Why Intelligent People Tend To Be Unhappy »
Posted By TheAttacks 1 year, 7 months ago in NewsHappiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. - Ernest Hemingway, who took his own life in 1961.
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Comments So Far: 118
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ochs1 year, 7 months ago
"Adults tend to believe that intelligent kids can deal with anything because they are intellectually superior." The qoute says it all right there. Excellent article!
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bugluver1 year, 7 months ago
That's funny I was just thinking that that's what is wrong with me I'm just too darn smart. Nope I guess not.
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deathray1 year, 7 months ago
"Ignorance is bliss"
I'm not saying you're ignorant, by the way, I just thought it was an appropriate place to put the comment...
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rimbaud1 year, 7 months ago
I think Hemingway meant to say, intellectual people tend to be unhappy. Intelligent people are usually happy. They used to take ecstacy, now they rely on serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.
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lvrofwolves1 year, 7 months ago
Must be what they mean when they say 'ignorance is bliss'
I think that's very true, because if you are intelligent, you are more apt to know all the crap that is going on in the world, and people tend to remember those things easier then happy things. Well like alot of other things...you can't pick your IQ
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Candida1 year, 7 months ago
I agree, lvrofwolves. Intelligent people tend to remember, notice and foresee. With all the things that go on in the world, it's hard to stay happy for long. Those who can live in the moment, focusing only on their immediate little world while ignoring all the problems that face others or even them in the future, can probably live a happier life.
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easeup471 year, 7 months ago
Well I dont know about that clkbeus99, seems to me Bush is the one always standing in front of the podium (or a mission accomplished banner) with that goofy smile on his face. Not to mention that absurd chuckle whenever he's about to make a feeble attempt at answering (or evading) a question.
And as further evidence, look at your standard conservative eveangelical religous leaders. Pat Robertson and Jack Van Impe regularly weave tales about the egregious sins of society (and liberals) and the impending apocolypse with smiles a mile wide.
LOL! I couldn't resist either.
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DoseASpinoza1 year, 7 months ago
"seems to me Bush is the one always standing in front of the podium (or a mission accomplished banner) with that goofy smile on his face."
Am I the only one who thinks that slack-jawed smile and the nervous laugh that follows look exactly like the series of expressions on a baby just after he's crapped his diaper? And they both usually follow the furrowed brow of trying to do it...
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Chuckl1 year, 7 months ago
While I understand "clkbeaus99" was writing in jest, I think it does explain much of the so called "red state's" mentality.
As long as many people have a couple of beers available, Nascar or football on the television, and maybe, a boat in the backyard, they couldn't care less about what is happening to the country and the rest of the world.
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easeup471 year, 7 months ago
Seriously though, I dont know what to make of this article. some psychologists and educational theorists believe there are 7-9 types of intelligence (http://sk...">http://skyview.vansd.org/lschmidt/Projects/The">(h Nine Types of Intelligence.htm). So what exactly are they referring to when they say intelligent? Is it any high level of intelligence or specific types? Just some food for thought.
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easeup471 year, 7 months ago
Ok that link posted all funky...let me try that again...ht...">http://skyview.vansd.org/lschmidt/Projects/The">ag Nine Types of Intelligence.htm
BTW, my lack of ability to properly paste the link suggests a lack of intelligence and I'm genuinely happy...hmmmm...maybe they're on to something here...
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Candida1 year, 7 months ago
They are probably referring to IQ or Intelligence Quotient. It simply measures how people perform on a test in categories like math, language, and spatial abilities, compared to the average. It does correlate with academic success, for example university graduates tend to have higher IQs than the average, and those with graduate degrees tend to have higher IQs than university graduates, but it is not a general measure of "ability."
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lilldrumerboyComment removed: User banned.
