Coup D'etat

I was curious as to whether or not any of you believe smart/gifted people are happy.

Now let me elaborate on "smart/gifted" people. It doesn't apply definitely to every member of the top 20 or anything similar. I'm talking about that certain kind of smart that crosses many other disciplines as opposed to being in one.

I might be using the wrong words.

It doesn't just apply to academics, but also entertainment as well. Actors. Comedians. Musicians. People with very high skills? Natural as opposed to developed ones. The actors, comedians, musicians we know are mainstream due to their natural ability. Developed ones are a lot harder.

Well?

Am I making sense?

izabel

It depends on your definition of happy.
I know someone who is REALLY gifted in math.
That person, however, is kind of oblivious to things happening around him.
Hence people usually laugh at him.
But the thing is, he doesn't notice and he's still happy.
However, people might say he isn't happy as he doesn't have many real friends.
So yea it all depends on your definition.

woami

Certain gifted/smart people are unhappy. I think that those that are gifted in reading other people are probably more unhappy than those with a talent in a quantitative subject. After a while, I think that they start categorizing people in certain personality types and it makes them feel somewhat depressed that people seem to be so simple. It might used to be fun to interact with others since one can't predict what the other would do, but if one knows or has a general idea of another person's thought processes, it can get old.
Smart/gifted people also might be more unhappy because they realize that sometimes the sky IS the limit. There's a certain wall that separates them from the next level. They can see it, but they just can't break through that ceiling. This is more apparent in subjects like math where some people can just "see" the solution while others have to slowly untangle the knot in order to grasp something.

Note: I am not describing myself since I am definitely not gifted at reading other people.

OperaDad

A lot of the not so "smart" people are some of the happiest. They don't wallow in what they don't have. They enjoy what they do have.

Moodrets

To my knowledge, there is no correlation at all (+ or -) between intelligence (operationally defined, as measured by an IQ test) and reported life satisfaction, so no.

I don't entirely understand your definition, though. There is a + correlation between reported life satisfaction and intellectual (ability based) engagement in one's career, and also a + correlation between RLS and status with respect to your peers, so if those who excel excel more than those around them (and have nicer things than their neighbors ;D) and get to apply their skills often in their life, then yes, they're in all likelihood going to be "happier."

Alone

I am kind of gifted in math and logical thinking. I often aim to understand things, not just accept them, so every time I challenge a dogma, I face a stern opposition from everyone around me - family, compatriots, etc. I can't say it makes me happy, so yea. The other thing is that I realize that at the moment life is pointless (or I do not know the meaning), and that since everyone dies in the end, it doesn't really matter what you do during your life. That doesn't make me happy either. Perhaps if I didn't look so deep, and would just party-friends-eat, then I would be simple and happy.

Oh by the way, talking about math... I heard this thing, that a number of people who are deeply gifted in math develop slight form of autism, which later can progress. So basically the guys are so logical, that they do not understand basic human everyday activities (friends, party, socializing, etc.), and go deep in their own field. From outside, it can look like they are not happy.

Obstinate

Of course many do to the outside world. To have certain societal norms forced on someone, even though they haven't a care about them, would make anyone unhappy truly.

HImom

I think it's not useful to generalize. Several of the most brilliant people I know appear to me to be quite happy. Much depends on what the individual does with his/her abilities and whether they have a job/profession/lifestyle where they have challenges that are enjoyable. Having more control over your environment -- at work, in your family -- has been shown to increase happiness.

A friend is incredibly gifted at "reading people." As long as she tries to hang out mostly with upbeat people & out of toxic environments, she remains her cheery self. I would never want her to be a counselor or anything that invited people to come to her with their emotional baggage because she picks it up just being near them--it would be an utterly exhausting profession for her. She recognizes it too.

I know people who are considered not too bright who are also very happy, so it's a highly variable & subjective thing.

We all know many people of varying intellectual abilities who are very happy, very unhappy & everything in between.

GeekNerd

A Princeton interviewer once told me that the people in the Mathematics department "are like a different species".

Note that consensus is growing that the Autism Spectrum conditions have critical genetic components. We would need to distinguish those acquired behaviours cited; usually autistics progressively try to behave in non-autistic fashions as they integrate into society, not the other way around; and math doesn't make you autistic! (lol) Anyway, look at this.

By the way, I'm autistic, and I like math a lot. But I'm sociopolitical.

This other thread is highly pertinent. It's only a few pages. Please read it.

I suppose that other factors would be important, but Bipolar/Schizoid/Schizophrene/Autistic Spectrum/ADHD conditions would complicate things... and their collective incidence is higher in the population at hand. Weirdness would be celebrated, ideally.... blah blah off tangent.

Obstinate

I can only speak from experience, as I'm one of those people that are highly gifted in reading people. For a better part of my life, I've felt like something was wrong with me, that it was a bad thing that I didn't play sports or want to go out to the mall and do what everyone else does at school. I thought I was an un-emotional robot, in fact. But it's just too strong in fact. And the sooner you learn to accept yourself, even if you're alone for it during certain things, the sooner you'll be happy. Because even though it may not be so now, there will be a place soon in the future (college anyone?) where you are accepted for who you are .

gnehc

It's been shown that liberals are mostly unhappy and most liberals think they are smarter then others and surly they are gifted. So, you might have point.

mcb52

Ignorance is bliss.

Also, I'd say that this is more apparent in younger kids: 'Smarter' kids might have trouble socializing with other kids and are more likely to be ostracized by other kids for being different (smarter).

Novanglia

My son is highly gifted in several areas and he is very happy. However, we made a decision early on that we wanted him to have as normal a childhood as possible. We also provided him a fair amount of structure and consistency. He's gone through the public school system and has not skipped any grades. His closest friends are in his grade and we felt that moving him ahead would have disrupted his emotional and social development. We've enriched his public school education in many ways - trips to museums, other countries, other activities that supplement his interests. Our house looks like a library. When he shows an interest in some area, we provide books and other materials for him to pursue that interest. It's expensive and time consuming, but in the end he's turned out to be a terrific well adjusted kid and I am confident that he will continue to be a contributing member of society

hilsa

Many smart people tend to be on the introverted side (I'm not saying they're anti-social or anything, though). The more introspective you are, the more you philosophize. The more you think about the world, the more depressed you become because the world is a depressing place.

That's how it works for me.

Moodrets

Aw, maybe you're just not thinking enough? ;p