Discussion Is intelligence a curse?

[athousandsorrows]

I've been thinking about this recently, and I wonder if it makes any sense to you, guys and gals. I read somewhere that intelligent people tend to be more dissatisfied in life than less intelligent people. This makes sense to me. If you're intelligent enough to know your life sucks, then you know it COULD be better, and just knowing that is enough to depress you. If you're lucky enough to be in a situation where actual change is possible and doable, then you can change it. But, if you're in a situation where it's impossible to change anything, or where you've tried to change it so many times you just feel like a broken vase that's been glued back together a million times and now you can't even make out the design that you had in the first place, then you feel hopeless and you want to end it.

Knowing you have choices is also excruciatingly painful, at least for me. I often think if I didn't know all the possibilities, and I were convinced that this is how life is supposed to be, nowhere else to go, then I would be content, right? If I knew from the second I was born that my life was going to be so and so, and there is NO WAY to make it different, then there would be nothing to feel sad about, right? When you know you have a million choices to make, and you've made some that turned out horribly, and you're afraid because you KNOW every choice you make could make it all so much worse, then you panic.

What do you think about this? And, is there a way to dumb yourself down? Other than abusing alcohol or drugs. I don't want to die an alcoholic, because of my personal story, but I would like to be stupider, to not know all that is out there and just be content with whatever comes my way. Is that a possibility at all?

 

[athousandsorrows]

With the exception, of course, of people who've had traumatic things happen to them, and as a result end up depressed/suicidal. That is a whole different thing.

 

[Gumby]

I've been thinking about this recently, and I wonder if it makes any sense to you, guys and gals. I read somewhere that intelligent people tend to be more dissatisfied in life than less intelligent people. This makes sense to me. If you're intelligent enough to know your life sucks, then you know it COULD be better, and just knowing that is enough to depress you. If you're lucky enough to be in a situation where actual change is possible and doable, then you can change it. But, if you're in a situation where it's impossible to change anything, or where you've tried to change it so many times you just feel like a broken vase that's been glued back together a million times and now you can't even make out the design that you had in the first place, then you feel hopeless and you want to end it.

Knowing you have choices is also excruciatingly painful, at least for me. I often think if I didn't know all the possibilities, and I were convinced that this is how life is supposed to be, nowhere else to go, then I would be content, right? If I knew from the second I was born that my life was going to be so and so, and there is NO WAY to make it different, then there would be nothing to feel sad about, right? When you know you have a million choices to make, and you've made some that turned out horribly, and you're afraid because you KNOW every choice you make could make it all so much worse, then you panic.

What do you think about this? And, is there a way to dumb yourself down? Other than abusing alcohol or drugs. I don't want to die an alcoholic, because of my personal story, but I would like to be stupider, to not know all that is out there and just be content with whatever comes my way. Is that a possibility at all?

Get a seroquel prescription. The drug completely softened my cognitive abilities. I'm off it now and I'm intelligent again.

 

[athousandsorrows]

Get a seroquel prescription. The drug completely softened my cognitive abilities. I'm off it now and I'm intelligent again.

I was on seroquel for a while and remember just being asleep or like a zombie all the time, which is why my doctor changed it for a different mood stabilizer. I don't remember feeling dumb, just out of it and sleepy.

 

[PsychoPyro]

The universe is pain. Understanding the universe is pain. Intelligence leads to understanding the universe.

So it can be.

 

[Lucas]

Knowing you have choices is also excruciatingly painful, at least for me. I often think if I didn't know all the possibilities, and I were convinced that this is how life is supposed to be, nowhere else to go, then I would be content, right? If I knew from the second I was born that my life was going to be so and so, and there is NO WAY to make it different, then there would be nothing to feel sad about, right?

I get what you mean. My situation is kinda nightmareish because the health problems that I have are my own fault. So everyday I have to live with the guilt and all the should have or could have. I am not angry at myself anymore, now it's more of a mercy thing. I realize that I am now in a situation where I am just fucked and if I have any self respect left, I am gonna end it. I am too well-educated to believe in miracles or cure any time soon.

And I think that's what many us have in common, values that include self respect and standards. You shouldn't live for others, if life is awful, there is no shame leaving early. Maybe it's egoistic or selfish, but I just think you shouldn't sell your values or lower your life expectations just because you got hurt or your life turns out shit.

Though I do admit and I did mention this in some thread that high expectations might be the reason for rising suicide rates. Modern society and school system teach us that life's meant to be super great and once you find out that's not really the truth or your life doesn't pan out like that, of course you'll get depressed.

