Why Intelligent People Tend to Be Unhappy

Awesome. Thanks for mentioning this John =)

An open invitation to all the readers here, you are very welcome to answer the interview questions on your own blog. If you do not have a blog, I would love it if you would share them in the comments here, or over at my site under John’s interview.

Enjoy! =)

“[Too] smart to be happy.” That is actually a good way of putting it. I agree that society’s lack of appreciation for intellectual values tends to isolate intelligent people.

There is, I think, much more to it than that. Often intelligent people are simply unable to enjoy the bliss that accompanies ignorance (which would include blind acceptance of a society’s core values.)

The semi-autobiographical novel “Steppenwolf” by the Nobelist Herman Hesse illustrates this point beautifully.

Steppenwolf is an amazing book. I read it last year and strongly identified with the main character, although my suffering/isolation is much less extreme.

From my observations, intelligent people often have a tendency to over analyse certain people, situations, etc.

The ability to “switch off” and just enjoy the moment is a key to happiness in my opinion. This is completely different from ignorance btw.

I would agree with your point about over analysis, especially if you tend to over think potential problems and can’t appreciate positives.

Definitely different than ignorance, but I also think the point about ignorance helping people be happy is valid. Imagine, for example, someone who has no idea about the U.S. economic problems compared to someone who is constantly fretting about it.

thanks for the interesting post! i think highly intelligent people are sometimes unhappy because they are more aware of stupidity and absurdity around them…. best, brad

I believe the interests of intelligent people cause problems for them as well. While many intelligent people may be interested in some of the same topics, it is difficult to find social activities associated with them. Thank goodness for dorkBot!

On the other hand, there is no end to non-intellectual social activities (especially for women, imo) such as scrap booking parties, jewelry making, chick flicks and the like. As a reasonably intelligent woman, I find most of these activities boring and do not think that someone is an artistic genius because they can twist wires and stones together. Quite frankly, I often see other womens’ hobbies and think, “Meh, I can do that.” Try it out for fun if I’m interested and move on. Other women seem to oooh and ahhh as if these activities are the holy grail of female achievement.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some elitist snob, but these activities just aren’t appealing. I enjoy being with friends, but often leave parties wondering what is wrong with me that I’m unable to play along. I love to read books, but (book clubs notwithstanding) that isn’t a social activity. I think it is similar to men who aren’t into sports, they are often left out of conversations and activities b/c the main topic is sports related.

Perhaps, by being excluded from activities, the intelligent “geeks” found other things to occupy their time that have a more independent bent. If these become their main interests, then the social activities are phased out as the geeks pursue their passions.

Great post, though I’m not sure I agree with the citation regarding child development and lack of nurturing in intelligent children. I think more intelligent people tend to be unhappy because they are usually more bored with things. It is more difficult for them to find something challenging and engaging or fulfilling. When one is intelligent, it’s also easier to get frustrated with others when they don’t meet an intelligent person’s high expectations.

Not to toot my own horn here, but as I WAS one of the more intelligent ones in my class (Gifted Program, reading and comprehending at a high school level before Kindergarten, etc.), I say that I’d have to agree with the premise here. In fact, were it not for my VERY supportive parents, I might have been less satisfied with school than I already was. As it were, most of my friends were ALSO Gifted students, and we were known as the “preps” and “pre-college”.

I say I agree, because teachers DO tend to think that if you know more about one subject, then you most likely are ahead in ALL subjects, which is TOTALLY false about all of the Gifted students I’ve ever known. Most are a little ahead in many subjects, but some of us still struggled in classes (mine was Math, and mostly because of teachers who didn’t know how to teach me). And there is nothing more frustrating than to feel disappointment from the adults in your life, particularly when the disappointment comes from YOUR failure to understand something.

Another problem is that teachers often don’t take into account learning styles – yes, some people CAN sit in a lecture and get a lot out of it, but for some of us, it’s like sitting in a Charlie Brown cartoon – “wah-wah-wah”.

But the biggest part of unhappiness comes from the feeling that they ARE different – for example: I understood at a VERY young age how to make relationships work – that it takes kindness, understanding, and communication – yet I didn’t fit in with my classmates when it came time to date because, frankly, most high school boys aren’t looking for a REAL relationship – that doesn’t come along in most guys until they hit their 30′s and 40′s (or if they’re lucky, at LEAST 25). I dated, but not very many guys, and not very often, and was told by a good guy friend that many guys said I came off as overbearing. But my understanding was that I didn’t have time to date for no reason, that dating was to find the person you wanted to marry, and that dating anyone else wasn’t worth my time.

Now, I’ve married a FABULOUS man, and we have an intelligent daughter. My parents were helpful in that my mother encouraged me to go out and try things, and that my father helped me build my self-esteem by teaching me that being my own friend and loving myself first would help me through times when it seems that I can’t get on with anyone else. We’re both introverted, but I can go places with my (extroverted) hubby and (extroverted) daughter, and talk to only a couple of people, and still feel like I enjoyed my time.

That’s a really interesting point about the nature of social activities. For guys it is largely the same, with many group activities being sports or entertainment oriented.

For me, the most intellectually stimulating activity is good conversation. Although very social, it can be very hard to find.

I felt sort of the same way about the passage. Although I didn’t agree completely, I still thought it was interesting and worth discussing.

I’m with you on boredom. That was the definition of my high school experience.

Hi John, I haven’t been at you site for awhile. It is looking good.

Intelligence is word that to me is unclear. Intelligence as a measure of scores on tests is only one kind of intelligence. There is emotional intelligence, physical intelligence and much more as you probably know.

“People are about as happy as they choose to be.” Abe Lincoln

I think happiness is much more related to how we think about ourselves and how we learn to view the world.

Keep up the great content, you are a real asset to the blog world

Joseph
http://www.ExploreLifeBlog.com
http://www.peace-together.com

Interesting topic (and one that apparently resonates with a lot of people!) Why does unhappiness in childhood carry over into adulthood, when we have the resources to do whatever we want? Simply force of habit?

Readers may want to check out “When Gifted Kids Don’t Have the Answers” – it’s aimed toward parents and teachers, but reading it prompted a lot of retrospective “a-ha!” moments for me.

Just a thought – but I wonder if “intelligent” people; or I think more to the point, intellectually-minded people are not less happy or more happy than others, rather they did not develop the social skills to mask their unhappiness to the world as well as others?

Happiness is very difficult to read from an position of observation.

I’m sad! I must be smart!! Right!? Anyone here play world of warcraft? I’m on Illidan, hit me up! Tailor LFW!!

It’s the story of my life, with overanalysis included.

Also, they are more inclined to see ‘patterns’ – connecting events and realizing something similar happened before – because they tend to hide in reading and history – based on that, you can become rather good at predicting outcomes…

I couldn’t disagree more. This piece of writing you’re referring to is a short article, self-published, ending with an advertisement for some scared parents who want their children to be smart and happy.

It is neither peer reviewed nor properly published nor a study. It lacks any references to actual research.

Maybe there are more famous smart unhappy people than famous stupid unhappy people. However, that could be because of them being famous or known for their intellectual achievements.

It is a nice hypotheses. Looking at the comments here, many of your readers seem to be drawn to it. That’s a start, an idea, to conduct a study on this, nothing more, let alone scientific evidence.

As I said to the guy who wrote the bit on intelligence and unhappiness, the research doesn’t back up his opinion. It sticks in my craw that this bit of unsubstantiated opinion has moved past his own website into the greater internet.

Check out the positive psych research by Chris Peterson, Marty Seligman, et al. Individually, an intelligent person may be depressed, but, as a group, intelligent people aren’t more or less happy in any statistically significant way than less intelligent people. In fact, the vast majority of people, regardless of intelligence level, are more happy than not the vast majority of the time.

And, yet, I’m in the top .3% on IQ, and I love quilting, scrapbooking, beading, crochet, chick flicks, tv, Artemis Fowl books, and many other “non-intellectual” activities. I am, like you, often unimpressed by the “artistic talent” I see, but life isn’t always about excelling…sometimes it’s just about doing something you enjoy, something that makes you happy, and being proud of yourself for doing your best.

I’m curious as to what constitutes “the interests of intelligent people”. Most of the people I associate with are highly intelligent, and we/they seem to be interested in the same sorts of things as people of average intelligence. Frequently, our interest in the area simply runs deeper.

It seems to me that being highly intelligent only separates me from those of average intelligence if I am condescending, lack empathy, or am otherwise unable to successfully interact due to my own inability to be present and connected with another human being.

I was tested at age four and am supposedly a “genius.”

I would say that I started struggling with happiness as an adult. I think some of the reasons behind that was the fact that being a smart adult is not valued as much as being a smart child, and that as an adult, there were no longer the same social support systems that are in place for gifted children.

Sometimes I feel very lonely because I have no one to share my interests with, and people often come to me for solutions and not much else. That, to me, has been most disappointing of all.

smart people tend to be unhappy because they are faced and put upon more responsibilty than the avergae person, they see things and understand things a dumb or average person may not see or understand.. for example most smart people will see problems in areas, and also positive in ares others cannot see this brings along extra responsabilty, cause what you dont knwo or notice doesnt brother a person.. also most of the worlds majority is average people, so smart people find it harder to find someone on their level of understanding… and the main problem is smart people can see there is problem with the world and that most people today are infact wrong, and destroying each other and the world.. avergae and dumb people dont quite understand or realize the full pottentials of our actions… a smarter person understands the out some of most actions… people that live the happiest lives are down syndromes, simply because they have less responsibilty and understanding of the world, and this works in order so, then a average or dumb person can find happiness alot easier also and less pressure and responsibilty….. but the intelligent people are less understood… and have the hardest times…. its easy for a clever person to understand a dumb person, but a dumb person will never understand a smart person, hense thats why they are dumb…. i can go on forever there are millions more reasons than these… being smart is a gift… genius is a god given gift!!!

Happiness is the radiance of an untroubled soul. It is the sum of our dispositions rather than our circumstances and because of this we, in theory, are solely responsible for our individual level of happiness. I find it saddening that some of the self-proclaimed geniuses who have replied to this post seem to generalise people into classes of ‘dumb’, low intelligent and high intelligence. Not keeping an open mind to everyone’s outlook on life may have perhaps been one of the reasons why your levels of contentment aren’t at their optimum.

I tend to agree that western society (especially at young ages) lacks a lot of respect for those who are intellectually flamboyant and instead tends to outcast them. Is it possible that someone who has (for example) a rare talent at mathematics may tend to lack skills in other areas like sociability? This is certainly true in forms of autism. The reason behind the conception of the ‘geek’ as the social-outcast is most likely due to the common traits that these mentally skilled people often have.

In my opinion, finding happiness is largely about self-actualisation. This may perhaps be more difficult for those who ponder, analyse or generally think about things a lot because from these thoughts insecurities, negativities and discontentment can emerge and I think that this may play a big part in ‘more intelligent’ people feeling generally less happy. I do feel that in me is the ability to rise above all of these unwanted bi-products – this is self-actualisation… For some it is playing the blues!

As an extremely intelligent person, I thought I’d try to give my perspective on life. I remember the last time I had lasting happiness. I was 9 years old. Then I became the victim of societies aggression and hatred toward those that are different. I had to calculate my daily activities and monitor myself to keep from being a further target of abuse. I even pretended to be less capable than I actually was. This unfortunately drew me farther away from the only few individuals who were like me. I need only look in their eyes to see the bond of trust that resembles similar intelligence, it is an awkward thing to describe to those that have not experienced it. I lost trust in humanity as a whole. For a long time i was depressed and isolated. I had convinced myself that love was the answer. Though i found it impossible to get any girl to like me. I think perhaps my social skills were just not developed. I was always the odd one, but far from unattractive. Yet at the age of 15 i was given no choice.. my dream of happiness was ripped out of my mind. Mental illness that ensured i would never feel pleasure, a warm touch, or any feelings again. I think of the joy and possibilities left behind in my shattered life if i had been someone else. At that age i decided to leave behind this world of stupidity and embrace my intelligence with books, and skills, it is my obsession because it is all i have left. Am I unhappy? most of the time I’m too busy to think about whether I am happy or not. Briefly for a few moments i am happy when i think of those that i teach and help, possibly for the rest of the time i am sad. Yet I fully know what would bring me happiness. Perhaps that is the most important step. Freedom from this set of circumstances, the freedom to choose my life. To see my world ignite with prospect and desire for intelligence instead of stupidity, self gain , and vanity. I work everyday the hardest I can for those things, even though i may get depressed, even though i may be too weak to continue. I was given the gift of knowledge and I must use it to help others even if they care nothing for me and wish cruelty upon me. This is my life and I’ve come to accept it. The rewards of life are at the end of the journey not the beginning.

Hi All,

I agree with many people who posted, but I didn’t read everything, as I don’t have the time.

I’ll try to keep this short LOL

Like Jesse, I think a lot of people feel I’m overbearing, but I never equated that to intelligence even though I do know I’m above average in intelligence, but maybe not for the same reasons most of you are.

I barely graduated HS, never went on to post secondary, can’t be classified a nerd or a geek, I’m what I call a learner of life.

I also learned only a couple of years back that when I say intelligence, I’m not just talking left brain (there are a few different forms of intelligence), I’m also talking about intuitiveness.

I don’t know my IQ & I would probably score very low since math & science aren’t my things, but I can read people’s feelings (sometimes b4 they even know what they are feeling), & I often have them lie to me b/c they won’t admit their truth, or how they are feeling.

I’m not a social butterfly, far from it, but I try to work on that weak side of me b/c I don’t care what anyone says, very intelligent people do far worse most of the time, then people who have a very high EQ & I know I don’t have that.

I did use to over analyze people, now I moved on from that b/c I’m spiritually conscious & haven’t been into psych since ’90.

Because of my spiritual growth (not talking religion here), I’ve gone from one step to another learning about who we really are as humans. Finally about 3 years ago I started to learn about energy & “HAPPINESS”, of all things.

LOL, I remember the first time reading my first book on happiness & getting angry b/c the authors said Happiness is a choice. I scoffed at the idea that I could control my feelings, & happiness. : )

Thank god (I say that as a figure of speak, I don’t believe in god, I believe in the Universe) I continued to study & finally about 1-1 1/2 years after I read that book, I realized that happiness is a choice, & we are the only ones responsible for our happiness & of course our reality. I’m still studying the reality part, it’s hard to undo brainwashing from others : )

So while I agree with everyone who said that us intellects notice things more than average or below average people do (I know that, agree, etc.), what I’m trying to do is set aside more of my left brain & concentrate on enjoying life more just like Peter said – live in the moment.

