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Why aren't smart people happier?

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Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#341

Post by [deleted] »

gorjusborg wrote: post #177
pdamoc wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pleasure is not the right goal. Homeostasis, balance, equanimity, peace are much better. Learn to appreciate beauty. Learn to create beauty. Learn how to get better at both.

> Pleasure is not the right goal. Homeostasis, balance, equanimity, peace are much better. Along with these, sustainability. Imagine finding balance and peace, but seeing clearly that the tools and techniques used to get and stay there are temporary. Pretty unsettling. We have to get there in ways that are long lasting and unlikely to change radically.

[deleted]

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#342

Post by nazgulnarsil »

This question generally presupposes a misunderstanding of the physiological purpose and phenomenological experience of happiness. Happiness by its nature is not sustainable. Contentment and well being with a high happiness surface area and a low suffering surface area is sustainable. This does not look very dramatic from the outside, and is poorly captured by many metrics. Neuroticism might be one of the best psychometrics, with most people experiencing only a small decrease over a life time, with some experiencing a very large one.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#344

Post by eastbound »

jlarocco wrote: post #304
Apreche wrote: post #40

The smarter people see the truth of the world and the universe. If the truth was good, that we lived in a wonderful society with wonderful people in a universe that cares about us, smart people would be so happy. But being smart just means you know the awful reality of things. Congrats, you learned about all these awful things you can’t do much to fix, and the reward is you get to experience existential dread. Congra…

On the other hand, I don't think it's "smart" for a person to ruminate and dwell on problems they can't change, especially not to the point that it has negative effects on their life. The way I see it, we're all going to be dead in 100 years, and life will go on without us. It's not my place to solve every problem in the world, and in the grand scheme of things, my life is very unimportant, so I might as well relax a…

There are problems that are due to others. And they wreck your life. Being known as a pedophile when you’re not, it’s a problem worth solving. Because you can’t really live your life.

Those who dwell, think that people can change.

Those who don’t dwell on it, just accept the various other accusations, he stole this and that you know because he’s a pedo etc.

I wager that those who believe they don’t dwell on things, have never had real problems.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#345

Post by davidguetta »

necovek wrote: post #61
davidguetta wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and even more because "intelligence" alone doesn't even help you climb to the highest positions. People, especially on forums like HN, tend to mistake being 'intellectual' to actually 'intelligent'. There are various ways of being "smart" and being good at math and code is only one of them (Emotional intelligence, relationship intelligence, intelligence in career) etc... People who say 'Iam so smart' are usually…

The article covers this as well: the author claims that studies show that all of those different intelligences correlate, so it is not very useful to categorise them individually. The thing that is a main driver to "climbing to higher positions" is usually desire and motivation, which is a cultural trait. Intelligence has a high correlation because there are plenty of motivated people across all levels of intelligenc…

> The article covers this as well: the author claims that studies show that all of those different intelligences correlate, so it is not very useful to categorise them individually.

I would strongly doubt that they correlate tbh.. where would the "virgin math genius" cliché would come from ?

I have been versed into various socio evonomic and hobby environement over my life, and have met natural geniuses in several unrelated fields (sport, math, chess, boxing, military, art, entrepreneurs /investors, emotional connections and / or sex). I can assure you i didnt not observe such correlation.

At best what ive noticed is how some of them would be clueless about their gift, and pretty average on the rest.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#346

Post by sanroot99 »

dusted wrote: post #34

I'm not especially smart, or happy, but, personally, I don't know how to be it, or what it feels like. I know pleasure, but being in a constant pleasurable state is not what is meant by happiness as far as I know. Slavoj Žižek (someone who does seem to be especially smart): “Happiness was never important. The problem is that we don't know what we really want. What makes us happy is not to get what we want. But to dre…

This is what i completely agree

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#347

Post by FFRefresh »

Jensson wrote: post #308
whatsreal wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another commentator pointed out you seem entirely focused on consuming. Yes, I can see where this gets boring. I am less apt to visit Reddit because I've seen the same posts dozens of times. I am not apt to watch many movies or shows for the same reason. But life boring because consumption becomes boring? Nothing could be further from my experience! Instead of a focus on consumption, or even a focus on creation, I…

But isn't it boring knowing roughly where you will be in a year or two? It isn't like fishing or cooking are unknown territory, the skill curve is very easy to look up so you know roughly what you will be able to cook or what kind of things you will do when you go fishing. When I learned physics or programming that altered my worldview, many other things I've learned like play tennis didn't give me anything like that…

This view is really interesting to me.