 

[athousandsorrows]

Though I do admit and I did mention this in some thread that high expectations might be the reason for rising suicide rates. Modern society and school system teach us that life's meant to be super great and once you find out that's not really the truth or your life doesn't pan out like that, of course you'll get depressed.

I completely agree. At least, in my case, I was raised to believe we were this rich family that had it all, but after my parents divorced and we all went our separate ways things changed for everyone. My father "lost" his position or rather was moved to a different one that paid less and of course he lost a lot of money in the divorce, so everything changed. Instead of getting the foreign education we (me and my brother) were sure to get, we went to a cheap university in Mexico and had to start working right away. I know it might sound completely stupid for someone who had it much worse than I did, and I completely understand. That sudden change in means though, deeply affected me, since I was always made to believe I was a princess, and I wasn't.

But that's just one piece of a very large and complicated puzzle that has been my shitty life. I do agree though, that we were made to believe life should be awesome and it turns out it's hell and some of us just can't cope with that. The bad choices, the things that were out of our control, the one moment that could've changed everything, we all have that (in this forum), and that's part of our common thread. Guilt over being able to do things differently haunts me all the time. I feel guilty over every single action I've ever taken, and that's just unbearable. Even if I could back in time, I often wonder if I'm even made for life at all. Of course, I've lost all hope to be honest and have come to have a very bleak view of everything.

 

[AveryConure]

Get a seroquel prescription. The drug completely softened my cognitive abilities. I'm off it now and I'm intelligent again.

Unless you're seriously schizophrenic you shouldn't be prescribed that stuff. Yikes.

 

[AveryConure]

You remember that episode of the Simpsons where they find out Homer somehow had a crayon stuck in his brain, so they removed it and he suddenly had an above average intelligence, and he just ended up being miserable so he actually went back to the doctor to have the crayon shoved back in again and he was back to being stupid but ultimately happy?

Yeah.

 

[athousandsorrows]

You remember that episode of the Simpsons where they find out Homer somehow had a crayon stuck in his brain, so they removed it and he suddenly had an above average intelligence, and he just ended up being miserable so he actually went back to the doctor to have the crayon shoved back in again and he was back to being stupid but ultimately happy?

Yeah.

OMG! Yes!!!!! I do remember that episode!!!! Also in Futurama when Fry ate an eggsalad sandwich and he got worms that made him smart but he chose to kill them and go back to being dumb! Oh my! MIND BLOWN!

 

[ineedtojackit]

You can only choose one of the following in life, the truth or happiness. You either ignore the suffering of others and drown yourself in the false fantasies of life with a huge inheritance/privilege or live with the reality of this world in eternal pain. At times I wonder if our consciousness was a mistake, ignorance truly is bliss.

 

[Gumby]

Unless you're seriously schizophrenic you shouldn't be prescribed that stuff. Yikes.

Yeah I got it off label for bipolar and they jacked up the dose when I was hospitalized. Glad to be off of it.

 

[itsallover]

Ignorance really is bliss. Most of the happy people I have met in my life have been complete morons. The funny part is that most people think they are highly intelligent but really not much smarter than most primates. On the other hand the really intelligent people I have come across definitely struggle with anxiety and depression.

 

[Temporarilyabsurd]

Get a seroquel prescription. The drug completely softened my cognitive abilities. I'm off it now and I'm intelligent again.

i'm liking this ironically .

 

[Gumby]

i'm liking this ironically .

Lol, great post.

 

[Gumby]

I was on seroquel for a while and remember just being asleep or like a zombie all the time, which is why my doctor changed it for a different mood stabilizer. I don't remember feeling dumb, just out of it and sleepy.

I literally couldn't remember words or construct sentences, which sucked. I also had the same zombification you experienced. That drug should be taken off the market imo.

 

[Gray Wounds]

Intelligence must never be considered as a curse. Unless one would like to see himself as a zombie lurking around in this world full of techy-zombies and zombies hungry for materialistic things. (in my own opinion only)

 

[YaYaDr]

The more I know, the more I realize what I don't know. I love learning, but my love of learning can only carry me so far. I'm tired now and want out soon.

 

[Fylobatica]

This is a world where Knowledge and the ability to pursue and maintain the gift of Reason, is mostly frowned upon, outside of academic environments. I wish it wasn't that way

 

[YaYaDr]

This is a world where Knowledge and the ability to pursue and maintain the gift of Reason, is mostly frowned upon, outside of academic environments. I wish it wasn't that way

My goodness. I can't believe it when people say "you think too much" as though thinking were some mental affliction to be remedied.