I wasn’t able to “live in the moment” the way spiritual books & some people were teaching me, I found it very hard, so I guess I went around in circles a few times b4 I found my own way of dealing with it & I stopped trying to force myself to live in the moment & instead started concentrating more on my connection to the Universe b/c that’s where you get the happiness from.

Trying to draw energy from other humans is exhausting, makes people feel uncomfortable & somewhat abusive/intrusive even though the person drawing may not realize that is what they are doing & the person giving it up is also being proactive even if they are being passive about it.

I was a very very happy child until I started being abused first by parents, then by students & it went down hill from there, so I’m very happy that I’ve found the answers for me & I have had a lot of moments where I feel very childlike in my happiness which is great.

Don’t get me wrong, I can still be very critical b/c I used to notice everything (my attention to detail is quite high), but it’s decreased some over the years & that may be a good thing.

I still do have a problem speaking to moronics (sounds better than morons). I just can’t help myself. I can end up figuring out the solutions to their company’s problems & I don’t like wasting my time, so I’m still working on how to relate to the average human (any suggestions are welcome), b/c one thing I really need is someone who “gets” me, not after 20 times LOL, but the first time.

That doesn’t mean I’d trade my brain for anything in the world b/c I love my brain (& I’m always trying to love myself more).

I know I have a very old soul, but like someone else stated, it’s been hard for me to find people I feel compatible with, but that is where creating your own reality comes into play, so I’m working on that every time I feel like it.

For me healthy above average communmication skills is paramount, & I tend not to learn this area that is so crucial to human development, b/c by the time I start to feel close to someone via the phone, they start to run away, or the signs are there for me it won’t work. I also tend to talk way too much b/c I don’t have enough friends, so I vent quite early on & a lot of people can’t handle that.

I do seem to have the same issues others have like getting bored easily (that’s why I’m an entrepreneur LOL & need people who constantly keep my brain active & they love having fun too).

I do have a dual personality & while others may have that too, I find most people don’t admit they do, or they are unaware of it.

For example, I can be serious one minute, laughing & joking the next.

I can sit home & relax, but in a relationship get bored if we aren’t out having fun.

I can work all day, or on some days just want to veg.

I have no favorite music, actor, author, singer, type of food, b/c I’m too diverse.

I’ll stop now : )

I hope I sort of answered the premise of the post about happiness vs intelligence. I don’t believe for one minute that we can’t all be happy if we set our minds to it. : )

I wish everyone all the best & MUCH happiness in their lives.

Michelle

It’s funny how a few people who posted here started with how they are really “intelligent”. Like they always have to prove their worthiness first before making a mark. Maybe that’s what separates the happy people from the others. People who are always afraid of rejection and are overly conscious about their actions will find it very hard to be happy.

To me , honestly i am so small comparing with the smart people. It is so hard for me eventhough i know myself not a smart person, but still i don’t seem really work hard. i believe whether or not you are smart, as long as you are really working hard, one day you can be considered to be smart. People will respect your determination, a strong spirit of hard working person.

All through school I was the target of bullies and found myself pursuing hobbies that could be done in a solitary environment – computers and photography. The darkroom at high school provided me both a rewarding hobby and somewhere to hide during my lunch break.

Now, later in life I find myself struggling with personal relationships. Two years ago I seperated from my partner of 18 years, I would have left sooner but I felt that my two sons needed, for some time at least, a stable ‘normal’ home environment. They were 12 & 13 when I left.

The things that caused the breakdown of my relationship in that relationship are the same things that are causing me problems in the one I am currently in. Both my former and current partners exhibit the same traits – the hardest for me to deal with is apathy. I find that I can’t sit still. I have too many things on the go at once and I bounce from project to project. (How many here can identify with that?) I’ve not found anyone who can cope with me doing that.

The other big thing is my partners inability to understand that I enjoy learning new and different things – where as they are happy to simply sit and watch tv. It was said of my previous (18 year) relationship that we grew apart. I agree with that in part – but somehow I feel that I kept growing whereas my partner decided that she had gained all the knowledge she wanted and spent the rest of her time being entertained by the TV, she chose not to grow with me. Unfortunately, I can now see the same traits in my current partner.

I suffer from depression and quite often feel lonely – even when I have my partner with me. I struggle at times to have a conversation with her.

Hi Sascha,

While I agree that really intelligent people have to be constantly learning, the agitation is more about inner peace & IMO, that has nothing to do with intelligence.

If your partners always feel you are moving around, then they probably never feel connected to you & while I’m a strong believer of having alone time in any relationship, I personally could never be in a relationship where I don’t feel connected to the other people. That has been my challenge, most humans don’t truly let me in, they are too scared, especially when I can connect very deeply beyond the superficial, so I have always felt alone in any of the few relationships I’ve been in.

You are probably moving around jumping from project to project b/c you aren’t settled internally. Letting go of bullying is hard. Even years after school (I’m 42 now), In the past 2 years I went to a few huge biz seminars & during one in particular, no one came up to me to talk to me, out of the entire 1,200 people, I was pretty much the only one standing there & I couldn’t understand why, so there are still times when I feel like an outsider just like in school. This is why I still continue to strive for building relationships with like minded people & facing my fears b/c I will get nowhere continuing to hide.

I can’t tell you how to feel inner peace, that is something you need to figure out on your own, not for your relationships, but for your own inner self.

If you want me to recommend some books to you that have helped me (I’ve been studying spirituality [not religion] for years), then you can e-mail me.

Wishing you all the best & much peace within : )

Michelle

I have so much brainpower and so little to use it on. I’m so socially isolated from my dissatisfaction with the indifference and insipidity of nearly everyone around me that I’ve developed bipolar and schizophrenic tendencies. I have serious problems communicating with people my own age, and even adults too (I’m 20). I’m quite socially underdeveloped, but I’ve been working on it.

I’ve been near suidice in the past few months because I can’t stand this isolation anymore. I’m a college student, majoring in music ed, and I cant connect with most of the people I meet because none of them are at my level of maturity. Nor can I find common ground in interests.

Another problem intelligent people face is advanced emotional maturity. I’ve been this way for years and while I know its a blessing in some ways, I want to forget all the hard experiences I have had and still am going through that made me so jaded. When you cant find people who are able to deal with your skewed age, intelligence, and emotional maturity levels, you pretty much go insane. I’m going insane!

If anyone has any advice I’d love to hear it because I’m at the end of my rope here. If I don’t find some smart people soon my already deficient personality will crash and burn.

Smart people are unhappy because they see the world for what it really is, a cruel and mean place. That said there is alot of good and noice people in the world… but there is still a heap of mean things going on

yes its true,, average people also see the world for what it is, but they are unable to see the routes of the problems,, they also know there is a problem, but they are not as strong mentally to be able to put into action what they want to do,, so the become sheep.. intelligent people often are not sheep because they can see the flaws of it,, but this can also be a downfall and is often why most intelligent people dont succeed, because the average is the masses and the status quo, so what the average see as right is right.. and the average person is unable to understand a intelligent persons point of thinking or view…

but yes most smart people can see the flaws in the world and see how bIG the issue actually is, so most intelligent people often want to make a change in the world..
people that created the lightbulb, computer nerds, top musicians, or anyone that is intelligent care about making a change,,, but in a world where only 2% have the mind to do this,,, it makes it a far fetched target..

intellgent people seem to be more individual, and less reliant on people because they are mentally strong enough to wrok and deal with things themselfs,, however average are unable to deal as well, and tend to become sheep just to make life easier, and also take their problems out on other people without the ability to reconize the consequences until after its done…

if a average person came across this page they would more an likely be filled with hate and call us ignorant,, arrogant, and big headed… but i know as well as any other intelligent person in this forum,, its not spoken in that light at all…

however i do not consider people that simply done well at school to be intelligent.. these people may have been forced by parents, to study hard and they never really done anything else but study,, so they spent alot of time studying.. so they are very smart in the areas they study,, but are flaws in other areas…

i see someone who is intelligent or genius, to be able to do anything, that other people can do better and in a quicker amount of time…

they say if you dedicate yourself to any one thing, you can become a genius in that area,, and i believe so most definitely,, however, i also believe this would take a average person their whole life,,, or many years of dedication,,, where as the gifted can do that thing and become just as good, majority of the time better in a few weeks or months,,, sometimes even days….
and these are the people i consider gifted…
this can go for anything, practically or mentally.. because even physical things is about brain speed and coordination

Sigh.

There really isn’t such a thing as someone smarter or dumber, it’s only a matter of someone’s mind-speed and capacity tolerance. ” Intelligent” people have faster and deeper thoughts only because they are attuned to delve into that speed and that depth and feel un-alive, being any less complicated. ” Dumb” people or ” average” people, have minds that chill the fuck out. ( To be frank. I’m tired of caring about eloquence here.)

If you develop intelligent interpersonal skills ( and stop blaming your ostracized past, and lack of gifted and talented school programs, and yadda yadda), you will find that as a HUMAN BEING, you can, indeed, connect to ANY other human being.
All you have to do, is alter your language, or the way you communicate the said ” intelligent” interests, and ideas you’re so starved to share.

I’m sorry if I sound so rough here, it’s just that I’ve been through everything everyone is saying, and have actually found too many like-minded people that have completely put my heart and soul through a damned guillotene, because of their UNWILLINGNESS, to lower their pride ( you cannot love and be such an elitist at the same time, no matter how exceptional the other person is, or unexceptional) , get off their ” intelligent” high horse, put aside their ” intelligence related rejection”, and just
fucking
live. feel. trust. ENJOY.

Instead of compete and compete and defend in a rather desperate attempt to connect on a meaningful level.
You can have meaningful connections with plenty of people ” lower” than you, if you just learn how to relate to somebody’s BEING. If you stay open minded, and child-like enough, to FIND something absolutely beautiful and astonishing about their minds–no matter how different they are from yours.

There is sheer beauty, peace, and absolute genius in the minds of the “simple”, us ” intelligent” people should be very admiring of!

I was labeled a child prodigy growing up, and had a slew of expectations to remain so from teachers, peers, parents, and myself, and I am not saying I cannot commiserate with the isolation, defilement, identity and personality confusion or depression everyone here has talked about. I can, whole-heartedly.

But there is a point where you have to stop classifying everything into one category or another, in yourself, and everyone around you, if you want to claim a means to a more free spirit. Smart people tend to be petrified to be happy, because something about happiness and ease, rubs against every grain put in place to be “smart”.

People like ” us” tend to be the dumbest people ever when it comes to freeing ourselves from our OWN extrication and imprisonment, we totally and utterly rob ourselves from what would make us happy—-which is letting GO.

I’ve yet to meet anybody intelligent capable of sharing themselves in a way that isn’t purely objective and scientific, and if you ask me, the most important intelligence anybody can acquire as a human being, is intra and interpersonal. If you cannot connect with the world,
look within yourself first, before you point at the rest of this place as ” average” and not good enough for you and all that relative bullshit.
You can learn from ANYBODY. Even those said “dumb” people who watch tv all day and get joy out of making bracelets or whatever activity that doesn’t stimulate you enough.

There is a place for stimulation, and there is a place for rest. You can stimulate yourself, and it isn’t impossible to meet anybody like-minded ( this entire website is proof that you are not alone) and maybe where happiness lies for those with minds that are so fast and so deep, are places where your mind slows DOWn. You just have to let it, and trust that you can speed it up elsewhere.
That is when your social life will start looking a lot better for you, but until your expectations are set to be having a bunch of mind-soulmates floating around everywhere, you may even find those mind-soulmates, to find that they cannot fulfill what your heart needs to feel good.
Stay true to yourself, but also put those brilliant minds of yours ( which I’m sure everyone here has) to good social use.
You can’t even begin to do that, when the only thing you hold onto, is sad resentment for the way you’ve been so unlucky or islolated.

Take responsibility, and quit that pride, if you don’t want to feel lonely anymore.
We create our realities, just as much as we become a product of them.

what your saying is what a dumb person would say,, there is no such thing as a dumber person or a smarter person… REALLY!!! what you said there is retarded right away..

so yes you are what I stated as a person that is forced into doing what he done at school by parent pressure, or whatever reason, and you became good in that area because you studied alot in it, so thats why people called you a child prodigy,, but as you grew up you realized yourself you cannot keep up with their expectations and your not a prodigy at all,, am i right??!!

what makes you think i am unlucky and isolated,,, me growing up i never hardly studied i didnt do well in school, not because i werent good enough, but because i wanted to have fun,, i had an amazing childhood, just doing what kids do being a bit naughty at times… but i never really knew my talent,, or that i was more intelligent or better than other people at things,, i really didnt have a clue,, cause what was me was me… and i assumed everyone was the same… its only as i gotten older that im starting to grow up and think about life,, and also learn forom how people have reacted to me as a adult, and in the past,,, that i realize people are not like me,, and often cant do what i can… and that people dont understand me.. or see what i can see…

i never said i was alone but genius’s or talented or gifted however you want to put it are always isolated because of the status quo, so alot of them choose to be alone, and also like it better that way,,

science is not fact,, i dont believe in science cause its lies, i believe in GOD evolution is the biggest pile of bullshit… however dont try and undermine my inteeligence now by claiming i dont believe or like science at all.. cause doing that simply undermines yours..

so thanks for you trying to explain to me how i can have not be isolated,, i am not, and know exactly what to be and how to be,, i was the popular kid at school also because i had fun…

but what i am saying is NOW i often choose alot of solo projects, because i consistantly have bitter jealous people around me trying to make me fall…
i also realize that we need people,,, noone can be in the world alone, we need the help of others at least once in our lives… but i know what is useful for me and what is useless…. and friends that are going to make me spend the rest of my life doing nothing and getting nowhere is useless!!!

do you get my point

that doesnt mean i am cold and dont love my friends,, but if you look at it another way if they loved you and was true to you,,, owuldnt they accept that you want to become a better person??? instead of getting insucure that i am no longer acting like a sheep and have my own mind,, and no longer just agree with them even though i know their wrong,,,, im sure youve heard the term “your just lying to make friends” cause thats what ppl do, especially in western society,,, if you are honest with a friend they often call you two faced or even a liar… because they only want you to tell them what they want to hear,, by being honest i dont mean being nasty,, because people often take being honest out of context,, (well the liars do)

and its also intersting to meet people that are NOT like you,, because that brings abotu new ways of looking at things,, this has nothing to do with intelligence, sometimes the dumbest person can come up with the greatest ideas,, this is what i mean!! and also the dumbest person can be the most loyal friend you can ever find,, i dont judge people that way and your getting it all wrong by thinking that…

the problem is people dont fully understand me,, often i think to fast speak to fast and normal converstaion can bore the life out of me, when people talk about rumours, that are malicious or how much they are looking forward to getting bladdered on the weekend,,, to me thats like you dont that 50 weeks on the run,, what new are you learning? before ya know it theyll be 50 and still doing the same stuff and only knowing the same stuff..

i want to find what lifes about the meaning of life, im always growing, and everyday i understand more and more.. and weather you acknoledge this or not,, the people you spend alot of time with can rub off on you and you can become like them…

hang with a angry person youll become angry, hang with a dumb person you become dumb… that is unless your not a sheep,, and it wont affect you… but then if your unwilling to drop what YOU STATE AS PRIDE!!! you wouldnt be able to become friends….

its not pride its what jesus teaches about not being like everyone else, SHEEP..

tan—

I wasn’t talking to you in my post. I didn’t even get to read your comment, I was referring to all the people who kept saying they can’t find something that fits.