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mulembo1 year, 7 months ago
This article is full of crap. It's all bs. Happiness is a state of the mind. You can make yourself happy or miserable depending on your way of thinking about the world and your own life. Happiness has no discrimination against races, intelligence, wealth, and anything. You're happy if you want yourself to be, period. (And you don't need other people's acceptance to be happy. Your life is your own, why needs the world's acceptance?)
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RedDwarf1 year, 7 months ago
Yeah, Mulembo is right. You could be starving, your kids have died of malnutrition, you've lost a leg from standing on a landmine, your wife was raped and murdered in front of your own eyes, but if you aint happy, it's your fault, you aint thinking properly. I guess i must be thinking wrong too because i think Mulembo is a complete moron!
What a ti t. I've seen some garbage in my time but step up to the podium Mulembo, you get the gold medal!
ROFL!!
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lvrofwolves1 year, 7 months ago
Good 1 redDwarf..I'm ROFL 2
you know anyone can pretend to be happy! Only you know if you truly are.
I am having a happy moment now tho, thanks reddwarf hehehe
and jordan- your comment was a good 1 too hehehe
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rendarsmith1 year, 7 months ago
It's not that simple. It's hard for a kid to find happiness when no one in his class will associate with him and he has no one at school to talk to. In high school, the ones who get all the attention are the jocks. The ones who excel in the classes are just considered "losers" with "no social life", so the other students shun him.
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Edmar141 year, 7 months ago
There are a lot of things that contribute to whether a person is usually happy. Behavior plays a big part as does genetics. Stability in life, marriage, and the list goes on. One thing may affect our happiness at a particular moment and our being unhappy at another moment. There are some people that seem to let everything just roll off of their backs. Those people have either learned to roll with the punches or they have a genetic tendency towards being happy. In any case, I don't think that intelligence is the prime factor, although intelligent people seem to ponder things way too much. Maybe thinking about things too much makes us tend to be unhappy.
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AnonymousSomeone1 year, 7 months ago
I don't agree with the article. Happiness is totally seperate from intelligence. The person who wrote it must be a dumba$$ -- just kidding.
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Beeboppin711 year, 7 months ago
This is what I told my husband yesterday when he accused me of being sooo unhappy.
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blueangel761 year, 7 months ago
Take a look at the Autism spectrum and related "disorders". I have two family members with very high functioning Autism/Asperger's Syndrome, and they are both able to memorize huge volumes of facts and information, but totally lack common sense in every day life--just one reason for social awkwardness. Sensory Integration Dysfunction is also a co-morbid component, causing nearly everything to "bother" them as their brains do not process certain stimuli properly, such as certain scents, textures, and even the way things look. Without occupational and sensory integration therapy, social situations become a nightmare. Any social outcast will be unhappy.
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hecuba1 year, 7 months ago
Intelligence is a major barrier to social interaction.
Try bringing up a serious discussion of a current issue or historical context and the 'average' joe will simply turn you off. This is very frustrating and very often does lead to the deep depression the article spoke of.
Society, and I am talking in general terms, simply ignores the geek, egg-gead or nerd and if you try and protest, they make it out to be your fault.
Popular equals a life of carefree fun and frivolity, while intellect is serious and boring.....You can say I'm overreacting....but the sad truth is....I'm not.
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quiescence1 year, 7 months ago
I think your assessment is excellent.
Contrary to what others are posting, I do not believe that the unhappiness that often accompanies intelligence generally stems from having more knowledge of the tragic events of the world, or having more things to worry about, etc. Rather, I believe the primary cause is most often due to unsuccessful and limited interaction with other human beings.
I think the difficulties with human interaction are due in part to the fact that it is difficult for intelligent people to find others who share common interests, and in part due to the difficulties of conforming to social norms (since, in light of intelligent analysis, social norms are often contrary to what they should be.)
Additionally, there seems to be the potential for some innate social awkwardness among the highly intelligent; how much is actually innate and how much is a result of environmental factors is something that is probably still not well understood among the psychological community.
