As intelligence increases, does happiness decrease?

[SoleByThePound]

[h1]"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."[/h1]
~ Ernest Hemingway

 

[unsuited]

awesome thread. bookmarked

 

[Gill Baka Esq. LLC.]

"are we growing wiser, or just taller?"

 

[mjdalegend]

the more you know, the more you'll realize that you don't know $)*%

 

[gatorbeltsnpattiemelts]

I'm not a christian really, but there are some thing said in the bible that I agree with

"he who increase knowledge, increases in sorry". Even since I was 13-14 I could relate to this. Ignorance really is bliss sometimes if you think about it . When you have knowledge about certain areas you feel compelled to do things about them, or you have to embrace/accept the task is too great for you to do anything about it .

 

[al audi]

Being ignorant to what's going on is living a lie. That's the problem this country is having
right now. Trust me, once you liberate your self by waking up and actually accepting the
fact that we are constantly being lied to about everything is liberating. Who cares if it's
"scary", at least you are aware. You want to see scary? Then stay ignorant and wait for
what happens.

 

[jthagreat]

the smarter you get, the more you see what's wrong...
the smarter you get, the more you realize there's nothing you can do about it.
the smarter you get, the less damb you give about things you cant fix
i dont agree w/ the statement.
according to niketalk... smart rich guys are sulking in all their possessions and yambs...
while broke dumb guys are happy...

this is the part that bothers me about NT/Life.

I think we (i'll include myself) come to that conclusion that rich/stars are living this miserable life because we are living miserable ourselves. These stars generally have all the things that WE DESIRE yet we almost downplay it to make ourselves feel better.

 

[jthagreat]

Being ignorant to what's going on is living a lie. That's the problem this country is having
right now. Trust me, once you liberate your self by waking up and actually accepting the
fact that we are constantly being lied to about everything is liberating. Who cares if it's
"scary", at least you are aware. You want to see scary? Then stay ignorant and wait for
what happens.

Being ignorant is different from acting ignorant.

If you KNOW you don't know something and continue to act without regard to that knowledge, then yeah you're being ignorant.

But if you don't know that you don't know something, can you truly be ignorant?

It seems that ignorance is defined only by the observer of the ignorant, not the agent of ignorance him/herself.  

Isn't that the definition of ignorance? Being unaware that is.

i dont know how to multi-quote

that is a great post future, BUT i always thought ignorance (actually means) that you are truly UNAWARE, so youre "ignorant to the fact," where as WE typically see someone doing dumb S!!!, and they know its dumb, yet choose not to care (which is '******ed' and we call it being ignorant.

Yall follow what im tryin to say? or did Future already say that? lol

edit:

Some would have you think that cuz when an what if topic like that is handled/tackled the person reaches an intelligence to the level they look down on everyone, see nothing but the ugliness in humanity and then want nothing to do with them and then become incredibly lonely because they shun ppl or alienate them.

The "smarter" i got, i think the more cynical i became...

 

[executive76]

Absolutely.

 

[sooperhooper]

Smarter people tend to be more picky and harder to satisfy, possibly because they're able to articulate their feelings and understand what is "wrong"/ ultimately more needy. Ignorance is bliss.

Case in point, I'm a server at a restaurant it's always the geeky/ uber intelligent guests that specify "no Pico, light rosemary, make sure it's gluten free etc.." just eat the food and shutup. It takes too much to make them happy. The average person MIGHT have a minor specification, but overall they're easily satisfied.

 

[futuremd]

Smarter people tend to be more picky and harder to satisfy, possibly because they're able to articulate their feelings and understand what is "wrong"/ ultimately more needy. Ignorance is bliss.

Case in point, I'm a server at a restaurant it's always the geeky/ uber intelligent guests that specify "no Pico, light rosemary, make sure it's gluten free etc.." just eat the food and shutup. It takes too much to make them happy. The average person MIGHT have a minor specification, but overall they're easily satisfied.

Funny you mention that. 

I heard there was something that said stumbling over words was indicative of having too BIG of a vocabulary. Its like knowing theres a better word out there but not being able to recall it at the moment. 

 

[n3rd]

I was once extremely optimistic, and 10 years later am extremely cynical. Balance is so key, its hard to get out of the hole though. Soon...