And your whole sheep thing blew my mind, because I’m not talking about becoming , or aspiring to being sheep-like and ‘just like everyone else’, I just said to not let how unique and different and “faster” your mind is, to pull you away from experiencing things that are different from it—-which, I see, from what you’ve said, you don’t do, which is good.

You can still stand by yourself without standing IN FRONT of people. THAT is what I meant by pride. Not relinquishing your identity all together and turning into something else to be friends and gage yourself.
It just means not setting your expectations , ( all the time) for like-mindedness, for you OWN sense of well being.

there are plenty of people who get bored fast and think fast and want to delve into deeper meanings of life, like you, it just takes some digging to run into them.
All I’m saying is, that won’t be the perfect solution, even when you have it, and as great as it is to be ” understood”.

Ultimately intelligent people question the hell out of everything too much to ever be satisfied with any answer, and they rotate around doubts ( which is why they are such intellectuals in the first place)—all I’m advocating, is not letting that gift, hurt you, in the end, in very subconcious ways. All I’m saying is to not have that limit you.

not YOU, in specific. I don’t know what you do or don’t do, so you really don’t need to get so defensive.
I’m talking pervasively.

right ok if you didnt reply to me thats fine, but i received a message in my inbox telling me someone had writen on here,, after i replied to your first comment.
i totally dont agree that you think there are no smarter people, and in fact its just how they think,,, scientists have been trying to do this for years,, genius kids have been like lab rats to them cause they are trying to uncover the secret to becoming a genius,,
the fact is you are born that way,, so yes there are smarter people…

not to say average or intelligent people cannot become great at something with pure dedication, but a average person if commited his whole life to one subject or area, could become a genius in that field,, but in every other area he is just average..
a smarter person can pick things up alot quicker,, and also work things out for himself…

there are many types of people when it comes to intelligence

there are group 1, the people that never learn after their mistakes, no matter how many times they are told, they keep doing the same thing,
then group 2. people that are told 1 ,2 or 3 times and understand,
and group 3,, where they know before it even happens..

and trust me there are people out there so dumb they keep making the same mistakes in life, cause they are not intelligent enough to learn,, kinda like why i think cats are smarter than dogs,,, cats learn things and pick things up and remember it,, they learn on their own,, a dog is told what to do and needs direction…

and if you put both of them structures into a human,, the way the cat thinks is the intelligent person.. thats also why cats are solitary or isolated too..

also intelligent people tend to be good hearted,, thats one of the main reasons why its so hard… they care too much about others, when other people care about themselves and only really have you in their life cause they dont want to be alone…

where as intelligent people are more pure hearted…
this is a very interesting fact it think!!
do the gifted understand something the sheeps are too blind to see????????

i dont think the whole sheep think is out of context i hope it blew your mind in a good way, cause like you said you agreed with me… people are sheep can you really be with people that live a life you dont agree with and not become like them??

what happens when you get into a situation where there are drugs,, and you know what friends are like, if they have it, you all gotta have it…
what about if they bully a person you like??
i dont think you can without changing,,, no matter who your with you eventually have to give in and mutually agree on things maybe you didnt agree with,,, you start talking about it and then before you know it,,, youve comformed and start believing what you didnt in the first place…

thats natural human behavior we imitate our friends and people we communicate with,,

but agree that you trying to give out a positive message to people, but the fact is life is the way it is, we have ups and downs, we have times when we enjoy life so much, and times when we even want to die.. but without good there is no bad,, and intelligent people there are no dumb people…

everyone in the world plays their part, and its about finding who you really are!!! and playing your part

also, —in leu of you being completely condescending, to point something out:

the FIRST sentence I wrote was

” there is no such thing as being smarter or dumber”

…and then your first sentence was ” what your saying is what a dumb person would say,, there is no such thing as a dumber person or a smarter person… REALLY!!! what you said there is retarded right away..”

I laughed really hard then, because not only did you obviously not at all read what I wrote and just take it as a complete ATTACK since you completely attacked back, but you were rude as fuck along with it.
I don’t think GOD taught you that, did he.

I’m sure you’re justified in everything you’re saying, and I’m not gonna tied up in semantics here,

but maybe people ” try to make you fail” or get bitter or what have you

because you’re an asshole.

think about it.
and don’t respond to me about either, cause I will not only not read this website again but it’s a moot point.

Genius.

i’m sorry but i don’t agree with the smart kid is gonna have depression/or chronic sadness just because he didn’t make any friends or get picked to play soccer. if the kid wants to make friends and play sports then he needs to get the hell out there and do it, u cant tell me that smart kids can’t make friends and fit in, because i have known many people much smarter than me have more friends than me and there never depressed. its the persons own fault for not trying to accomplish what will make him happy so there for they did it to them selfs

Testing throughout my life has resulted in me being mapped at genius levels. I’m not sad, but surprised that more women have not wanted to mate with me. That would make me happier.

I will not be starting this post with whether or not im considered gifted/smart/intellectual or if i have the IQ and attention span of a household gnat.

It seems to me that a few people posting on here would fare a tad better in the happiness department if they were a bit more humble.

When you go around flaunting your intelligence, always correcting people or showing them up, it gets on their nerves a good portion of the time. People will find themselves less and less inclined to spend time or converse with you. They start to initiate contact with you only when they need something that they can’t figure out.

So instead of being ready and willing to constantly throw out “Well technically I’m a genius” or “I’m above average/an intellectual/extremely gifted” just live your life, do what you love, try on a little humility for size and leave it at that.

While people of high intelligence have a tendency to desire intellectually stimulating activities, they can also find enjoyment in a simple tactile activity. One think I don’t think was pointed out well in the article is that there are multiple types and areas of intelligence, such as social intelligence. A less popular type of IQ test is the EQ or emotional quotient, mainly the persons ability to feel a complete range of emotions and feelings and general awareness of social interactions. High EQ people are very uncommon, and you won’t see someone with a genius EQ and IQ in your lifetime (most likely), because the experiences they needed to have both are pretty much opposite each other, i.e. social interaction vs lonely contemplation. Anyways, myself being a decently high IQ person, I enjoy playing around with computers. However my favorite part is the tactile experience of putting them together.

If you want to help somebody out, use a nicer tone please. Harshness is completely unnecessary.

AMEN

Intelligent people, defined by any one of the many intelligences human posseses, including, but not limited to intellectual intelligence, understand the more they learn the more untilligent they truely are, hence, if you were one of the above who proclaimed their intelligence, you actually just categorized yourself otherwise, I gues ignorance is bliss. I think the few simpleton articulations of what an intelligent person deals with in life highlights the frusterations that arise at the intersection of diffent complexities of minds and intelligence, moreso for the intelligent mind. This stream has just highlighted why simplicity and ignorance is bliss for me.

[...] with no words, the eyes can reveal a lot about someone. A person who is trying to hide his unhappiness can never really pretend to be happy without people noticing it. The eyes can tell stories that are [...]

blessed hah its a burden a total and huge mess of a burden and somtimes i just dont want to take it any more T-T and i dont know where to go to go talk to some body theirs nothing to do and i need some major help pls somebody help me T_T pls somebody help me …

hai ..you all are idiots ..talking about intelligence ,to show your language skills.
Intelligence means living happily without conlflict in oneself and with others.

in my opinion, intelligent people tend to become unhappy due to many factors. one is the family, some parents give their child a high expectation or what we often call high standards, as a result, the child tends to focus on his studies so that his parents would be pleased which oftentimes becomes the reason why he neglected to explore his social life. another is the peer factor, most of the time, an intelligent person is avoided by some because they feel that intelligent people were some kind of a boring person who dedicated his life on his studies, and that they cannot get along with the intelligent because they cannot match his abilities (that is what we call “insecurity”) the last one that i can mention is the self-problem, most of the time intelligent people wishes for more and more knowledge (thirst of knowledge) in which they neglect to notice that they were driven too much of this “curiosity”, which imply the situations wherein these people tend to exaggerate a simple problem.

Like this one, prove that this message is not existing!
Intelligent people, I am challenging you!!

I believe that are muli-variables involved in whether or not someone is “happy.” First, what exactly is “happy?” People are looking for a constant state, but it doesn’t exist. We have happy and unhappy moments. The percent of each varies from person to person, but it isn’t based just on IQ or even mostly IQ. Much has to do with how a person was raised. Are they overly critical of others? This is usually a learned behavior and contributes to more unhappy moments. Intelligent people can take their intelligence and learn how to be more accepting of those less intelligent. They need to be taught to appreciate their gift, but not expect others to be like they. Hope this helps a bit or pushes someone in the right direction. Embrace your talents, whatever they may be, and don’t expect others to be like you. Good luck.

I find it interesting that the sociologist states “Not enough study exists to quote on this subject”, because I did my Senior Capstone paper on whether or not intelligence is a good predictor of depression.

I’ve come across many people who I feel aren’t that intelligent who get depressed, so I doubt this has any direct correlation to intelligence level. Maybe EQ, but not intelligence.

Depression can also stem from lack of nutrients in the body (one factor, not all factors).

Just my pov.

Thanks

Michelle

Thank you so much for your article! I am not a genius, but intelligent and I continue to be unhappy. I read your article and it made me feel better that my knowledge is what makes me unhappy. Plus, I got a laugh from the logic of it. Thank you!

That’s because you’re normal. Happiness is just moments. It’s not a state. People are unhappy because they expect to have those highs more often. Well, people, sorry, but that isn’t how it works. Treasure those rare moments of happiness and remember, we know they are happy moments because we experience the unhappy. Happy doesn’t exist without unhappy. It’s like a balancing act.

Depression and I.Q whilst not necessarily being joined at the hip seem to be related more often than not and I think it comes down to having more understanding the world and potentially the universe than the average joe and therefore creates more stress for the individual or at least that is the case for myself personally. Its also a major cause of frustration for myself personally trying to communicate with people who do not understand the subject matter I try to communicate to them. I can completely relate to the Poster “Km” as I am Male and have interests such as Computers & Technology rather than sports and I find it extremely hard to get on with other men who seem to exists solely to watch sports, drink beer and live a very average lifestyle. I have had few friends thus far in my lifetime and despite several women telling me I am attractive the grand total of girlfriends for me personally stands at 2 with neither relationship lasting more than around 6/7 months. I have a secret lothing for those people who say such things as “you just need to do what everyone else does” and “you just need to try harder” because I know personally in my situation that is complete bullshit. I just hope one day that I will be able to move into a community, town or city where I know more intelligent people on a personal level.

Actually “House” had an episode on last week that dealt with this very issue.

The patient had an off the charts high IQ, & it turned out that he couldn’t handle not being able to relate anymore, so he started taking cough medicine & a shot of alcohol to numb his brain cells. That’s when he met his current wife.

Once in the hospital after they cleared it from his system, he went back to his previous intelligence level & started drawing complex math & when he tried to explain it to her & she didn’t get it. He started to feel depressed again & her lack of intelligence annoyed him.

In the end once House figured everything out, he said go for the numbness b/c he could relate to the patient & he knew he really loved his wife.

I used to do this with pot. I could relate a lot better with humans if I was stoned although even then it was difficult.

It’s no way to live & we should embrace our talents & who we are.

Since so many people on here have trouble finding like minded people, I suggest people contact one another & see how they get along.

I am always open to making new friends.

My intelligence probably isn’t the same as some of yours on here, but I welcome anyone who wishes to contact me & get to know one another as friends first with no expectations.

My personal website should be attached to what I wrote.

Happy Holidays! Be Happy & find Peace Within : )

Michelle

hey people,

that is one hell of a good and insightful discussion. i would like to take anyone’s opinion….

I have a problem conforming with people because i live in a fake and superficial community that is only marked by appearances.
If you are good at pretending, then you are one of the key players of the game.
But whenever i am with most people i feel detached and i am suddenly in the observer mode, seeing the top view perspective with no involvement.
It is my faith in myself, my faith in God and some little voice of wisdom that keeps me going on my life journey without looking back. I cannot deny that i am still learning but I thank our creator for all the blessings that i have. If you feel unhappy, think of all the blessings that God gave you and think that things could have been alot worse.

Thank you all, i hope the dose was not concentrated

Creative people are on their own plain. If they try to express themselves, peoples eyes glaze over. If they try to appreciate other peoples’ whims, they are quickly bored and frustrated. Cliche’ phrases, predictable humor, football games – creative people evolve beyond that.

I completely agree. As a child, I was always best in my class, which made me very isolated and shy since people would constantly reject me. All you grow up having is your intelligence and your passions. It is difficult to cope with some situations which other people find easier to cope with; I am prone to stress always and keep over-analyzing events, people and things. There’s simply very little awareness that intelligent people need other types of support. I am bored to death by ‘female’ activities; and as I don’t drink and smoke, I feel left out of a lot of social situations. I also find it very hard to relate to people my age (I am 24) as I usually don’t have their interests.

The simplest advice I can offer to people establishing their intelligence and then telling how hard it is:

Fix your depression.

Yes, I say fix, since it likely is mostly mechanistic in your brain.

I get disappointed and frustrated with people all the time. You probably do too. But feelings of isolation…that is a symptom of depression.

Here are some easy ways to mitigate depression, in the long term you may even recover from it:

1. Exercise. Physical exertion will you feel better. You are designed that way, take advantage of it. Get down and do some sit ups or something, anything. Even just going for a brisk half hour walk is excellent.

2. Get sun exposure for at least 20 minutes early in your day. Again, biology at work, and it will improve your mental health. Use it. Lots of depressed people are “sun deprived”.

3. Eat many vegetables every day.

If you do the above 3, you are going to feel *SO* much better. And your cognition will improve beyond what it currently is too, in addition to the mood boosting effects.

I had similar feelings of isolation and depression until I did these. They work. You can also talk to a doctor or psychiatrist, of course, but these really should be tried first. They are the necessary base for a healthy mind.

