we mean by happier. If we eliminate things like being more content, satisfied, at peace and so on, happiness is a surprisingly ephemeral thing to try to define.

Is it a long term feeling, or a short term one. Many long term feeling of happiness are covered by peace, contentment etc. If we consider short term feelings of happiness, I think smart people have just as many of those.

And that's all without diving into the rabbit hole that is defining what smart is. Is it doing well on an IQ test, is it making the best decisions for long term future outcomes based on your current situation, is it being able to hold more complex thoughts than others can and draw logical conclusions from them, is it being able to interact with other people and either get them to do what you want, or get them to do what will benefit them the most but they are resisting.

The simple 5 word question is, on some level, so complex as to be almost meaningless and without merit. Except to make stupid people feel better about being stupid because they can think "Well, I may not be smart, but I'm happy", although the most unhappy people I have ever met have mostly correlated with the most stupid ones.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#253

Post by ruszki »

lordnacho wrote: post #108

A few thoughts on the matter: - Happiness is fixed, perhaps. Short-term, it isn't (coke and hookers work!). Long-term, it is. People fall back to a baseline. So then, being smart doesn't help you. - Dumb people might be misreporting their happiness. So smart people are making themselves happier, but all the studies are done on self-reported happiness, and the dumb people report that they are happier than they really…

What do you mean on baseline? Generally speaking, I’m definitely less happy post COVID, than before 2020. I met the first utterly broken, toxic person in my life, whom I allowed to hurt me. This is on top of all the bat shit crazy things happened with me that year, and not just because of COVID. I’m a different person since then. My baseline definitely moved, as I mean.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#255

Post by lovich »

inglor_cz wrote: post #157
CodeMage wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you say cocaine makes those people happy?

Yes, at least some of them for some time. I remember an old addict speaking of cocaine as if it was his only true love. Waxed poetical about it, the way we remember our first kiss. Seems that at least some people are wired this way.

He’s a comedian so it might just be a bit but Bert Kreischners comments on alcohol fit that description

https://youtu.be/MljeQzcmUfE

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#256

Post by tonymet »

it's a correlation not a causation. "smart people" (actually just over achievers like those who excel at aptitude tests or collect diplomas) tend to be overly contemplative. Dwelling on things rarely resolves them, and usually just leads to angst.

If your contemplating leads to resolving the issue in the near term -- by all means carry on.

But for most people, their brooding over their relationships, family history, achievements etc only leads to misery.

Focus your efforts outside of yourself.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#257

Post by My_Name »

tibbar wrote: post #250

People sometimes describe me as a "golden retriever." I.E., I present as quite upbeat. 50% of that is just nervous energy, but the rest might just lie in having a poor memory. I can experience something quite negative, even traumatic, and basically forget about it once it goes away. Still, I used to experience periods of intense negative emotions which basically stopped when I started taking meds. I think, as time go…

I have found that partly, happiness is greatly helped along by just not remembering, or not thinking about, the things that make you miserable. On a Buddhist level, just living in the moment you are in, surrounded by the things and situations you are in, without dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, lets you be much less miserable than you could be. Often, the place you are in right now isn't that bad.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#258

Post by kaicianflone »

hn_acc1 wrote: post #230
kaicianflone wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure - How clever of you. It’s also the world’s largest religion by far. That alone says something about how deeply the message of Jesus resonates across cultures and centuries. Billions of people have found truth, hope, and transformation in Him. Not because they were born into it, but because the story holds up when you actually look into it.

There are those of us who were raised to believe all that and truly believed it for years, and then, when we actually looked into it deeper, it all fell apart and became impossible to continue to believe.

What do you mean?

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#259

Post by FloorEgg »

zdragnar wrote: post #84
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…

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…

Satisfaction is reality minus expectations.

"Smart" tends to be used such that includes intelligence (rate of learning) and knowledge (how much is known).

Satisfaction comes from accepting what is outside our control (accurate expectations), and making continuous progress/improvement on what is within our control (our own perceptions and actions).

Intelligence and knowledge maybe don't correlate as much with wisdom as one would expect. I have met people who learn slow and don't know much but are very wise, and satisfied.

Lastly, happiness is always fleeting. Happiness can't be enduring, but it can be blocked by ego and high expectations. Satisfaction can be enduring, but correlates with virtuous actions, not intelligence.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#260

Post by Findecanor »

thewebguyd wrote: post #13
mensetmanusman wrote: post #3

Because we are defining smart incorrectly.

I don't think so, at least judging by the definition in the article >"Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for…

If we compensate for physical factors such as blood sugar, hemoglobin, pollution etc. and stress factors that disrupt concentration, I believe that we have all the same potential to train ourselves to be good at things that are called "smart". But they are just that: what people recognise as being smart.

As to stupidity... That is not a trait. That is not on a scale. That is a lifestyle choice — because it makes life easier.

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