 

[wisepharoah]

I think as you become more intelligent and therefore more aware you start to question the nature of reality and the artificial reality around you. This typically leads to a stage of extreme pain and general dissatisfaction with the superficial ideas of happiness you believed to be the cure for everything. The next stage is self discovery and the power that you have to actually effect your reality field which typically leads to the journey of TRUE knowledge and therefore TRUE happiness. The key to all of this is to remember that by not applying the knowledge you gain throughout life to achieve a goal or aim that knowledge you acquired means nothing and your appetite for inner peace will never be satiated. True happiness is living life with a definite purpose and following the path of achieving that goal. It has to be your purpose though and not one given to you by an outside influence. Ignorance is NEVER bliss because you never even touch the shores of your unlimited potential and its a waste of your unique talents that you will never discover because your mind is closed and therefore all information is filtered through all of your biases. Have a blessed day

 

[futuremd]

I think as you become more intelligent and therefore more aware you start to question the nature of reality and the artificial reality around you. This typically leads to a stage of extreme pain and general dissatisfaction with the superficial ideas of happiness you believed to be the cure for everything. The next stage is self discovery and the power that you have to actually effect your reality field which typically leads to the journey of TRUE knowledge and therefore TRUE happiness. The key to all of this is to remember that by not applying the knowledge you gain throughout life to achieve a goal or aim that knowledge you acquired means nothing and your appetite for inner peace will never be satiated. True happiness is living life with a definite purpose and following the path of achieving that goal. It has to be your purpose though and not one given to you by an outside influence. Ignorance is NEVER bliss because you never even touch the shores of your unlimited potential and its a waste of your unique talents that you will never discover because your mind is closed and therefore all information is filtered through all of your biases. Have a blessed day

I think I agree? Let me know if I'm following what you're saying.

To me, true happiness is really realizing that prayer:

"grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"

True happiness to me seems to be that balance of knowing whats really up, but being realistic about how content you actually are to care to put effort into addressing things one way or the other. Being actively lazy, if you will. 

Unless of course you're just describing existentialism?

 

[antonlavey]

There's always an exception to any generalization. But judging by Big Bang Theory it's prolly true.

WTH is this guy talking about?


There is also a correlation between intelligence and alcoholism and the use of reality altering substances, something to think about.

 

[futuremd]

There's always an exception to any generalization. But judging by Big Bang Theory it's prolly true.

WTH is this guy talking about?


There is also a correlation between intelligence and alcoholism and the use of reality altering substances, something to think about.

A study just came out after studying over a million data points that shows that the more creative you are, the more likely you are to have a mental illness of some sort...however they define that.

www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/ki-lbc101612.php

I think of mad-scientists and savants etc. when I read this. 

 

[antonlavey]

http://www.cracked.com/article_19174_5-unexpected-downsides-high-intelligence.html


Interesting read...intelligent people are less likely to pass on their genes. That's something I've always suspected but there are studies that support it.

 

[unsuited]

http://www.cracked.com/article_19174_5-unexpected-downsides-high-intelligence.html
Interesting read...intelligent people are less likely to pass on their genes. That's something I've always suspected but there are studies that support it.

....do yo mean that the gene is reccesive...or they just dont reproduce?

 

[antonlavey]

....do yo mean that the gene is reccesive...or they just dont reproduce?

They just don't reproduce. If you notice, people of socioeconomic status and less educated people tend to have A LOT of children. Intelligent people tend to engage in behaviors that defy evolutionary "traditions". Eg. being a night owl

 

[futuremd]

....do yo mean that the gene is reccesive...or they just dont reproduce?

They just don't reproduce. If you notice, people of socioeconomic status and less educated people tend to have A LOT of children. Intelligent people tend to engage in behaviors that defy evolutionary "traditions". Eg. being a night owl

Or getting married later in life. 

 

[unsuited]

ok....say a little more about being a night owl.....going against evolutionary traditions.....?

 

[antonlavey]

ok....say a little more about being a night owl.....going against evolutionary traditions.....?

Read the link I posted, I dunno what else you want me to say.

 

[unsuited]

ok. wish i had not read it.....but its clear now....the one about lying is really interesting. you tell a convincing lie (when you want to) = your smart....so if you have a tell....what does that make you?......

 

[dipsetallday05]

Interesting thread, I used to agree that ignorance is bliss. But now I think its all about being aware. It changes how you react to things. I used to over analyze the hell outta everything and it would stress the hell out of me, but many of things we allow to get to us really isn't worth it.

Being aware of whats really going on and being able to accept it is the key.

Cause at the end of the day you die with nothing. Life is like a game that no matter what you do in between you get the same ending. So I live my life knowing I'm just playing the game I was born into, and I'm aware enough to know that pain is apart of life that is necessary.

 

[elcatfisho]

Interesting thread, I used to agree that ignorance is bliss. But now I think its all about being aware. It changes how you react to things. I used to over analyze the hell outta everything and it would stress the hell out of me, but many of things we allow to get to us really isn't worth it.

Being aware of whats really going on and being able to accept it is the key.

Cause at the end of the day you die with nothing. Life is like a game that no matter what you do in between you get the same ending. So I live my life knowing I'm just playing the game I was born into, and I'm aware enough to know that pain is apart of life that is necessary.

true, you just hope you are able to accept the circumstances you are given and make the most out of that time.