For some of us, the unhappiness stems from realizing that we’re different from other people from a very young age. Boys as young children are expected to be aggressive and beat on each other. If you’re more sensitive and don’t see the point in this or don’t want anything to do with it, you’re immediately ostracized beginning at 3-4 years old. As classes begin and you do things with little to no effort that the other children fail to understand after trying very hard, they then grow somewhat resentful of you (children haven’t yet developed the ability to appreciate differences and so mostly just feel simpler emotions, such as jealousy). So, from a very young age, your greatest strengths (namely your ability to learn quickly and your sensitivity) become attributes that you feel compelled to hide in order to have any chance at all of fitting in. This results in terrible self-esteem deficiencies that form into the deepest parts of your mind during the years in which you are first beginning to form a sense of who you are and how you fit into the larger world, for that world to you is defined by your peer group. If you learn at this age not only to hide but even to be ashamed of how you think, which very clearly is also who you are, then these problems will magnify themselves as you grow older. I think a lot of us are still dealing with this in one way or another. Even once you recognize it, it can still take a long time to grow out of what ultimately are the deepest parts of your sense of self. But, hey, that’s why God invented grad school :p

The other thing that ends up setting us up for failure is that many of us have never had to put an ounce of effort into much of anything. I graduated summa cum laude from a rather prestigious school, and I had several classes I never even went to. Extrapolate that back to high school and earlier, coupled with the fact that no one ever even made any kind of effort to challenge me or even feed my interests when I was young (quite the opposite really). Is it really any surprise that I now have to struggle to try to develop any kind of a work ethic?

Education as it is set up now fails the quickest learners abysmally, putting us with peer groups who hate our gifts and teachers who just want us to sit down, shut up, and not complain that the class is moving too slowly. It trains us to hide our gifts and leaves us with a bitterness toward most other people that have to struggle to overcome. Some of us even leave it feeling as if we’ve accomplished nothing in our lives since everything came so easily to us, rationalizing ourselves out of any sort of self-esteem boost that might come from any of these accomplishments. We’re left to pick up the pieces from what feel to us to be our own failed lives, while no one around us even can see that there has been any sort of a problem.

Then again, I suppose I’m reading articles and message boards like this one with a different goal in mind than a lot of you. It sounds as if many of you have taken the path I am trying not to take, toward empowering yourself through a form of bitter arrogance as a way to begin to move past your own wounds. That is not to say that you are not justified in feeling that way; I definitely have my days in which I don’t even want to deal with anyone at all and think that this abstract altruism I feel toward the world is misguided, for they’re all too short-sighted to listen to how they must change things for the good of everyone anyway. It is a very lonely path, though, and one that only serves to isolate us further from those who may be open to sharing their lives with us.

My goal, then, is to somehow see that other people have gone through the same sorts of things or even just to find some greater accepted truth that encompasses my own experiences, allowing me to grow to the point where I can accept my own gifts and give credit to myself for my own accomplishments – not as arrogance, mind you, but rather as the confidence we all should have in our abilities. Most people seem to value the ability to project ability in a confident way more than the ability itself, and they choose people for the more highly esteemed positions in businesses / society / etc based on that facade. Coupled with this, however, is that the ability must be projected in a way that does not make them feel threatened or put down, and that delicate balance is what we all need to find.

In the end, all any of us can do is to try to find a way to let go of our painful pasts, to search out like-minded people, and to find pursuits that use our gifts and pique our interests. We must not lose sight of being true to ourselves and to others in all these things, of course, but that should go without saying. Unfortunately, all this is much easier said than done, but perhaps our gifts will even help to make it easier through our ability and willingness to question absolutely everything, including our own innermost unconscious thoughts and motivations. And, in time, perhaps we can help to reshape parts of society and education so that those children like ourselves, the ones that the current system fails time and again, will have the nurturing, stimulating environments that they need so as not to fall into the same horrendous traps that many of us now have to claw our ways out of.

I felt compelled to post this.

First of all I agree with the above poster that high school came off as so easy to me that I felt little in terms of accomplishment. Not to mention it hurt the development of my work ethic, because why bother working hard if you can get a 98 while only studying the night before the test?

I spent most of my time isolated and reading books while I was a kid. I was quite shy and my parents had an iron grip on my social life. Hence this is why I had a slight problem with weed and alcohol my first year in college since I had never been exposed to that stuff until I moved into a dorm.

A lot of my high school years sucked. But it was mainly because I failed at interpersonal communication and reading people. I even deluded myself into thinking that most people were beneath me and somehow inferior. Lucky for me I had some amazing teachers who gave me some enhanced assignments.

Long story short I turned into a self-righteous prick.

As I grew older I started changing. Just because multivariable calculus is beyond someone doesn’t mean that they are inferior to you. That person most likely has their own unique talents.

I also started paying attention to sports and if you really want to get nerdy strike up conversations about sports statistics with someone when discussing a batting lineup. I also started watching a lot of movies.

Having media and sports knowledge gives you a common ground to connect with most people. Very few people I know can enjoy the mathematics I indulge in yet I and most people can enjoy a good sports match.

So to all of the self-hating intellectuals in the comments section listen to this mathematician. Try to spend just one hour watching or listening to something that casual everyday people are into. You’ll be a lot happier when you can participate in casual conversations.

P.S. when you do run into someone who is into your field treasure them

This has been interesting. I thought i was just depressed but now I’m finding I could be intelligent. That’s got to be a plus for my ego.

Thank you so much everyone for posting these- I’ve been pretty miserable recently and feel better seeing that I’m not so alone in the world.
I’m sixteen years old, and have felt isolated and alienated from others my age for pretty much my whole life. I’ve always been called ‘bright’- I was assessed by a specialist when I was five and came out with an IQ of 160 (which I am convinced has dwindled with age- I’m dumber than I used to be, I think) and was moved up a grade in elementary school. But I was never really catered for in terms of teaching- I’m not sure the teachers really knew what to do with me- and subsequently learned less than I was probably capable of. I was (and still am) very shy, and very well behaved as a child, and therefore usually got put in groups or paired up with kids who were badly behaved, or the bottom of the class, as a ‘good influence’, or maybe to make the class easier to teach. Who knows. Either way, I spent a lot of my early school life frustrated and bored, which led to a very negative attitude towards schoolwork. I never learned to persevere because I never needed to, I never learned Math properly because at my school we didn’t cover complex methods, as other children didn’t understand it, and I was completely unengaged. I’m now lucky enough to go to a very good grammar school (a school for bright kids, with an entrance exam) but since coming here when I was

Some truths have to be stated here:

1) EVERYONE THINKS THAT THEY ARE SMART. EVERYONE. It doesn’t matter if your IQ is 140, 120, 100 or 80. Everyone says that they are smart. It is because you’ve never experienced being smarter than your maximum potential is.

2) A person can understand when they are talking to another person who has a lower IQ than them. But when you talk to someone with a higher IQ than you fail to absorb everything that they have to offer. So you view the higher person as having they same level of intelligence as you do. You can only understand your maximum.

3) It is easier to see that some people are shorter/taller than you are. It is easy to see that some people are slimmer/fatter than you are. But variations in intelligence are not as easily perceived.

3) Unless you truly are in the top percentiles of intelligence and you have personally felt the alienation for the rest of the populations you don’t really have business commenting on this topic. You just don’t understand what we’re talking about here.

4) Happiness and loneliness is related to your web of social connections. Not your wealth, power or status.

5) If you are the most intelligent person in the room. You can understand the thoughts, emotions and life off all the people below you. But no one understands you. It is like being a kindergarden teaching and hanging out with 6 year olds all day. You understand them. They don’t understand you.

6) The failure to feel like you are connected to other human beings is what makes intelligent people feel sad and lonely.

I couldn’t agree more with Dan. Intelligence is something painful, and once you understand you have it, you understand other people around you, the reality in your own life, your family’s and it hurts to know how they behave and what do they feel when they don’t know or are too afraid to dig. I wish I wouldn’t feel so much pain around me. This sensibility I have, affects me very much sometimes. In a moment I am fine but if I start to feel what the person behind me feels, and these negative emotions take over inside me, I feel like a storm. I wish someone could bring me the silence of a life.

I have Aspergers Syndrome. I am a social outcast and I am very depressed. Just the other night I went to a club to try and meet a girl, and have some fun. I started dancing by myself, and i was not approached. It seemed to me that everybody there knew one another. However I don’t think that’s the case. But that’s how I view it because I don’t understand a single thing that’s going on in that environment. When I approached a group of girls to try and get to know them, I was rejected within minutes because I guess asking them about themselves is just too much.
I do stand up comedy. Im terrible at school. I cant hold down a job. I’m very inappropriate. But I feel like even though my comedy needs work, it will blossom into one of the most hilarious comedy acts because I am very intelligent when it comes to wit. I feel very different from every other comic.

Intelligent people often do not spend the time necessary to truly master a skill. Once they move beyond the skill level of what might be considered “normal” they lose focus, never reaching their potential. My advice is find to something and truly “master” it. Bear in mind, you can always get better; if need be outline what is to be considered mastery.
You can master your job, a subject related to your field, your relationship with your sibling/parent, a sport, learning how to handle specific moments of inadequacy, anything really. With mastery comes accomplishment and confidence in yourself rather than the confidence you receive by your PERCEIVED superiority with other people.

The idea of “mastery” is rather clinical (a method I tend to find off-putting when discussing issues of the mind), but I have found it to be helpful in a lot of ways. There isn’t a cure all, but I hope this might help anyone reading as it has helped me. Have a good one!

What I see… All the time, (now that I have accepted how I feel) and stopped trying to hide it, is others who feel the same way. I am wierd. A gorgeous 27 year old woman, intelligent, can’t stand people, gave up on trying to communicate to them, and look pretty angry and messed up in the face. People close to me still always call me pretty. People make me angry because they talk in code. They think they’re so witty and brilliant because they can bring others down. They detect weakness or loneliness and take advantage quicker than a wink. From the point of detection, they begin to come up with “jokes” in the other persons expense (right in front of their face!) in words that could, and hopefully would, be understood in a different context. When they do this to intelligent, sensitive people, they don’t realize they are hurting them. Either that, or they feel more intelligent. The “victim” of their fun can’t prove they are bashing them because their hateful cryptic talk is in other words.
I hate this! It happens to me all the time. It makes me hate people more and not want to get to know them. I don’t trust anyone and don’t feel the need to prove anything to them. I love love and wish everyone could be like children again and not take other people down in petty ways. They don’t realize these people know what they’re talking about because they never get confronted. Which is how they want it, but they are killing my reality and world. Putting negativity where none needs to be, and stifling the world of creativity. When what humanity needs is a hand, and truth, these mass amounts of people can’t handle that responsibility.
I begin to see others who are weak, and have given up like I have. But we put ourselves in these isolated protective bubbles and can’t even reach out to eachother.
Case in point: I am intelligent. I know it. This is how I think. This is what stops me from being happy, expressive, and productive. Stupid?

Hersheisawesome, I am the same as you. People always want to test you until you break or fight back, its like an education thing or lack of awareness. I am also sensitive to this and find it hard to fight back even though this is the only way. Maybe its just sorting out the pecking order. Who knows but yeh it makes you want to pack up shop and just live out on a farm and chill out, away from all the negativity that people bring. that said I am a really positive guy… life eh haha

I’m extremely sensitive and my social iq is through the roof. This has made it impossible to find a girlfriend. I’ve been with numerous women and thought simple physical connection from time to time would quench my constant desire for someone, nope. I have kissed someone I’ve been “seeing”, and as I shut my door and watch them walk away, instantly that loneliness comes back. It never left, I was simply preoccupying my mind, like I do with drugs. Weed makes me think less, care less, I need it to stay sane. I’m fascinated by anyone with a sharp wit. I want to talk to them, get to know them, but I feel embarrassed or arrogant to explain to them why.

Wow. I could not agree more with everything! I just got back from a New Year’s Eve dinner and as always, I feel totally out of place in the bar. I feel almost an anger inside when I see people and their idiotic behavior. They look like little kids trying to emulate how to look good, cool, etc. I have always been unique, but it has brought a lot A LOT of pain due to feeling isolated. It doesn’t help that some of my best friends have also isolated themselves due to depression and other reasons. People like us really need to stick together. One other thing that gets me down is that I am a very talented musician who is not receiving recognition and a lot of it is due to the environment. This has caused me to work long hours in an unfulfilling job where I do nothing stimulating….the ultimate torture for me. I work hard on the music, but sometimes do really feel lonely. I have so many chances to go out with women too, as I am a good looking guy, but the thought of it brings me pain…I think deep down inside I know they won’t understand me. I hope to find some intimacy one day with someone who is intelligent, creative, etc. That, along with creative friends, would probably go along way for helping my depression. The brilliant friends I have are depressed and have anxiety issues….we should have our own little world or something guys….a place where we can go..our own tribe!

I am a 23 year old male, i live in a house with 4 other guys, i have a 5/7 full time job which is well paid, my life is stable, my possition is sound, in short everything, physically/relatively speaking is perfect.

I’ve been under the impression that i am on another level to a lot of people (i dont like to say more intelligent because…ego…er… never mind) for a long time, not drastically so but always just a step above on the ladder, school was a breeze, secondary school and college too, life in general seemed pretty easy all the way up to a year ago.

The gap between my own level and others is widening, I find myself contemplating the most far out things, life and the universe included, recently i’ve moved on to Astro physics and astrobiology, personal amayeur study i might add, for fun, for kicks, to get my lulz on.

My house mates? well they drink, and other recreational things (which i DO take part in, and even enjoy sometimes) video games, movies, etc etc, in short they sit there slowly rotting whilst doing something that can hold THEIR attention but makes me feel like my brain is slowly melting.

I became depressed to the point of drinking or smoking myself into oblivion, i have suffered huge depression, Panic attacks followed swiftly after, my whole emotional state has been up and down more times then i can count, all the while though my mind was just as it always has been.

Yes my thoughts turned to dark places, but the entire time another level of conciousness constantly reminded me it was an emotional thing, so i got through it.

I find it very hard to connect with people, my housemates are the closest friends i have and i only feel completely 100% comfortable with them when im drunk or otherwise intoxicated, im starting to think its because intoxication calms your thoughts to a simpler place.

I’m not really sure if i was making a point or not in this post, to be honest, although i am actually completely fine, not happy but not depressed, i still lack connection, seeing this article and the replies has confirmed that i am not alone, and that makes my life more bearable.

I am not alone, and neither are you, we just have to find each other.

