Because they are surrounded by stupid people?
Why aren't smart people happier?
401–410 of 651 posts
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#402Being pulled aside by management because your desire for correctness and high quality got you in trouble when you wanted to correct project management kind of sucks. Having your “ah, that’s probably easy” attitude makes you seem arrogant and as if you want to “show off” - even if the thing objectively speaking IS easy to you and even if you could do a better job in less time than your colleagues.
It’s a blessing but when people are envious and agree that your gift is just arrogance from ignorance, then the blessing turns into a curse.
I can solve virtually any technical challenge that I am presented, given enough time (usually 1/10th the time needed by my colleagues) and yet I seem to get in trouble more times than others for the reasons above.
(For ref. I work in IT as probably most here, with an IQ of 135+, i.e. top-1%)
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#403Might 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…
Don't most people have their own base level of happiness? Some people are just always happier than others, regardless of circumstances. It's a personality trait.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#404Might 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…
> What makes people happy?
Wellbutrin
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#405Being pulled aside by management because your desire for correctness and high quality got you in trouble when you wanted to correct project management kind of sucks. Having your “ah, that’s probably easy” attitude makes you seem arrogant and as if you want to “show off” - even if the thing objectively speaking IS easy to you and even if you could do a better job in less time than your colleagues. It’s a blessing but…
If you find yourself getting in trouble, maybe you are solving the wrong problems?
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#406I think beyond a certain level surplus IQ begins to cause problems. While still useful, the amount of self-sabotage and thought spirals the brain can generate with the extra power can cause neuroses and unhappiness on a larger scale than those less intelligent are capable of. Combine it with higher societal expectations and it's no great mystery to me why smarter people seem unhappier. Just my thoughts anyways. I'm a…
It's a double-edged sword. A properly disciplined person is capable of great things according to the measure of his intellectual power and his discipline. However, without discipline, that extra horsepower can be a force multiplier for error, and more intricate rationalizations can make it easy to lodge yourself in a web of false justifications. This is one reason why the ancients and the medievals always emphasized…
Idk about the modern meaning of virtue but doesn't "virtus" in roman mean something like "bravery" and "manliness". (Probably cognate to sanskrit "vIryam"
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#407Why are unhappy people constantly trying to convince themself and the world, that it’s because they are smart.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#408Might 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…
Don't most people have their own base level of happiness? Some people are just always happier than others, regardless of circumstances. It's a personality trait.
For me it is a state of mind.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#409The more you think, the more you can see how many things can go wrong
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#410I think a common misconception is that smart people are not happy. I think a lot of people who'd like to think of themselves as smart end up chasing this identity instead of being happy. This doesn't seem to be all to smart to me.