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Beau78901 year, 7 months ago
I think intelligence is related to worrying--intelligence involves thinking ahead. It's a problem-solving technique. And the further ahead you think, the more there is to consider, and to worry about.
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Beeboppin711 year, 7 months ago
You could be on to something there. I think that stress plays a factor in it as well.
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blueangel761 year, 7 months ago
It's hard to understand someone who can memorize huge volumes of information because they come across as a walking encyclopedia when they want to flood you with their knowledge. Intelligent people often suffer from obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and will study one or two subject areas ad nauseum, such as history or aviation. The facts intelligent people know seem only gameshow worthy to the average Joe.
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evelyna1 year, 7 months ago
People do not want to think how bad things are. They would rather bore you inviting you to family events and showing off pictures you could care less about. Also want to draw you into their family dramas.
People only care about beer in the frige and what is on television.
If you try to have a debate or bring up current events -no one wants to go there.
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blueangel761 year, 7 months ago
Intelligent people also suffer from ADD/ADHD, personality disorders, bi-polar and other depressive disorders, and defiant disorders. I think neurologists will one day better understand the link between intelligence and the genetic differences in the brain that cause each of us to see things individually & think differently about them.
As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does".
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endofdays1 year, 7 months ago
I would love to see the figures on what percentage of people are truly "happy". I'm talking about 100% satisfied, completely and totally content with their lives.
Any guesses?
Mine would be somewhere around one one-millionth of one percent (which would make it, like, a few dozen people on earth), and I think that's a little high.
The way things are in the world today the only people who are truly "happy" would have to be pretty frigging stupid.
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endofdays1 year, 7 months ago
(BTW - my favorite Hemingway quote: "All I have ever learned about life can be summed up in three words - It Goes On".
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Edmar141 year, 7 months ago
Believe it or not, the world has gotten better, even though we may not agree with it. During the Middle Ages, entire societies were wiped out by invading mauraders with absolutely no compassion. The world has since seen untold misery in slavery, poverty, denial of rights and other social injustices. In the last century alone, we have seen 2 world wars. Within the last 75 years, countries have enacted civil rights laws, women's rights laws and several other beneficial social reforms. The world isn't perfect, but I can't remember the last time a hoard of Huns or Mongols invaded my home town, state or country and brutally slaughtered my neighbors. It's not a perfect world, but it is getting better. We should be getting happier.
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Candida1 year, 7 months ago
Edmar14,
I try to convince myself from time to time that humanity has become more civilized over the centuries, but then another opportunistic war comes along, or another genocide, and my doubts spring to life again.
I don't know where you live, but I suspect that neither the Huns nor the Mongols have ever been near your home town. It is probably in a nation that has done its own share of slaughtering, starting with the natives. Whether things are getting better or worse is largely a matter of perspective.
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drunkenhunter1 year, 7 months ago
Look, neo-cons who start unecessary, illegal, immoral, unethical wars are all a bunch of Satan worshiping Nazi War Criminals. It's a fact. A true fact.
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Candida1 year, 7 months ago
Hang in there cleare! Studies show that women who are very beautiful when young tend to be less happy later in life than their less attractive sisters. Beauty is fleeting. If that's all you have, when it's gone, you have nothing. You'll always have your intelligence, and there are people who appreciate it.
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rendarsmith1 year, 7 months ago
This is so true in so many ways.
"They are "odd," they are the geeks, they are social outsiders"
And nerds! He forgot nerds! That's what I was always called.
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tachyonsoul1 year, 7 months ago
I think being that there are different types of intelligence ( none being more valid than another), there are also different kinds of happiness and many variations between them . I think having a more open mind may invite all kinds of negative influences to take root but also the ability to slowly and gradually work through these problems to an eventual equilibrium. On the otherhand, being closed minded will prevent any such enlightenment occuring although temporary satisfaction may allow the person to function more effectively in the here and now. It's a fluctuation between these states that most humans have to exist in. Environmental and genetic influences seem to be a determining factor for many.
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