The Swedish band "The Ark" has a wonderfully named song: "It takes a fool to remain sane".
Why aren't smart people happier?
471–480 of 651 posts
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#472It’s because everyone else is dumber than them…. So they constantly see avoidable mistakes and misunderstandings that could have been avoided…. Yet they cannot make the other people understand….because they think differently about it, and the people who don’t have that intelligence will not necessarily even be able to reorient their brains for the new information to be absorbed correctly. I constantly get demoralized…
You just sound like a misanthrope. If you’re so smart, why are you surrounding yourself with stupid people? Is it possible you’re not as smart as you think, and in fact, just as fallible as the rest of us?
To be fair, if you are significantly smarter than the average, surrounding yourself with stupid(er) people is the default, as the majority will be less smart than you
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#473Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
But then there's cases where an intelligent person can devise a perfect plan to reach happiness. Do the right habits, sleep, diet, exercise, relationships, therapy, medications, do everything according to science that should make us happy. But still never be "happy" or feel "satisfied".
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#474Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not true at all: 1) more intelligent people are happier (author of the blogpost cherrypicked 2 studies, one of which in fact showed that iq is positively correlated with hapiness. 2) IQ negatively correlates with neuroticism. 3) In fact IQ correlates positively with almost every positive facet of human experience - https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2212794120
Being on the tail can make you feel very alone. Especially as a child you can end up having only sparse, if any, access to anyone that can meet you in conversation. If you happen to be adopted then you can be alone in your family too. In some cases they are not only unmet but ostracized, vilified, or attacked for being "weird", able to see things that make people uncomfortable, or ask questions that break people's wa…
Your reply reminds me of a work situation at a prior start up.
CEO seen as brilliant. On the tail in your words.
I was talking to head of sales about the CEO and his statement was this: these types of people are the easiest to manipulate.
Not exactly what you said but similar idea. It’s stuck with me that the smartest person in the room might also be the most vulnerable in numerous situations. That doesn’t mean I prefer lower IQ. But it’s helped me normalize how I communicate with people.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#475Because they have an easier time knowing and assessing how fudged up everything is.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#476Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s really not fixed; you can easily train your mind to be less neurotic and more joyful
It really is wild the degree to which you can simply dictate your own mood. If I catch myself feeling grumpy or down, it is pretty easy to reframe and summon genuine happiness. Even during intense suffering of various kinds. To a large extent you get to decide which universe you live in.
This sound like Barney from How I met your mother.
But are you sure it isn't your general mental state that is able to handle it? E.g. the chemicals in your brain allow you to reconfigure yourself like that?
I haven't been able to reframe anything, even though years of therapy, however I have been in different states, that I think are clearly introduced chemically.
E.g. I go running, I get a high for 20 minutes, I feel like I can handle anything and I'm on top of the World, however after 40 minutes I get a comedown and I despair everything. Unable to fight any of it.
Similar things with drugs. If I feel bad, I feel bad. If I feel good, I feel good. If somehow I am feeling bad and feeling like I could feel good again, it's probably because my chemical state changed to allow for that...
I feel like I'm slave to my chemical state, and my thoughts whether they are productive or not productive are coming after the fact, and I'm observer to all of it. When I try to reframe or fight the thoughts consciously it just causes unease and tension and will make it worse.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#477Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the Bay Area, I feel surrounded by such people. They solve imaginary problems to get a promotion. But they are competing with thousands of other, equally smart people, to also get promotions. So it's non-stop change for no reason, and wasting resources.
No reason? You even stated the reason "for promotion". It's OK if you are not aiming for promotions but don't judge others when they do.
It's ok to judge people for as a frivolous thing as getting a promotion. Just say directly that you want more money, one can respect that, but don't hide it under "I want to be higher on the totem-pole!".
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#478In my opinion the reason that intelligent people aren't happier is because we live in a world that caters to lower intelligence crowds. Think being above above average height and living in a world where everything is designed for people who are below average height.
The second reason is that society not only does not value intelligence; society values sub average intelligence. Most intelligent or even diligent people learned quickly that they will be harassed and bullied.
The last refuge of intelligence was academia, but academia does not want intelligent people. Academia wants people who will comply and play the funding game without rocking the money boat. Just ask Sabine Hossenfelder.
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#479I know this is not the definition of smart the article goes for, but even if you are truly smart and have life figured out completely, can someone who’s aware of the current state of our world be actually happy?
Re: Why aren't smart people happier?
#480I’d do anything for a single high IQ , but open minded friend.
I find every smart person I’ve met thinks the best strategy in life is to parrot other smart people.
Don’t get me wrong it can be a successful strategy but I want someone to do first principles thinking with.