Thanks for reading this.

yes it is related to iq, the higher the iq the more logicly the person can see the world, when things are taken for what they are then everything seems worse, i techniquely have a genius iq of 143 and have a friend in the high 80′s to low 90′s which is the low end of average, she is always happy and when i point things out for what they are she calls me a pessimist which i prefer to call realist but it is true. In general the lower the iq, the easier to ignore obvious things, the easier to be happy, drinking makes things easier i would think but i dont drink, thats just how life is

I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but im ppretty well informed and am not distracted by sports or the garbage we are fed masquerading as entertainment. My feeling is that more intellegent individuals are better informed at least for me its depressing. so many things I cant do anything about even though I have voted in every election since I was old enough to vote.

Intellectual thought processing used as a quantum predictor in a human’s happiness.. Intriguing subject.

Less emotion means more rationale (so to speak), which inherently succumbs people to “realism”. A true realist would relate to 100% factual entity, with zero irrationality. Without happiness.. we simply see things how they are without happiness. Realism is nothing more than a completely rational brain; it doesn’t exist.

I analyze everything in my life. I observe everyone I come into contact with, and depending on how they interact with me I evaluate and score them (metaphorically). From personal experience I agree that ignorance is bliss.

Intellectuals(a) are bound for failure; those who prosper do not fall into this category(a). Depression dampens the soul, yet heightens awareness.. so you tell me.. who is better off? The idiot. The guy who can’t use his brain “effectively” is the happy one.

Normal people have it easy, normal people have it happy. Having seen both sides of this social spectrum I accuse normality of massive perk hostility. A normal person complaining about his job has no clue what it’s like to have zero irrationality, emotion.. motivation.

Anyone can opt-in to the Too-Smart-For-Happiness Club, but all with a good brain steer clear. The legit members don’t want to be here. So drown my thoughts, experiments, analysis.. I don’t care. Just let me be happy.

I agree that people have a social-absorption cap that’s parallel to their IQ. But as stated, many people with a high IQ lack in the social field. So analyzing any social interaction can never be done with 100% efficiency. (In no way do I disregard the ability to label a fucking idiot when I see one, though).

Meditation is one of the easiest techniques you can learn to refuel your body, mind and spirit. While many of us have heard of the benefits of meditation, few of us actually want to spend the time it takes to learn how to meditate. We often cling to stress, fear and anxiety because we think we need these things in order to function in this fast-paced world.

You just described me perfectly

My mom is an university teacher, with a little above average IQ (around 110), My dad is a fisherman with an IQ way over my mothers (around 140). My mom doesn’t seem to be that happy, she really has no social life. My dad in the other hand, is always filled with happiness, energy. well at least I’m under the impression that he is. I would guess that’s because he has great social skills, and went to a school where there wasn’t much sports involved.
I do horribly in the social life though, I have few friends who I really like, because I can have a stimulated conversation with them, they are one of those rare friends you want to keep. everything else just seems like a waste of time. I do really good in sports though. But after the sports, no one really wants to hang out with me. I know I don’t have a question, but I don’t usually want to talk to anyone about this, because it would probably make me look like I think way to high of myself.
Just feels good to at least let it out in this comment. It’s nice to know that there are others out there. thank you.
-Claus Sethsen

I am a college junior attending KAIST, a science and technology oriented university in South Korea often referred to as the MIT of South Korea. I read the entire article as well as all the comments and I totally agree with everything that has been said here. Growing up, I always felt that other people were just plain dumb. I’m a quiet guy who likes to contemplate on stuffs that other people would otherwise simply ignore. Although I hang out with people, I always find that none of them really understand me. There is no one that really understands how I feel. It’s nice to know that there are others out there that feel the same.

It is very interesting for me to read that article. Thank author for it. I like such topics and everything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more soon.

I have to say that this is quite an interesting article.  Though perusing the comments written, I feel the need to add to this discussion.  I’m not going to mention anything about myself, because on the internet, we can propagate any image of ourselves we desire.  Firstly, the applications of intelligence are much more diverse than at the scholastic level, which this article clearly defines.  However, there is a strong correlation between intelligence and the depth one goes into concerning a particular subject.  Are we to say that the movie aficionado is smarter or dumber than a college professor of mathematics?  There has to be clear and indisputable proof before we can accept one hypothesis over the other.  My point here is that interests don’t dictate intelligence, it’s the depth one delves into the subject matter, and the strong, zealous feelings one possesses over said material.  Do you dub Leonardo Da Vinci as an imbecile because he is adept at painting?   While we all can flaunt our intelligence like a badge of honor(when in actuality, some people who do could easily be lying), does it change who we are?  People here say that change is needed.  Of course there is, for there always will be when man dictates the supposed absolute laws that have been set before us.  The main question I propose to the group is: what do you plan to do about it?  Take my argument any way you wish, as the rant of an imbecile or the voice of an intellectual.  Whatever you decide, I just want to say that nobody in this world is alone.  Sure, you may feel alone when surrounded by those you consider idiots (albeit you should learn to understand them first before you classify them as such), but remember there are people like you who see the world as it is.  And like one poster nicely phrased it, everyone knows the world is flawed.  The crux of this point is that not everyone knows what to do.  So, if you are one of the people who wear that badge of intelligence proudly, then put it to use, rather than harp on those who you think are not as smart as you.

I don’t agree with this at all.

Passionate and very well said.Great comment.

Do you need a friend?I love comedy.

Take me with you.:)

oo

I’m a guy I think the same. There is nothing wrong with us. What I did was not to blame myself and I found ways to fight back fire with fire. Read this links..http://www.kickbully.com/ and http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/bully.htm 

Well, very interesting. However I will not use the term “intelligence” which is vague (as for me there’s as many types of intelligence than there’s people on the earth) but “intellectual” or “abstract”.

Indeed, the tendancy to not obey blindly to social codes of the society perfectly describe, to me, why intellectuals persons cannot fully develop with their peers while less intellectuals person will feel more in sync with them. When you accept your society’s values you will find more persons with the same beliefs, connect with them and bonding with them.

On the contrary, when you question your society’s values or even develop a value system of your own, you can still interact with others, still joke with them, and even still develop some compagnionship with them if you’re open-minded, but it is difficult to feel in real sync with them, you can rarely fully develop intimacy or meaningful emotional connections.

To my experience, being intellectual has made me a nihilist. I do not pretend that this is the fate of all intellectual peoples, but I think that there’s more risks. Because, again, when you question the society’s values and ways of life, you will finish to think that there’s not an absolute value in finding love, working, being a leader, and even in life itself. In other words, you have a higher probability to find meaningless many things which most others find meaningful.

Also, as many persons said, your hobbys will tend to be different that of those of many others people, you often tend to live more in your head than most people.

To summarize, being intellectual has great chance to make you a lonely person, even if you have many friends.

PS : sorry for my awkward english.
 

You have said a lot of unjustifiable things. You act like you are extremely intelligent yet you lack so many writing skills.
1. You said ‘Smart people have more responsibility’-Really? How so? There are many out there who could shift that to another, or even manipulate people. Its logical to assume that they have LESS responsibility (they can easily find loopholes/excuses to get out)
2.You said ‘they see things and understand things a dumb or average person may not see or understand’-then how would one consider another a genius? Be practical, many acknowledge Einstein, and I doubt they are all geniuses.
3. You said ‘most of the worlds majority is average people, so smart people find it harder to find someone on their level of understanding’-How do you know most of the world is average people? To be honest, you are completely wrong, most of the world is really deprived of education. IQ levels are falling.
4. You said ‘smart people can see there is problem with the world and that most people today are infact wrong, and destroying each other and the world.. ‘. What if they simply did not care about world issues, you know you can be smart in ‘areas’, not everything…
5. You said ‘ a smarter person understands the out some of most actions’. Be HONEST, only moral people understand the outcomes of their actions. The are murderers who are astonishingly smart, would you defend them with the same statement?
6. You said ‘people that live the happiest lives are down syndromes, simply because they have less responsibilty and understanding of the world’- To be frank, I think that is an overstatement. Less understanding of the world, could also lead them to sorrow. If I was to ‘select’ a group of people who live the happiest lives, it will be one who has bad memory, a loving surrounding, good health, a lot of money, beauty and a lot of time. Bad memory allows you to enjoy the same thing over and over again.
7. You said ‘its easy for a clever person to understand a dumb person, but a dumb person will never understand a smart person, hense thats why they are dumb….’. You said a similar thing twice (it doesn’t make it twice as effective, just makes your comment longer, a typical idiotic mistake to make). It would have been more intelligent to say that ‘dumb’ people tend to hurt ‘smart’ people unknowingly. Understanding is different. Look at 3.
8. You said ‘i can go on forever there are millions more reasons than these’. You are not smart, how do you know a million reasons? I would laugh if you could even hit 100 reasons let alone a million.
9. You said ‘being smart is a gift… genius is a god given gift!!!’
THIS IS THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. 
* drum roll please*
Is that the reason why MOST geniuses are sad, living cruel lives, deprived of social contact and ATHEISTS.

(I am not an atheist, but I have given you 9 significant things you should have some thought about. I will let you make yourself a 10th reason against yourself).

Wow,  you have a lot of confidence in your argument, but there are at least a few points in it that are VERY easily countered. Such as “Most of the world is not average.” Average is by definition, most of the population.. of course it does not have to be most, in the case that 40% of the population has downs, 20% is average, and 40% are geniuses, but sir… that is not the case. 

My apologies for that rant, but you disgust me, attacking the last comment calling them an “idiot” and saying “you are NOT smart” with absolutely no proof except a few holes in their post.

Great post, L. I can really identify with pretty much everything you said. Also, it seems to me that your are very fluent and even eloquent in your written english.

Wow bet you feel like your one of the smart people obviously your not atheist if your name has god in it but there is always a scientific explanation behind all your bibles little miracles but sir or mam may I say science always wins against religion so good day to you and I hope your foolish religion works out for you.

“To my experience, being intellectual has made me a nihilist. I do not pretend that this is the fate of all intellectual peoples, but I think that there’s more risks. Because, again, when you question the society’s values and ways of life, you will finish to think that there’s not an absolute value in finding love, working, being a leader, and even in life itself. In other words, you have a higher probability to find meaningless many things which most others find meaningful.”
I also had this view at one point but decided that would lead me to a life full of unhappiness and depression so I changed it. I think some people forget that their is more to life than logic.  You can choose your point of view. I’m also a nihilist but that doesn’t mean I can not find joy in life. Joy in life is your point of view not the point of life.

Nice crappy scribd link, with line breaks in the middle of words. Sheesh.

I think your comment is rude and incorrect. First of all, the reason people with average intelligence are called average is because their intelligence is the average!!! Think about the words we’re using here. And just because not ALL intelligent people are depressed doesn’t mean none of them are. And calling that last person stupid for stating his opinion is wrong and idiotic because you know nothing about that person by a little comment. Frankly, people like you discust me and I’m not afraid to tell you to get over yourself.

You have no clue how spot-on you are. Society throws us into situations that the everyday person can enjoy, because their mind isn’t constantly working. I wish I could do that; I see my friends do it and I become jealous.

Even my parents have always said I over-analyze everything. It’d be great to have a little switch that you can flip on-and-off at will.

Not always true. Some intelligent people can be very good looking and social, even social leaders. Intelligent people can also mask their intelligence to be socially accepted, which was my own strategy as a teenager and even as a child. But true to some extent for sure as far as the parents expecting the intelligent children to be able to cope with anything. Also indeed an intelligent person can adapt for social reasons, but might internally feel as though he or she never truly fits in or is never truly understood. Perhaps he or she will have to hide her true personality in order to  be socially accepted and therefore at some level feels like an impostor. In my own experience, the moment you show your true self and let your intelligence shine, most people are terribly offended and made to feel inferior. In many cases, people will still not understand your intelligence. It’s a complex issue, socially speaking. 

Not always true. Some intelligent people can be very good looking and social, even social leaders. Intelligent people can also mask their intelligence to be socially accepted, which was my own strategy as a teenager and even as a child. But true to some extent for sure as far as the parents expecting the intelligent children to be able to cope with anything. Also indeed an intelligent person can adapt for social reasons, but might internally feel as though he or she never truly fits in or is never truly understood. Perhaps he or she will have to hide her true personality in order to  be socially accepted and therefore at some level feels like an impostor. In my own experience, the moment you show your true self and let your intelligence shine, most people are terribly offended and made to feel inferior. In many cases, people will still not understand your intelligence. It’s a complex issue, socially speaking. 

I personally actually prefer isolation for the simple reason that it’s just hard to deal with idiocy and drama that comes from dealing with most people.

thaaaank you. somebody who understands..

Im not saying im smart but I will debate..and I may qualify but who’s to judge right… opinions are always good too..just to start if intelligent people are usually proficient in some category then who’s to say without the educatin, tools or money. Im a high school drop out not ashamed at all… I think in some what’s it helped. My thoughts weren’t structured.. im fairly intelligent. I like to say “I think different”. To b honest I don’t know what to call it… hard to describe but to point out facts like u did some not..that’s eas.. its finding new ones that’s the fun part..

Good points.. but do interest dictate intelligence…not really.. but a doctor cool we need them.. its the forward thinkers trying to search for the unknown. And thinking what hasten been thought. That is what’s important.. but jus as intelligent in many cases… divinci ( not for the painting)einstein sagan hawking edison people like these..Knowing the difference between the two for few its easy for most its hard to discern. For argument sake Ill save my next point to which im sure most like I said will say…

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Glad to see this topic discussed. My teen is so isolated and alone because of her intellectual focus. I see her being “left out” of social events and yet – she is sooo smart and opinionated that she would rather not have those “stupid” conversations to maintain social connections. Being oversmart and socially backward runs in our family… Ugh!

Glad to see this topic discussed. My teen is so isolated and alone because of her intellectual focus. I see her being “left out” of social events and yet – she is sooo smart and opinionated that she would rather not have those “stupid” conversations to maintain social connections. Being oversmart and socially backward runs in our family… Ugh!

Thanks for the wise words… and we were cheering!  Many home schoolers in the USA would  agree that following one’s passions – intellectual, artistic or otherwise in a deep and thorough way is what learning is all about. If our culture and school systems proved that this was a valid perspective, we might find ourselves suddenly surrounded by more “intelligent” people than we thought possible!  (AND – there are always those…)

This is all buullllshit.  Sorry, but you got it all wrong.  Western  lack of esteem for intelligence?  Are you kidding me?  
1.  Mature people don’t need the affirmation of others.  2.  People usually revere smart people, and intelligent people surround themselves by like-minded individuals who respect them.  They usually are in fields or careers where intelligence is sought after. Why do intelligent people tend to be unhappy?  I think intelligent people are much happier than working class individuals because they have higher income and better career opportunities, not to mention healthier habits.  

