Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why aren't smart people happier?

experimentalhistory.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 515 posts

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#391

Post by entropicdrifter »

yibg wrote: post #235
naasking wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is the ability to solve well-defined problems really different from the ability to solve poorly-defined problems? It seems plausible. For instance, would a good accountant (well defined problems) necessarily make a good physicist (poorly defined problems)?

Well at least I didn't see any evidence that says a good accountant would make a worse physicist than a bad accountant. So the assertion that people that are good at solving well-defined problems are not as good at (or at least has no correlation with) solving poorly-defined problems is not well supported.

So, there's some known correlation between IQ and creativity/divergent thinking ability. This article: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.0025...

Seems to indicate that the threshold hypothesis (IQ helps creativity/divergent thinking up to a point, then levels out in correlation) is largely correct

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#392

Post by stcredzero »

nickff wrote: post #382
stcredzero wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm not the author of the parent comment, but I think you may be taking the message too far. > "Short of saving their lives from imminent physical danger, at some point, one must leave others "to their fate."" I think it's good to help people who are going through challenging periods in their lives. The key to limiting one's efforts is that the problems need to be temporary ones, and the 'assistant' should take on a…

The key to limiting one's efforts is that the problems need to be temporary ones, and the 'assistant' should take on a supporting role, not a leading one.

Sounds like we agree, actually. At a certain point, one must leave others "to their fate" good or bad. In certain matters, we can only help. It's up to them to actually do the work, if they can or if they will.

In other words, it's not healthy to be committed to controlling that which one cannot control. Especially if it's another sentient being.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#393

Post by renewiltord »

One model we could use is the hedonic treadmill plus normal distribution of baseline happiness across IQ. That would lead to uncorrelated happiness vs. IQ.

But I think I find that second assumption hard to justify.

Thanks for the thought pattern about "well-defined" vs. "ill-defined" intelligences.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#394

Post by shepherdjerred »

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…

I think Seneca addresses this well in 'On the Shortness of Life'[0][1].

Essentially we are very wise with our money -- we don't just give it away freely, because it is of value to us. We aren't as wise with our time -- we give it to anyone that asks. If you're frugal with your time -- no longer giving your time to others except when you want to, your life suddenly becomes longer and more effectively used.

Of course there are a few missing puzzle pieces like what is worth spending time on, how do you motivate yourself to fill this time, etc.

[0]: This is what I read: https://smile.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/...

[1]: Free online: https://www.forumromanum.org/literature/seneca_younger/brev_...

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#395

Post by cannaceo »

nescioquid wrote: post #358
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…

> "regular people" tend to coast along on the back of others as a way of life...many will route their problems to a "smart friend" The human animal's basic survival strategy is cooperation. I'd imagine your "regular people" friends should be willing to help you out with something not readily in your power (e.g. house-sitting). Because you are intelligent, you get a certain kind of request; if you had a big truck or b…

My experience has been that when you go to call in these favors you get to encounter that person's boundaries. Often their boundaries are that they don't like to help in the same way that they ask for help.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#396

Post by snapcaster »

numbers_guy wrote: post #388
suoduandao2 wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the loneliness problem, that isn't as intractible as I used to think it was for us Venusians. In my case it was largely an issue of getting my emotional algorithms right, which requires effort that isn't quite intellectual effort - but intellectual capacity certainly helps understand what the new version should look like. If you're interested in solving this problem for yourself I would recommend the book '…

I know I can work on my social skills. The compounding factor that ruins my chances is that I also am not physically attractive. So I get very few chances to practice my social skills. This whole getting few chances in the first place is what is making me unhappy and making me feel lonely. And before you ask, I do put a lot of effort into meeting new people. Thanks for the book suggestion, anyway.

What have you done to stop being unattractive? Unlike the common copes I think attractiveness is one of the most important attributes for a person in determining how the world treats them. Depending on how much money you have there are a lot of options for changing it

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#397

Post by hinkley »

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…

I think it is harder to convince smart people that their illusion of control is just an illusion. When you’re a dope you get smacked in the face by your limitations and you give up, or at least you’re easier to manage by the people around you.

I think there are also a lot of smart people that aren’t pegged as smart because they’ve let go of controlling everything, and we mistake lack of engagement for lack of capacity.

We have a friend who has a very aw shucks personality. A mutual friend and I have twice had a conversation about how she might actually be the smartest person we know, and I say that as someone who has a fondness for thinking they are the smartest person in the room. She is scary intuitive, the person people talk to about problems, she is a terrible movie companion because she guesses the ending ten minutes before I do, which is usually ten minutes before anyone else does. But she never made a career out of being clever, which feels like such a waste. I worry that it was beaten out of her at a young age. Girls aren’t supposed to be smart. You should be pleasant instead. If not that then I get some subtle ADHD vibes and it’s a common pathology to desire anonymity, a coping mechanism for passing as normal.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#398

Post by wizofaus »

Going by the comments quite a few didn't actually read the article fully. Happiness isn't even a particular focus, just that "how to live happily" is an example of a poorly defined problem that is different to the well defined problems "smart" people are good at. It doesn't rule out the possibility that one day such a question might be well-defined and solvable, which is an intriguing thought.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#399

Post by smileysteve »

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…

Time is one cost, but ignorance is the other;

"Smart People" (and the above is an example) often are not only knowledgable, but actionable, across a variety of subjects.

Leading to unhappiness is frustration that others choose not to or are otherwise incapable of this knowledge or action.

But especially when you hear "I wish I could do what you do" from people who have had more impetus, more opportunity, or have invested more than you.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#400

Post by powerhour »

wizofaus wrote: post #398

Going by the comments quite a few didn't actually read the article fully. Happiness isn't even a particular focus, just that "how to live happily" is an example of a poorly defined problem that is different to the well defined problems "smart" people are good at. It doesn't rule out the possibility that one day such a question might be well-defined and solvable, which is an intriguing thought.

You don't need to read the article to be triggered by "smart people" articles. It really brings out the anecdotes.
Post reply on HN