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Why aren't smart people happier?

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Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#551

Post by hearsathought »

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…

> It's things like relationships, satisfying work, accomplishment. (and many, many more)

That's the point. Smarter people tend to have more stable relationships, satisfying work, accomplishments. ( and many, many more ).

> How many of those happiness 'sources' are made better by intelligence?

All of them. You get better jobs with intelligence. You achieve greater accomplishments via intelligence. And your relationships tend to be better because you are in a far better position intellectually, socially and financially.

> There's no direct link between the two

You are contradicting yourself here. There is a direct link to the criteria you listed - relationships, satisfying work, accomplishment.

> Smart people are better able to create the outcomes they want > They select outcomes that make them happy > Their environment makes them happy > Smart people are happier.

No. The problem is that intelligent people eventually realize that all of it is fleeting and utlimately meaningless - relationships, work, accomplishments. (and many, many more).

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#552

Post by yibg »

cortesoft wrote: post #165
zdragnar wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

There was a movie a while back that talked about what makes people happy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_(2011_film) It had some interesting ideas, and one of the things that stuck with me is the idea of your brain being a "difference engine" in that the variation is what matters. If we don't experience pain, we can't experience pleasure. It seems a bit simplistic when stated that way, but I think there is somet…

I'm not sure hedonism in that sense isn't a valid desire provided it can be safely sustained. Imagine there was a substance that made the user happy, without any of the negative side effects or tolerance. I'm not sure that would be a bad thing to take. The issue with the drugs today isn't so much their pleasurable aspects, but the physical dependency, risk of overdose, eventual tolerance etc.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#554

Post by somenameforme »

foobarian wrote: post #508
somenameforme wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd take a different answer to this question: philosophy. In times before Abrahamic religion developing or adopting a life philosophy was seen as a practical obligation for a man. This is where you saw the rise of everything from the Pythagorean to the Stoics. It seems that the rise of Abrahamic religions is what largely brought an end to this and mandated a sort of one-size-fits-all philosophy for everybody. Now in…

> collapse of fertility in developed nations My pet theory is that once societies stop enslaving women, enough choose not to bear children to skew the stats below replacement level.

People overwhelmingly view the ideal number of children to have as way more than we're having. [1] So people are likely choosing to not having children for other reasons.

[1] - https://news.gallup.com/poll/694640/americans-ideal-family-s...

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#556

Post by Yoric »

chermi wrote: post #118
zdragnar wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I think smart people are told much more often as kids how bright of a future they have. So they build up expectations of "succeeding" in some sense (becoming a doctor, getting rich, etc.). These are the sort of expectations you mention in your quote. Not only is there often pressure put on you if you're smart, you adopt those expectations yourself. Or at least hold yourself to that standard. Of course, being smart do…

> Then there's also the fact that high achievers often hold themselves to unrealistic standards even if they "succeed", so they also struggle to be happy.

Can attest to this. By most accounts, I've "succeeded" much better than I expected, even as a former "gifted" kid. But I'm far from happy, either with myself, with my jobs, or with the fact that I'm not doing more for the world. I've left jobs that looked great on paper because they left me unfulfilled intellectually, only to end up in jobs that were worse.

I'm at a stage at which I actively fear my next job changes because 1. I'm getting close to the ageism barrier, which will limit my choices, especially in the current job market; 2. I suspect that working on something too boring could drive me to suicide.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#557

Post by Yoric »

yibg wrote: post #534
jebarker wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me this has 100% been the main source of unhappiness in my life. I wish nobody had ever told me how smart I was as a child. The reality was that I was above average but in an unremarkable collection of kids mostly. I’ve done fine in life academically and career wise but I’ll never live up to the expectations that were planted in my head. Thankfully you can get over this/yourself and let go of ego, ambition, achie…

I think easier said than done. I was similarly labelled as "gifted" as a child and have struggled my entire life with being ok with where I was, in academics, career even romantic relationships. Looking at what I've accomplished and obtained, they're objectively better than average along pretty much every dimension. But, I still struggle to be satisfied. I know this is a me issue, but I also don't know how to change…

I can definitely relate. If you find a solution, please ping me :)

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#558

Post by petesergeant »

hirvi74 wrote: post #535
petesergeant wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What makes people happy? Wellbutrin

I have an opportunity to try this, and I am absolutely horrified at the prospects. I've just got a bad feeling about it. Plus, I am on a medication that is quite dangerous to mix with it, so that further complicated matters. What's so good about Bupropion?

> What's so good about Bupropion?

GSK reps were calling it the happy, horny, skinny pill for a while.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#559

Post by rafaelero »

hearsathought wrote: post #551
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…

> It's things like relationships, satisfying work, accomplishment. (and many, many more) That's the point. Smarter people tend to have more stable relationships, satisfying work, accomplishments. ( and many, many more ). > How many of those happiness 'sources' are made better by intelligence? All of them. You get better jobs with intelligence. You achieve greater accomplishments via intelligence. And your relationshi…

Yeah, I suspect the reason the author didn't find a relationship between IQ and happiness / life satisfaction is probably because those studies were overcontrolling for intermediate variables. If money makes us happier and people with high IQ make more money, you will underestimate the relationship if you control for income.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#560

Post by plopilop »

A long time ago I read "the good Brahmin" from Voltaire: https://www.online-literature.com/voltaire/4411/

Basically, the story goes that the good brahmin, for all his wealth and intelligence, is miserable, whereas the stupid beggar down the street is very happy. While the brahmin accepts that the beggar is objectively happier than him, he would never swap places with her.

It made me realise that the quest for intelligence is fundamentally different from the quest for happiness, and even to this day I still take the story in consideration when making life choices. I do not believe that intelligence forbids happiness, simply that if you spend too much time trying to be right, you don't spend enough trying to be happy. Of course trying to be right can make you happy, but in the general case you always need to remember to take a step back.

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