So what is with this question?  I believe that some people may be talking about people who appear intelligent and intellectually dominant.  I’m talking about the people always argue in conversations, are quick to point out what your mistakes/misunderstandings/false claims even when they are not part of the conversation, and show “know-it-all-ism”.  

I know many intelligent people that are very successful at anything they set out to do, but are also very happy and balanced individuals.  They are reserved and you wouldn’t know how intelligent they are until you dig into them in stimulating conversation.  

The former type of individual I’m talking about is miserable because they have an intellectual inferiority complex and they spend their lives trying to prove to everyone their intellectual superiority.

I just remember everything.

I don’t forget.

Sometimes it hurts and makes me unhappy.

RIP Steve Jobs. You were a true genius, very loved by many and if you had to sacrifice your happiness for the good of  all the people you employed and helped then I am sure your intellect justified you doing so.

Interesting points. The Smart kids at school are indeed excluded from the other kids because they are more sensible and as a result get bullied and pick up the tag of being a geek. The other kids learn to sleep around and get girls pregnant while the “geeks” learn how to deal with their futures as adults. 

Then in their adult lives the “geeks” become managers, leaders and professionals and become successful. Then every one becomes jealous of them and hate them for that as well.

 At the end of the day you will always be hated for doing the right thing. 

Wow this forum sounds like a support group for self-affliction.

First off the word intelligence annoys the hell out of me because it has so many different meanings and can be interpreted in so many ways. Every person gauges their definition of intelligence on their own paradigms and yardsticks and those who consider themselves truly “intelligent” don’t give much weight to standardised tests and finite extrapolations so it is more relative to the person concerned than E = MC2.

In my personal opinions, the grounding for an extremely generic understanding of intelligence is the acceptance that one is grossly ill-informed in a broad and universal sense. If you call yourself intelligent then you aren’t because true intelligence is aware of absolute potential and how far one has to progress to get there.

Just because you are more aware and perceptive than Joe Soap doesn’t make you superior nor does it give you more reason to bemoan your existence. Yes it makes it substantially harder but at the end of the day at least you have choices that are not gifted to most people. If you would rather canter through life then hit yourself with a blunt object or find some other means of nullifying your “superiority”.

Everybody has a reason to complain. Intelligence should merely make it harder to justify it.

I’m fairly certain Jack is the only truly intelligent person posting here.  Why, you ask?  It’s quite simple: he can form a coherent thought and communicate it with proper grammar and spelling.

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I believe that how far you agree with this article is largely dependent upon your definition of intelligence. My employment working with complex needs individuals has allowed me to see so many different forms of intelligence. 
I worked closely with an Autistic student for some time who knew how many goals Man Utd had scored every season for the last 50 years, and an astonishing amount of trivia about cars. He had a phenomenal mind for numbers, but was very much detached from reality. In this instance, he was not depressed or unhappy.    
Another student I worked with had an aptitude for crafting woodwork, but struggled to spell the simplest of words.  Of course, they had their mood swings, but again they were not depressed.
However, I completely agree that over-analysis is a factor that is inextricably linked to unhappiness, as this is something I am all too familiar with.  It makes me excellent at essay writing, but causes me a whole host of problems in life.  I have had a tendency to do this for as long as I can remember. I am deeply unhappy and I have suffered with a mental health condition for a number of years.
If it is the latter that is acknowledged as ‘intelligence’, then my theory is that these individuals pay the price for the ability to access a greater portion of their brain.
Any views would be more than welcome, as I am 20 years of age and keen to learn!

Sorry if there are any typos in there, it’s late where I am haha!

smart and or successful people are more than often viewed as flawless….people dont  
give them as much attention, love and support because we think they dont ” need/want” it

I’ve always been told I’m very intelligent. “Scary” smart, according to some folks.
In elementary school, I was sent to “gifted and talented classes,” where I was bored out of my mind. In middle school, I realized how condescending the teachers and figures of authority usually were, and I began rebelling, and ditching school on a regular basis.
Most of what I learned, I taught myself via books and the internet. I am perfectly capable of completing classwork, but was bored with the slow pace and simplified subject matter.
 Being around people of inferior intellect was extremely uncomfortable
and depressing for me, and I began drinking and taking drugs. When I was “dumbed down,” it was a lot easier to deal with the idiots around me. In high school, I became very withdrawn and depressed. I had plenty of
friends, I just couldn’t identify with most people because they didn’t
“get” me. I also dealt with a lot of traumatic family issues around this time (which continued for about 4 years) and eventually at age 17, I had a complete breakdown. Out of frustration, I lashed out violently and was briefly institutionalized as a result. This was an extremely traumatic experience. I dropped out in 11th grade and later got my GED, but I had blown any chances of an affordable college education by this point. Fast forward 6 years. I am 23. I have essentially no formal education. I am unemployed. I have never held a job for more than 8 months. I am a drug addict, and I have attempted suicide 4 times.

So f**king much for being smart.
I would give anything to be a simple-minded guy who’s perfectly happy going into his shitty office job from 9 to 5 every day.

All of the reasons purposed seem to be much to specific.  Being a physicist, I look tend to look for broader structures.  I have considered this question a lot throughout my life, and here’s my two cents on it:

Underlying all the things discussed in these comments is the fundamental difference in cognition of people.  The problem is not so much being intelligent, as being distant from the most common level of intelligence. When you don’t (and can’t) see things and react to situations the same way most people do, it is difficult to interact with “normal” people in a way that is socially effective. For this reason, people who are significantly above (or, I suspect, below) the mean intelligence will find themselves isolated. More broadly, I believe this would apply to any sufficiently fundamental difference in the structure of ones perception, whether mental illness, intelligence, or something else entirely.

In short, its not a question of superiority of perception, but of difference.

The reason, I believe, why so many intelligent Americans struggle just to make it through life has mainly to do with the structure of American society, which tends toward egalitarianism (cultural egalitarianism that is, not economic).  Every American is taught from the time they are born to the time they die that being “an average Joe”, “one of the guys”, “hip”, and “cool”, is the only thing worth striving for above all else.  This is a stark contrast to traditional societies (including pre-modern European society) were more idealistic and hierarchical in nature, which placed more emphasis on excellence, virtuosity, superiority, etc.  Stupidity was looked down upon by the elites and the masses who embodied and represented stupidity and lawlessness had no rights.  By contrast, modern societies like ours have gone the opposite direction, bestowing universal rights on all, smart and stupid alike.  Well, with more stupid people than smart people on earth, it doesn’t take a genius to figure how this affects society’s values.  Unless we begin to focus on “the best” vs. “the rest” we will continue our inexorable slide toward mediocrity. 

I do not like the argument that only people who share my bias are intelligent.

Leftist loonies versus  the extreme right wing, religion verses atheism, elitist verse common man, etc…

I have found intelligence and what seems to be the lack of it in all the different groups. .

So I am now 18 years old. People walk all over me, I’m socially inferior to everyone in my age group, and am emotionally unstable. I do believe I am intelligent, and agree completely with this article. I found this page through google looking for answers on how to fix myself socially. Can anyone help? Email me at: johndaveleet@gmail.com

I don’t think this is the place to look for help. A lot of young men like you feel the same way.  Are you living in a very isolated environment? It would probably be most helpful for you to find a real life counselor or group  of some sort to talk to and possibly work out exactly what makes you feel socially inferior. If you feel isolated the internet is not likely to help you feel less so. I don’t think so anyway. Most things I could tell you would sound like cliches to you.

great work 

According to (Janet fletcher and Allison garton)2007, self others and society. cognition means the thinking part of what people do. Having good grammar skills doesn’t make a person smarter that anyone else. It just means the have good memory skills. 

in 1983, Howard Gardner (1943,) argued that being intelligent involved more than solving problems. He proposed each one has several kinds of intelligence. It is just too arrogant to think that any one is more intelligent than others. Sadness and depression cannot be linked to smartness.

Im not trying to say anyone is wright or wrong.It is good to have different points of view but it would be good to do some psychological research, analyse , and then make conclusions. 

Ha Ha, I was thinking the same thing about their writing.  I thought it was terrible and really took meaning away from the intended message.  But on the next thing in your list, I think that you were describing cleverness which isn’t necessarily intelligence.  You need to think about how the morals of an intelligent person would affect their decisions.   I personally would never manipulate some one; I can easily see the loopholes/excuses (as you said) but it makes me sad to find these ‘advantages’ over another person.  I would never push responsibility onto some one else.  God gave me the intelligence I have, and to abuse it or to force the burden of responsibility onto someone less capable of bearing it, would be terrible.  So, back to the things you two said, I have to say that you make a good argument but you have only half, and the other half lies in the comment you disagree with.  Okay I’m sorry, I read your points out of order.  Why would you say that geniuses are sad with cruel lives?  I mean, you seem so fond of facts or ”statistics” (uncited “IQ level comment”).  I think you were unclear in this ending point, I don’t know what you were trying to say.  I am Catholic, and so I’m biased, but I think for myself.  I am still learning the church’s teachings, sometimes disagreeing, and plus I am 15 years old, a girl, pretty too (I’m sure my writing isn’t perfect either, so don’t get on me about that, I’m working on that, all part of the learning process).  I do think I am smart, and that few people really understand me.  I have been really observant of the behaviors of my family and friends.  Also, I haven’t been confiding in anyone anymore because it seems like when I do I only get frustrated and confuse everyone.  And so I’m left to figure things out on my own, hopefully God is guiding me, hoping I make good decisions that are right for everyone.  I want to take AP psych next year so I might understand better what goes on in the average person’s head.  Intelligence is a burden.  I’m willing to carry it because I know I’m strong enough to, and because if I don’t, who will?  And that is too big a risk, to let someone else decide what happens, to shove aside my responsibility in favor of being lazy.  Far too many people are lazy nowadays, if you want to contradict me, prove your not lazy.  Everyone needs to get up and do something about their life, start caring about other people and stop being selfish.  This world is something new, and it is bad, the beauty of it has been lost, and it disgusts me.  Think!

no there isn’t, so much now is theory, try all might to figure things out, there will always be mysteries.

some of your statements might be true but some of this are also overstatement..what TAN said or posted was quiete true but not in general. inshort, TAN has a better and realistic points of view than you.. but your statement is also true to little cases..anyways, when somebody says, million reasons, it doesnt mean really million..it means a “lot”..english is not really my first language but i get what TAn means with some of his used words..and, you might be very intelligent? you seem very detail oriented

I’m glad that someone said this, because that is exactly my circumstance. You see I”m a six foot two 235lb black man living in Toronto. Up until about 4 years ago I had the athletic prowess of Chris Rock combined with Andy dick, then suddenly my body morphed into Le Bron. I don’t say this because I think I’m some stud quite the opposite actually, it actually seems to make my life harder.

Most of my day is spent wishing I was dumber so i could enjoy the things that most people do like Jersey Shore, Adam Sandler movies and Republican presidential debates. I wish I could see the point of facebook, Twitter or any other social networking devices that allows me to tell complete strangers what I’ve eaten for breakfast, or how much i love Justin Beiber. 

I figure if I wasn’t the size I am I would have been pounded to chewing gum by now. The worst part is, as a result of reading way too many books, it’s somewhat ostracized me from the majority of society, that is, unless, I pretend I’m not. 
It really sucks. I don’t feel the need to spit out pre-approved statements like “Really?!” or “Dude” or the need to quote people who actually have individual and intelligent thought, to give others the impression that I actually know something. 

I spent the majority of my college life pissing out A+ essays that I would sell to other students for 120 bucks, that I wrote in a matter of 8 minutes, while I listened to my professors praise my thoughtfulness. 

I have friends who are doctors and engineers who can barely tie their shoes. It terrifies me. I’m not sure if it is simply conscious and complicit ignorance or the fact that people simply don’t care. I went to a bar, and I asked the waitress if she knew how to make a mixed drink, you know what she said? “I have an app for that” seems we have an app for everything, what point is there in actually knowing anything? 

I find the majority of people seem to respond the same way to almost all stimulus. If it is not of immediate use, people simply don’t want to know. All of this seems painfully obvious to me, and yet when I bring it up to people they get mad, they act as if i think I’m superior, nothing could be further from the truth, I personally think I’m of average intelligence……it just seems like the majority of people have gotten significantly less intelligent, they don’t evaluate the world and come to their own conclusions….they speak in slogans,  they accept the conclusions of others unflinchingly.

A couple weeks ago they had that stupid occupy movement….in my opinion it seemed like a lot of people angry at something as to what that is, I have no idea.
I mean, think about it. you finally have the world listening to you and you, what? Ask for more condoms? Here is an idea; If your issue with big business and teh economy etc is that they are destroying the world waste etc. etc. etc. why wouldn’t we simply focus our economy on actual innovations that apply to these fuel sources, is there no money to be made? Can there be no business model created from this? Give incentives to companies that do so, thus creating jobs and filling the hole in the energy sector that the absence of the present energy industry would create. 

But I’m supposed to be an idiot, because that is what the world expects of me, I”m supposed to speak with a New York, or Southern Accent even though I’m from Toronto, I”m supposed to watch Basketball,  I’m supposed to want to screw every woman that crosses my path, I’m supposed to be in your face, loud, rude. 

All I have to say is this; A Truly intelligent person never lets anyone know, because all it will do is isolate you, how can you be happy in a world where that occurs?

I took a second to read some of the responses to what some of you had to say…..it simply underscores my point, forget I said anything………I’m sure I will be called an idiot for what it is I’m saying.  Stupidity is in, intelligence is out. I get it. Later.

I never knew anybody else had this awareness… I always thought I was just a neurotic bitch. But everything you said is what I’ve been thinking for ages… Good on you. Feels good to know I’m not alone… Thanks for typing this up. I’m a 20 YO girl in Australia so we would have a totally different environment but what you experience in Toronto rings completely true. It breaks my heart feeling like I live on a totally different plane to the rest of the human race sometimes.

i commpletely agree with every single word that was spoke on this post.. i myself, am only 17 but i realise that i am far more intellectual than the bulk of my generation. i find that real true inteligence comes not from reading books or getting a peice of paper to say your qualified in this or that but to be able to perceive things from a completely different stand point with out a second person telling you how you should think or feel about something, and making your ow conlusions to the many questions life has to offer.

i know its meant to be a blessing, but being intellectual feels like more of a burden most days

(and yes i know im a terrible speller please excuse the spelling mistakes)

Well, I’m glad someone gets what I’m saying, regardless of whether or not I’m “intelligent” it doesn’t give me the right to tear down someone else’s opinion or be an idiot about it. 