It seems like you are hyper-focused on ends/outcomes. And if an end/outcome of a pursuit isn't completely novel, unpredictable, or result in you being the best at the pursuit, then what's the point? Is that an accurate summary?

I wonder whether there's a higher level view that really prioritizes status seeking, and that a life should be valued based on outcomes/production. And if you can't produce things at the level of the best, what's the point?

If that is the case, I've certainly had those thoughts when I was younger, and I would offer to consider giving yourself a break. Release yourself of expectations of being the best/most novel/etc. Give yourself permission to be a flawed human. Focus on enjoying the little things, focus on the present. Focus on the journey, not the end. We're the self-aware universe, we're so lucky we get to experience things as we do, let's enjoy the ride while we can. And contrary to what you're hinting at, there are an infinite number of possibilities/knowledge to gain. To think us humans have answered all of the questions of conscious experience and the universe (and what may lay beyond) is incredibly naive.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#348

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

pauldenton wrote: post #317
googlryas wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's even less evidence for the idea that smart people see how bad reality really is... Even dumb people know there are "kids starving in Africa", and people beat their wife and kids in their home town.

Yes, but dumb people think those problems can be easily solved, and smart people think about the second and third order effects. A dumb person will think sending free food will solve the problem, and a smart person will realize that will negatively effect food production as local farmers cannot compete with free

> and a smart person will realize that will negatively effect food production as local farmers cannot compete with free

Or it'll be seized and hoarded by corrupt governments or militias.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#349

Post by stcredzero »

throw__away7391 wrote: post #272

I have noticed that a lot of/majority of "regular people" tend to coast along on the back of others as a way of life. If "smart people" are perceived by friends and family as being problem solvers, many will route their problems to a "smart friend", someone who seems to have their life somewhat in order or always have the answer to everything. I used to get an endless stream of requests for everything from technical…

it comes at a high cost, especially as you can end up spending so much effort on "friends" that you neglect to solve or even recognize your own problems.

This is a valuable insight. At some point, even the closest to you are their own individuals. Short of saving their lives from imminent physical danger, at some point, one must leave others "to their fate."

I have come to realize recently that I don't actually have any friends, only dependents.

This is not either-or. There is a friend-dependent spectrum. Also, how you might evaluate this is strongly affected by your own personality. The closer you are to the "dark triad" in the space of personality traits, the more skewed your perceptions will be towards the "dependent" viewpoint.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#350

Post by whatsreal »

Jensson wrote: post #308
whatsreal wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another commentator pointed out you seem entirely focused on consuming. Yes, I can see where this gets boring. I am less apt to visit Reddit because I've seen the same posts dozens of times. I am not apt to watch many movies or shows for the same reason. But life boring because consumption becomes boring? Nothing could be further from my experience! Instead of a focus on consumption, or even a focus on creation, I…

But isn't it boring knowing roughly where you will be in a year or two? It isn't like fishing or cooking are unknown territory, the skill curve is very easy to look up so you know roughly what you will be able to cook or what kind of things you will do when you go fishing. When I learned physics or programming that altered my worldview, many other things I've learned like play tennis didn't give me anything like that…

I can see the argument. I hope I'm not mischaracterizing is by saying your position is something like: because I can look up the best and what that looks like it is boring to strive for it.

The difference for me is I haven't experienced what it is like to be good. You know how an olympic gymnast makes insane feats of body control appear easy? I have no idea what that feels like. (and I never will, in my upper 30s I am beginning to lose flexibility needed, not to mention I have no desire to put in the effort in that area.) I don't know what it feels like to fight a 70lb halibut in the north pacific. Sure I can watch someone do it, but to have the skill to do it, to have the experience of catching a massive fish is entirely different than watching someone else do it.

yeah, someone else does it better. (In fact I'm watching Richard Gene the Fishing Machine on Youtube as I write this. I'll never be a fisherman like him. ) The difference is doing as opposed to watching. I have all sorts of second-hand fun watching youtube. But I have so much more fun when I make my own accomplishment. My fish may be smaller and objectively less interesting than the one I saw caught on YT. But the experience of doing is radically different than the experience of watching. I find doing much more engaging.

If I were you I'd look for something that you like to do. Doesn't have to be fishing, that's me. Maybe you like to crochet or program, cook or build. Whatever it is, find something that makes you say "hey, I did that. cool." and go with it. That's where living is!

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