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Why aren't smart people happier?

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Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#61

Post by necovek »

davidguetta wrote: post #22
willcipriano wrote: post #9

Being smart isn't enough, you have to be wise. Intelligence can help you climb to the highest positions in business and academia, wisdom allows you to understand that it isn't really worth it.

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 intelligence, so highly intelligent are better at succeeding at such well-defined problems.

Smartness is sometimes about well-educated or simply experienced and knowledgable. Eg. even if I was more intelligent, I'd trust a medical doctor because they have a vast knowledge and experience that I lack.

Still, the article makes a nice distinction between well- and poorly-defined problems. It's definitely going in the right direction, so go and have a read!

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#62

Post by klik99 »

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…

Serious question - how old are you? Anecdotally I’ve noticed smart people tend to have this attitude until their late 20s when it starts mellowing out.

Now I’m a bit older I see my smarter friends happier than anyone and the less smart just about the same as always

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#63

Post by sokoloff »

dusted wrote: post #48
alberth wrote: post #39

Shouldn’t the real question be “why aren’t more people happy”. Lack of happiness isn’t relegated only to “smart people”. My observation: managing stress related to ever growing amount of responsibilities (as comes with age), finances, and spouse can have a disproportionate impact on one’s happiness. None of which are tied to intelligence.

I don't think our society has any focus on happiness, it's not easily measured or produced and there's little proof that it'd benefit the economy.. I mean.. What if people suddenly discovered that enough food and shelter is available, that they could do maybe a days work a month and just walk around to smell the flowers the rest of the time?

There are many people for whom that is true (chiefly the retired). The ones who are physically able generally choose to do something marginally “productive” than continuously smelling flowers. (Perhaps that’s related to what got them to a position to retire, whether a work ethic, other personal mindset, or programming.)

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#64

Post by necovek »

roenxi wrote: post #38
willcipriano wrote: post #9

Being smart isn't enough, you have to be wise. Intelligence can help you climb to the highest positions in business and academia, wisdom allows you to understand that it isn't really worth it.

Being smart isn't a factor. You can be perfectly happy with a rice bowl and a robe, what is the intelligence supposed to help with?

Getting some rice into that bowl?

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#65

Post by goindeep »

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…

Naval has a great definition which I agree with. Happiness Is Peace in Motion Peace is happiness at rest https://nav.al/peace-motion Another less liked person, haha is that Andrew Tate knob, and while for a knob, he does have some good ideas, one of them is something along the lines of, I dont need to be happy, I dont even think about it, as long as there are no problems, I am happy, if there are problems I am unhappy, unless I am unhappy, then I would say that I am happy.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#66

Post by wiseowise »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #59
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…

Short term happiness is the wrong goal. The hedonic treadmill is one reason why. Long term life satisfaction is the correct goal. For example, having children decreases the former yet increases the latter.

> yet increases the latter

How?

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#67

Post by 2000UltraDeluxe »

"People are idiots" as Scott Adams wrote. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and people considered smart are usually surprisingly ignorant about things outside the areas where their strengths are.

Happiness is such a vague concept that it's hard to measure. It's hard to imagine why something like being good at would translate directly into living a happy life when most people's lives revolves around other things.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#68

Post by SnowHill9902 »

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…

If you are even smarter you can reprogram yourself.

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#69

Post by wanderingmind »

""" Point eight is enough. In fact I've concluded that it's really a good thing for people not to be 100% happy. I've started to live in accordance with a philosophy that can be summed up in the phrase "Point eight is enough," meaning "0.8 is enough."

You might remember the TV show from the 70s called "Eight is Enough," about a family with eight children. That's the source of my new motto. I don't know that 0.8 is the right number, but I do believe that when I'm not feeling 100% happy, I shouldn't feel guilty or angry, or think that anything unusual is occurring. I shouldn't set 100% as the norm, without which there must be something wrong. Instead, I might just as well wait a little while, and I'll feel better. I won't make any important decisions about my life at a time when I'm feeling less than normally good.

In a sense I tend now to suspect that it was necessary to leave the Garden of Eden. Imagine a world where people are in a state of euphoria all the time — being high on heroin, say. They'd have no incentive to do anything. What would get done? What would happen? The whole world would soon collapse. It seems like intelligent design when everybody's set point is somewhere less than 100%." """

-- Don Knuth

Re: Why aren't smart people happier?

#70

Post by pixl97 »

klik99 wrote: post #62
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…

Serious question - how old are you? Anecdotally I’ve noticed smart people tend to have this attitude until their late 20s when it starts mellowing out. Now I’m a bit older I see my smarter friends happier than anyone and the less smart just about the same as always

Could it be that 'smart' people have accomplishment or material gain later in life they are satisfied with?
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