If anything intelligence is about asking questions about things, not about quoting others who have original thought to give the impression I am smart by proxy somehow, or using words that are underused in an attempt to appear different or to listening to some people talk I can understand why some people wouldn’t like me or some of the ruder of you on this site. 

We’re unhappy because we highlight other’s stupidity to them. It’s one thing to be stupid, but imagine having a friend rubbing it your face everyday. You know how I realized this? I asked someone. 

Anyway thanks for your kind comment Amelia, this was not directed at you, it was directed at the people who can’t understand that people don’t like being made to feel stupid

so you think this is a grammar class?
gtfo,im pretty sure that he’s smart,most of smart people are always lacking in social interactivity as i am.
you seemed to be looking at his writing skills too much,so in other words you “think” you are smart because you are good on these grammar thing, you weren’t smart because you are like hating those who don’t have same arguments like you did,and you are trying to mess up with those people

but some of your arguments are right.
being smart isn’t exactly a gift,it’s because YOU were born smart,that’s it,nothing else.thank no one but yourself.

and yes,people born with down syndrome weren’t happy as much,as you can see.they know they’r different and they would like it better to be a normal person.

im a person with an IQ above average just to say.
but im not unhappy like how you are.
you are just living in a miserable life

The truth is ignorance is bliss. Knowledge can bring a painful awaremess that wasn’t there before. Intelligent people are usually just more aware and their emotions are parallel to the degree of helplessness that accompanies this awareness. The more I learn, the greater my world, the more helpless I feel.  Does this make sense?

“but some of your arguments are right.
being smart isn’t exactly a gift,it’s because YOU were born smart,that’s it,nothing else.thank no one but yourself”.   .  ……. pretty sure they just mean a gift from god or something along those lines, the use of the word gift gives the impression it’s something to appreciate (“i’m lucky i have a good mind and find it easy to understand complex things” etc). and if your not into religion (like me) having gratitude anyway is apparently very good for you psychologically…………sorry had to join the arrogant smart kids argument lol

This article is very interesting and formative. As recluse-I have found this information to be quite useful because I have been struggling with a mood disorder recently. Thank-you. 

This article is very interesting and formative. As recluse-I have found this information to be quite useful because I have been struggling with a mood disorder recently. Thank-you. 

I think the answer is more simple than this. I think the sadness is due to the fact intelligent people tend to be more logical and so, as a result , they tend to see through absolute illusions that the majority of still dim primates blindly follow. They see the world for how it truely is and must deal with living a life that they know is completely pointless, after all were only part of the uncomprehensible amount of matter. They know there is no truth, no altruism and no self. Their perception of life is simply more accurate.

I agree I have been social penelized when I was 5 I could read at a collage levle and do math at an 8 th grade levle. I was put threw psychoatrist abuse to lower my ability of intellagence. My thought was my intelagence was found threatning by athority, and they where jelouse. Becuase it ment I was smarter then every teacher and the princaple, cops. So they had to damage me to feel powerful. At 4 I used reverse psychology on my mom she beat me choched me and shook me and I thought I was going to die. Well I thretened her life. And she changed and was quite wounderful till she started dranking. I now have server postrammatic stress disorder server and major deppresion do to man made disorder. I still have no friends people put there stress on me and have my whole life I thought it was becuse I can handle stress better and more then a normal person. Every thing I have to do I have to prove I am smart after graduating high school with a 3rd grade edjucation levle. I was screwd by cps and I had to raise my self from the age of 8 to 18 becuase I dont trust no one. I was never happy and still aint now I am 28 it is systematic black sheep rulelette. How every frindships didnt work out. But I have a significant other who is like me. I cant do the basics so I failed english. If you dont understand what I have wrote or do how did I faile english. Just already use bassics with what I write. So I play video games and write law paoers tell people what to do and what they do is wrong I should have a docterite by now for herbals I should have an awsome lifebecuase I am so smart. But being a 160 to 180 in my I.Q. I am on disability and my flash backs are clear as day do to my photagraphic memory and my intallect swtches between entj intj intellect masermind and really serverly rational minded person. But I cant understand why I am attractive, rational, take coplements I learnd word math to find solutions theroys to make hypothisis and chemisty to make solutoins to damages done to the body,brain,orgins and blood temps as well as mg for herbalsuplimintation for my self . I have even used newtens law number 3 motion to prove how a person will react each time every time. And cooperation law.Yet my biggest problem is making time for myself I have no time for me becuase of others demands to still put stress on me. Emotionally puting me threw flash backs I cant remeber . But I can emotionally understand why with no sence in knowing why. If any one can help me my email is rebeckalea@hotmail.com be for warned I can tell when there is scrutny is a foot and no mhp please. I dont know witch direction to turn.

1.       You said ‘Smart people have more
responsibility’-Really? How so?  Usually in a
family every member of that family seems to stand behind this person when they
feel strength or knowledge is needed and they don’t have the capacity.  This is natural for children, what would be
your explanation if it was the entire family, social circles?  They are not just standing behind them, they
are looking up with desperation in their eyes that reads  like, (you’re the one, please help)
responsibilities much? Who is their support?  Suddenly they are responsible for either the
situation, or the emotional growth of the one’s who don’t feel they can front
the situation.  Responsibilities much? It
would be nice for that support person/ intelligent person, to be taken care of
or shown this kind of support also, but there seems to be no one. Perhaps part
of the intelligent persons inner dialogue would include “What does it feel like
to be shown regularly that someone cares about you, or offered this much
support on a daily basis?  Must be a good
feeling.”  Who’s lucky?!?

Perceiving complex issues is intelligence itself; add a little bit of sadness and a lot of time to think can make for a very miserable person. When you understand or “see” the greater picture one can really over-do their personal analysis of their relationship and place with everyone around them. Also, the intelligent person can see right through everyone and is a fair yet critical judge of character….this allows for the undesirable truths to surface, then we all find out that nobody really cares about us; they are just here to tell their stories, lies, and try to impress everyone else. This revelation sucks because then we really do feel how exceptionally alone we really are……..we are not intellectually superior we are just well adjusted to critical situations and social moments only by cold hard facts and not from a warm knowledge of how it feels to be socially intertwined which, according to this article is to be expected.

Which holes in the point are to be expected because a truly smart person would realize the title to this article and the fact that all of us looking this up are having a difficult moment organizing our thoughts and figured doing so in a public forum would help us understand why we are a little down in the dumps??? 

FYI: I came across this article randomly but it sort of fits my keywords

A client of mine, who hails from Australia, noted that as a culture, Americans tend to not be very introspective. I would agree with her. We tend to take the news (ahem, propaganda machine) as undeniable fact and never bother to question why there are so few details. We are reactionary. All too often we tend to ignore the past, or classically educate ourselves, despite the well-known quote that those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.

As a relatively intelligent person, tested once at 135 IQ, I learned early as a child not to question, not to be introspective, not to act on my innate curiosity. It made it…easier…not too. I fit in better. However, this was done at the expense of happiness. I fit in, somewhat, but traded my feelings of self-worth in the process.

Despite having intelligence encouraged within the home, not having it encouraged in the large world outside is definitely a downer.

I agree with the part that says  a smart person is harder to find a someone on their level of understanding. I was a very smart person before I had schizophrenia. I always felt very agitated because my friends and family were all stupid people. I could think almost 5 to 6 times faster than them. This was one of the main reason why I felt unhappy all the time. It was like an adult talking to a child all the time with my friends and family.

Basically, most of the human race are worthless and unfortunately we’re born on the same planet as the schmucks. Tribal apes are better off dead.

Basically, most of the human race are worthless and unfortunately we’re born on the same planet as the schmucks. Tribal apes are better off dead.

’8. You said ‘i can go on forever there are millions more reasons than
these’. You are not smart, how do you know a million reasons? I would
laugh if you could even hit 100 reasons let alone a million. Puney little mortal. You do not know the meaning of anything, look to me, your god and I may well spare your life.’

Jeez man he only said a million for effect, why you gotta take things so literally, it makes you sound like some kinda demented bond villian, I bet your the kinda guy that gets into a hissy fit when someone says’ humungous’, I bet the veins in your god praising head would start to swell and cause you to forget everything you ever learned from the bible and have you licking imaginary blood from your lips, coz your a bad mofogger right?  at least you were kind enough to disguise your wrath in list format instead of just punching through his head with your almighty fist.

By saying these things ..you proved that u r a average person and u will never understand what …is the real meaning of intelligence…it is not education..its agd gift and very few are blessed with this…

I with I was dumb so I would’t have the responsebility i have now. My brothers all enjoy life, while im studying most of  the time alone. I feel very isolated and it feels like studying is my duty. I’m scared wether I will be happy or not in the future because all of the time I feel so unhappy now.  I don’t really think I am smart, but the people around me are clearly less smart than me and I envy them. I don’t know what to do. Follow my ‘Duty” or just enjoy life? 

Alvaro ( The Netherlands)

Hi, I just want to say I appreciate this comment yet not many others. We need not argue with eachother about how we believe a “smart” person would feel. 1. What defines “smart” and “dumb”? Exactly, you can’t really explain that easily if you are going into a psychologic level of thinking about it(which this article is about)… 2. Nobody is going to win, and isn’t that what everyone here is arguing for? Victory? 3. This is getting into religion which is rather ironic since we are speaking on a level of psychology, everyone looses once we get into this subdivision.
I appreciate this comment because it is only stating what you think, it was not made to make another look stupid or to make you look smarter. I understand every other comment i’ve read was a -response- to this comment, which would most likely make it a counter-statement only because this is a “controversial” topic… But it honestly makes everyone here look a bit “stupid” themselves, arguing over the internet about a topic which obviously will remain with no conclusion. The only reason I would think an “intelligant” person would argue about this would be only to see everyones reaction and learn more about cause-effect/reactions or simply to have fun messing with our messed up society.

I’m not saying I’m smart at all, in fact I’m probably the dumbest here, in a sense. It is probably the worst thing to ask, but i’d like to see everyone calm down and keep their opinions to themselves until a situation where they would be appreciated, because they sure aren’t appreciated here where everyone is against everyone.

As everyone says nowadays, “LOL”

If anyone wants to talk about this and everything related/semirelated/not related at all(no arguments please, just a nice conversation) you can email me, ive been wanting to hear other’s opinions about everything and just simply talk.(:

Ninefiveoneninenineseven@googlemail.com
The name’s Monique.

Lol hey, i just stumbled upon this page, i knew you wrote this comment like 3 years ago but if you still play add me on real id and hmu(: nighttfromwow@gmail.com

This is the perfect example of a reply that comes from a dumb/average/frustrated individual that spends over an hour(or so!!) to reply with a bunch of hypocritical excuses, desperately trying to manipulate a “truth” which is SO evident and perfectly summarized by Tan’s comment.
That’s exactly what he was referring to when he was talking about dumb people not being allowed to SEE/UNDERSTAND what more evolved and more sensitive people can…

* drum roll… suck on that PUNK!!*

AVERAGE = MEDIOCRITY!!!

It’s not a gift it’s a curse.  Unfortunately, as John Lennon summed it up in working class hero “they hate you if your clever, but they dispise a fool” , the world will never except you people want to challenge you because you have the burning need to challenge their stupidity; you become infuriated because people don’t think, ever. If it is a gift from God then I didn’t get the instruction manual with it and I have not done anything with it apart from lose people I love.

Whoever came up with the idea that intelligent people are unhappy is a liar. Not all untellignet people ar eunhappy. If you’re totally ignorant, then you could become unhappy because intelligence helps people get through life and live longer. Without intelligence, you could live a short life.

If we’re ignorant, ‘;d stil lbe living in primitive times and the middle ages. See why intelligence is important?

Are you blind? If you never take responsibility for anything, you’ll never a happy life.

Without intelligence, you could end up miserable and alienated. Besides, ignorance is harmful and makes people do unacceptable things.

I couldn’t have agreed more with what you typed.

Speaking of holes…
 1. You said ‘Smart people have more responsibility’-Really? How so?
There are many out there who could shift that to another, or even
manipulate people. Its logical to assume that they have LESS
responsibility (they can easily find loopholes/excuses to get out). – -
****** So you admit they do in fact have more responsibility. The shifting and manipulating is a an added burden, as is the finding loopholes and excuses.
2.You said ‘they see things and understand things a dumb or average
person may not see or understand’-then how would one consider another a
genius? Be practical, many acknowledge Einstein, and I doubt they are
all geniuses. – - – - –
******What are you even talking about? Yes I acknowledge Einstein existed; What does that have to do with intelligence? If I say the world is round while the rest believe it to be flat I can sail around it to prove my genius. I can put a dumb person on a boat and sail them around the world to prove I am a genius that said the world was round. That doesn’t make the dumb person smart it means they learned something, they are still a dumb person in a boat.
3. You said ‘most of the worlds majority is average people, so smart
people find it harder to find someone on their level of
understanding’-How do you know most of the world is average people? To
be honest, you are completely wrong, most of the world is really
deprived of education. IQ levels are falling. – - – - -
*****Do you know what average means? In point number 9 you claim genius is a god given gift, but here you claim we should blame depravity of education??? If you do not acknowledge most of the world is average you are a part of that average group.
5. You said ‘ a smarter person understands the out some of most
actions’. Be HONEST, only moral people understand the outcomes of their
actions. The are murderers who are astonishingly smart, would you defend
them with the same statement? – - – -
****** May I first suggest you go visit a prison and separate those that are “smart” from those that are not. You would be surprised at what you find. Second, it is proven and accepted that less intelligent people have more trouble deciphering right from wrong. Intelligent people can justify their actions while dumb people don’t grasp the consequences of their actions.
6. You said ‘people that live the happiest lives are down syndromes,
simply because they have less responsibilty and understanding of the
world’- To be frank, I think that is an overstatement. Less
understanding of the world, could also lead them to sorrow. If I was to
‘select’ a group of people who live the happiest lives, it will be one
who has bad memory, a loving surrounding, good health, a lot of money,
beauty and a lot of time. Bad memory allows you to enjoy the same thing
over and over again. – - –
 ******This is so convoluted I don’t know where to begin. Ignorance is in fact bliss. Why are you selecting a group that you assume to be happy? What you have done is define what would make YOU happy. My friend works in a home for mentally challenged, they think nothing of dropping their pants or inappropriate words because they do not know better. This also applies to your #5 statement.
7. You said ‘its easy for a clever person to understand a dumb person,
but a dumb person will never understand a smart person, hense thats why
they are dumb….’. You said a similar thing twice (it doesn’t make it
twice as effective, just makes your comment longer, a typical idiotic
mistake to make). It would have been more intelligent to say that ‘dumb’
people tend to hurt ‘smart’ people unknowingly. Understanding is
different. Look at 3. – - – -
******This is so stupid it doesn’t even deserve a response. But I would like to ask if you meant people lacking in morals hurt people with morals? Yes please do see # 3 for why I ask.
8. You said ‘i can go on forever there are millions more reasons than
these’. You are not smart, how do you know a million reasons? I would
laugh if you could even hit 100 reasons let alone a million. – - – -
******Is it possible that he was using an exaggeration to make a point? Let us test this with another question; Did any smart people reading this believe he really meant a million reasons?
9. You said ‘being smart is a gift… genius is a god given gift!!!’
THIS IS THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. 
* drum roll please*
Is that the reason why MOST geniuses are sad, living cruel lives, deprived of social contact and ATHEISTS. –
****** Is genius a god given gift or due to education? Your point earlier was lack of education, but now you are saying it is god given. So you are saying god is dumbing us down, hence the falling IQ of humanity? Not only have you argued against yourself here, but you are completely wrong about falling IQ levels.

(I
am not an atheist, but I have given you 9 significant things you should
have some thought about. I will let you make yourself a 10th reason
against yourself).  – -
*****This is a laughable statement and really means you ran out of things to say and, in fact, have no 10th point.
I find it particularly interesting that people have no problem believing in “miracles” because they happened thousands of years ago. Give it the modern day test. How would you react if a person came forth having claimed to talked to god through a burning bush? Or claimed they parted a sea? Or lived inside a whale? Or went to a mountain top and came down with a printed list of commandments from god? Killed his son because god to him to kill his son as a sacrifice? A woman, (a teenager at that), claimed to be pregnant but had never had sex? A person or people claimed a dead man had been ressurected?

 Speaking of holes…
 1. You said ‘Smart people have more responsibility’-Really? How so?
There are many out there who could shift that to another, or even manipulate people. Its logical to assume that they have LESS responsibility (they can easily find loopholes/excuses to get out). – -
******
So you admit they do in fact have more responsibility. The shifting and
manipulating is a an added burden, as is the finding loopholes and
excuses.
2.You said ‘they see things and understand things a dumb or average person may not see or understand’-then how would one consider another a
genius? Be practical, many acknowledge Einstein, and I doubt they are all geniuses. – - – - –
******What
are you even talking about? Yes I acknowledge Einstein existed; What
does that have to do with intelligence? If I say the world is round
while the rest believe it to be flat I can sail around it to prove my
genius. I can put a dumb person on a boat and sail them around the world
to prove I am a genius that said the world was round. That doesn’t make
the dumb person smart it means they learned something, they are still a
dumb person in a boat.
3. You said ‘most of the worlds majority is average people, so smart people find it harder to find someone on their level of  understanding’-How do you know most of the world is average people? To be honest, you are completely wrong, most of the world is really
deprived of education. IQ levels are falling. – - – - -
*****Do
you know what average means? In point number 9 you claim genius is a
god given gift, but here you claim we should blame depravity of
education??? If you do not acknowledge most of the world is average you
are a part of that average group.
5. You said ‘ a smarter person understands the out some of most actions’. Be HONEST, only moral people understand the outcomes of their actions. The are murderers who are astonishingly smart, would you defendthem with the same statement? – - – -
******
May I first suggest you go visit a prison and separate those that are
“smart” from those that are not. You would be surprised at what you
find. Second, it is proven and accepted that less intelligent people
have more trouble deciphering right from wrong. Intelligent people can
justify their actions while dumb people don’t grasp the consequences of
their actions.
6. You said ‘people that live the happiest lives are down syndromes, simply because they have less responsibilty and understanding of the world’- To be frank, I think that is an overstatement. Less
understanding of the world, could also lead them to sorrow. If I was to ‘select’ a group of people who live the happiest lives, it will be one who has bad memory, a loving surrounding, good health, a lot of money,
beauty and a lot of time. Bad memory allows you to enjoy the same thing over and over again. – - –
 ******This
is so convoluted I don’t know where to begin. Ignorance is in fact
bliss. Why are you selecting a group that you assume to be happy? What
you have done is define what would make YOU happy. My friend works in a
home for mentally challenged, they think nothing of dropping their pants
or inappropriate words because they do not know better. This also
applies to your #5 statement.
7. You said ‘its easy for a clever person to understand a dumb person, but a dumb person will never understand a smart person, hense thats why
they are dumb….’. You said a similar thing twice (it doesn’t make it twice as effective, just makes your comment longer, a typical idiotic
mistake to make). It would have been more intelligent to say that ‘dumb’people tend to hurt ‘smart’ people unknowingly. Understanding is different. Look at 3. – -
******This
is so stupid it doesn’t even deserve a response. But I would like to
ask if you meant people lacking in morals hurt people with morals? Yes
please do see # 3 for why I ask.
8. You said ‘i can go on forever there are millions more reasons than these’. You are not smart, how do you know a million reasons? I would laugh if you could even hit 100 reasons let alone a million. – - – -
******Is
it possible that he was using an exaggeration to make a point? Let us
test this with another question; Did any smart people reading this
believe he really meant a million reasons?
9. You said ‘being smart is a gift… genius is a god given gift!!!’
THIS IS THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. 
* drum roll please* Is that the reason why MOST geniuses are sad, living cruel lives, deprived of social contact and ATHEISTS. –
******
Is genius a god given gift or due to education? Your point earlier was
lack of education, but now you are saying it is god given. So you are
saying god is dumbing us down, hence the falling IQ of humanity? Not
only have you argued against yourself here, but you are completely wrong
about falling IQ levels.

(Iam not an atheist, but I have given you 9 significant things you should have some thought about. I will let you make yourself a 10th reason against yourself).  – -
*****This is a laughable statement and really means you ran out of things to say and, in fact, have no 10th point.
I
find it particularly interesting that people have no problem believing
in “miracles” because they happened thousands of years ago. Give it the
modern day test. How would you react if a person came forth having
claimed to talked to god through a burning bush? Or claimed they parted a
sea? Or lived inside a whale? Or went to a mountain top and came down
with a printed list of commandments from god? Killed his son because god
to him to kill his son as a sacrifice? A woman, (a teenager at that),
claimed to be pregnant but had never had sex? A person or people claimed
a dead man had been ressurected?

Ok now let’s define “smart” ;P

You could not put it in any better way. Thank  you.

I do not agree about the writing skills. Maybe English isn’t his native language or he is just typing too fast and missing some keys.  Who said Einstein knew how to write?
1. Smart people make the world go on so they are more responsible. If they don’t invent things or lead the things the world stops evolving (like in the midle ages when the church got rid of all the intelectually superior people, where would we be if they could continoue their work? Imagine where we would be right now)
2. When I see a physical problem I see the answer to it. More than 95 % people see only the numbers and the lines in an equation.
3. ”How do you know most of the world is average people? To be honest, you
are completely wrong, most of the world is really deprived of education.
IQ levels are falling”.
Actually an average IS made (in this case human IQ however we know more kinds of IQ) is made from all the IQ combined and divided with all the people so most of people are average (3 have IQ 100 1 has 75 1 has 125, then the average is 100, seriously i know that since I was in 3rd grade). In my country ALL the people that protest say ” we want above average pays” how is that even possible? People think. Oh and some of my friends (that are going to one of the best high school in our country) say this : if you pay enouf for the lottery you will get more money out of it and so its always profitable. Dude think everyone says that, it is a simple thing to know that you are playing against the odds.
4. Thats in human nature you can’t help it
5. smart people understand them better, but the question is if they care.
6. Some do some don’t but think about the fish… Do they care?
7. Actually it makes certain tension for the reader. Many great poets use it even more than a few times. I would tell you the name of that literatic element, but I know it in my language that is spoken by only about 2 million people. We actually have verbs for 2 people.
(me, (midva, vidva,),them)
8. Don’t take it literary, you say there are million things i have to do today -.-
9. Again don’t take it literary. That is NOT the reason, but the reason is that people exclude them from society. When I was going to the church study thingy the priest guy or whatever he is told us : Science and God coexist, god created science and science comfirms what God does. Btw they also use computers and that kind of things.
10. Reason because of people like you some people fell that way. I know i make people fell dumb but hey there will always be something to argue about. You think you understand the world so good but ask yourself this do you understand it or do you think you understand it? Please don’t be so impulsive and try to make world  a better place, because in the end you will die sooner or later and all that you will leave behind is either a better or a badder world.

Fell free to disagree with me there will always be someone

I do not meant to gloat or seem arrogant but this is an important point to the argument: I have an above average IQ.  In my high school, the less intelligent people (well some may have been intelligent but were just too lazy to show it) ruled the year. They bullied my friends and I for trying hard, for working hard to get good results. Now they have dropped out of school and doing nothing, and claim they are happy, while I have been accepted to the top university in my country to study psychology and sociology. In this respect, I know a lot more about what the author is talking about than you. 

1. Intelligent people/hard workers have more responsibility. In most cases at work,( although there are quite a lot of exceptions which is a shame) the smartest people are at the top and therefore have more responsibility than less intelligent people/their inferiors in the workplace. I can give you an example from my life. I am taking advanced higher maths (first year university maths) while I am still in high school) and I have to work extremely hard to keep my grades up, but I know it will be worth it when I get my degree. In contrast, my friend from work dropped out of college and is now working in a dead end job. She will retire in 50 years in the same position she is in now, while I have hopefully achieved my dream of becoming a senior lecturer and senior counsellor in psychology. I will have more responsibility as I will teach the future generations and conduct experiments that will improve our knowledge of the human brain, while she sells books.
3. Look up average in the dictionary before using it in your argument. Do not use words you don’t understand, it makes you look like an idiot. And  by analysing what you have said and using my knowledge of psychology, I am 95% sure that you are not an intelligent person, but you are jealous of those who are , and tried to form an argument against them which fell flat on its face. You formed this argument to make yourself feel better.

5. It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are, you either have morals or you do not. Hitler was a very clever man, but he was the most disgusting human ( I resent calling him a human being) that ever walked to face of the Earth. Some of the dumbest people in my year at school bully ‘geeks’ and have no idea of the consequences. They destroyed my confidence and that has left me damaged and afraid to talk to new people and large crowds. Perhaps the author was pointing out that intelligent people can see more outcomes because they have more flexible thinking, but it is up to their personality not their intelligence whether they act inappropriately or not

People which down’s syndrome have a view of the world that is like of a childs. They are unaware of reality and see the innocence in people and the world. The saying that ignorance is bliss is true. It is only when we become away of our ignorance that we feel sad. 

7. That is a technique in English literature to emphasise their point. Just because you have not studied English writing as they have does not mean they are wrong

And you can be intelligent and religious. Why do you have to bring religion into this? Most geniuses have autistic characteristics and do not particularly like human company, but if that is what they like then why are you judging?

I am an atheist and proud of it. I am not a hardcore atheist who goes around insulting religious people and call them stupid for believing what they believe. I personally admire religious people for having faith in something that is attacked so often and called make-believe. I put my faith in my work, my studies, my friends, my sport, my family and my relationships, because I want to work hard, to discover and to be happy. Just because I am an atheist doesn’t mean I do not have faith, I have faith in my world not my religion. 

I think that because I am an atheist I am more open-minded. I do not discriminate like you have just done, and I do not think I am better than people who have a lower IQ than me. I respect anyone who treats other people with respect when they deserve it, and I like anyone who tries hard to achieve their goals, whether it be big to them but small to the world. If we met in real life, I would not like you, and I would above all not respect you. You are a spiteful person who is trying to be more intelligent than you actually are, and this shows.

If you look at the percent deviation chart for intelligence, you’ll see that the smartest people are very rare. So a very intelligent person will only meet meet someone at his level once every 100 people he or she meets. People like to communicate with others at their level. So think how lonely the most intelligent people are. One major factor in human happiness is the quality of their friends. Think how hard it must be to find friends when your more intelligent than 99% of people around you. There are many others factors in human happiness but if one lacks significantly in this category happiness is extremely difficult.

Remember that SNL skit, “the Hominids”? 

Steve Martin was an evolutionary leap who spoke like a modern human amidst a tribe of cavemen.   Bill Murray was the slow witted leader who ruled by force.   Martin babbled on about building dams and harnessing fire and made a pact with Murray that they would rule together, saying “You are strong, and I am smart”. 

Then when Martin went to bed, Murray took a club and struck Martin on the head and finished by saying, “I am strong.   And now I am smart”!

This is the society we live in.

“da Vinci not for the painting” Actually realistic (esp from imagination) painting is a highly intellectual activity, it requires a very strong understanding of the way the world is constructed. I can assume from your comment that you are not a painter and speaking about something outside of your sphere of understanding.

“da Vinci not for the painting” Actually realistic (esp from imagination) painting is a highly intellectual activity, it requires a very strong understanding of the way the world is constructed. I can assume from your comment that you are not a painter and speaking about something outside of your sphere of understanding.

I read many of the comments, it is great to read so many different people’s perspectives. I’m not sure if anyone mentioned what I am about to explain because I did not read this myriad in comments completely. I am a 16 year old girl, and I have been to many places in the world compared to the “average” teenager. As a small child in a private, Catholic, Chilean elementary school I was outcasted for being tall and having buck teeth. There always seemed to be something wrong with me, whether physically or socially. Eventually I moved to Massachusetts to go to a better middle school and live with my father, and entered the American Public School System. Being taller was no longer a problem, the characteristic that bothered the kids around me the most was my accent and my silent, observant, yet sometimes objective nature. From then to now I traveled to different parts of the country with my 70 year old father (the most intelligent man I know) and went on a few trips to my home country, Chile, with my mother, and recently to Peru. Within my short life I attained “indispensable” social skills, which I thought would help me to get people to like me. Now this is my problem, which I am sure many people of my nature encounter — not wanting to waste these skills on people that I do not enjoy being with, which is the majority of the people I have met. It seems that recently I have been alienated by many students at school, but now thinking about it, I realize that it has been entirely my choice. I have chosen not to conform to the mediocrity of the people around me, just because it does not appeal to me. Entirely opposing my parents’ belief system in order to become who I really wanted to be, I became a vegan (have been one for over a year) because it didn’t seem right to me to take anything from a sentient being, stopped wearing a bra because I do not find them very comfortable, and stopped caring about everybody else’s expectations they had for me. In this sense, I am truly myself and doing so has resulted in me being labeled as “weird”. WELL, to me, the majority of Americans are the weird ones, who lack intelligence, self-control, and morality, for the most part. I will not join this group of people in this mediocrity, and if the result of this action is alienation, I am proud to be an alien. You should too.

This didnt help at all Im doing a report on adults now children