 

[Michel Angelo]

I've been thinking about this recently, and I wonder if it makes any sense to you, guys and gals. I read somewhere that intelligent people tend to be more dissatisfied in life than less intelligent people. This makes sense to me. If you're intelligent enough to know your life sucks, then you know it COULD be better, and just knowing that is enough to depress you. If you're lucky enough to be in a situation where actual change is possible and doable, then you can change it. But, if you're in a situation where it's impossible to change anything, or where you've tried to change it so many times you just feel like a broken vase that's been glued back together a million times and now you can't even make out the design that you had in the first place, then you feel hopeless and you want to end it.

Knowing you have choices is also excruciatingly painful, at least for me. I often think if I didn't know all the possibilities, and I were convinced that this is how life is supposed to be, nowhere else to go, then I would be content, right? If I knew from the second I was born that my life was going to be so and so, and there is NO WAY to make it different, then there would be nothing to feel sad about, right? When you know you have a million choices to make, and you've made some that turned out horribly, and you're afraid because you KNOW every choice you make could make it all so much worse, then you panic.

What do you think about this? And, is there a way to dumb yourself down? Other than abusing alcohol or drugs. I don't want to die an alcoholic, because of my personal story, but I would like to be stupider, to not know all that is out there and just be content with whatever comes my way. Is that a possibility at all?

What you are talking about here is known in academia as "depressive realism" as well as that intelligence negatively correlates with happiness. Depressive realism is still somewhat controversial, and supposedly the original research has been debunked.

 

[ineedtojackit]

Ignorance really is bliss. Most of the happy people I have met in my life have been complete morons. The funny part is that most people think they are highly intelligent but really not much smarter than most primates. On the other hand the really intelligent people I have come across definitely struggle with anxiety and depression.

yup, all the revolutionary geniuses and groundbreaking visionaries all seem to be depressed or have horrible lives. Bourdain, Robin Williams, even Musk has been through so many divorces and says he doesn't wish his life on other people. The only people that were truly happy have admitted to me that they have never questioned their existence and are too scared to think about it, honestly a life that doesn't ponder about its creation and existence at all isn't a life I consider worth having with that level of ignorance.

 

[Volatile]

With the exception, of course, of people who've had traumatic things happen to them, and as a result end up depressed/suicidal. That is a whole different thing.

Why do traumatic events in a person's life lead one to suicide?

 

[Definitelyworried]

I feel like my stupidity got me to where I'm at (suicidal). I do wish I was smarter, but who knows maybe I would had ended up here anyways

 

[Tiburcio]

Stupid and ignorant people suffer too but they don't know it, they think life is objectively good and they would never notice how everything really is. They feel bad too but they don't notice it, this is the reason of why people prefer wasting great part of their lifes stressed and fully dedicated to something they hate. They can't be aware of the weight of their situation.

I don't know if I'm intelligent or not, but for me having the insight enough for discovering how crap is life is good. I can see everything with more objectivity and not simply endure this life as I barely can without thinking even a moment that maybe being alive is not a blessing as I thought, but a curse that keep me trapped and which only exit way is death.

I used to be ignorant too and I suffered anyway. And it's better being intelligent or at least having knowledge to know the truth of your reality.

 

[athousandsorrows]

Why do traumatic events in a person's life lead one to suicide?

There was a case on the news many years ago in the country where I was born. There was a little girl, she was from a very poor household, and she was raped by he father constantly. Finally, he got her pregnant, and the girl (can't remember her age but she couldn't have been older than a teenager) went to her father's house, pregnant, knocked on the door, shot and killed the man, then shot and killed herself. I imagine even if you're a pretty well-adapted, or you have a healthy brain, when something like that happens to you it's just too much to bear for almost anybody. Of course, not everyone that goes through such an ordeal decides to end their life, some people actually gather strength from such events (how? beats me) and make their lives an example for others. Nothing is absolute, ever. There are exceptions for everything.

Stupid and ignorant people suffer too but they don't know it, they think life is objectively good and they would never notice how everything really is. They feel bad too but they don't notice it, this is the reason of why people prefer wasting great part of their lifes stressed and fully dedicated to something they hate. They can't be aware of the weight of their situation.

I don't know if I'm intelligent or not, but for me having the insight enough for discovering how crap is life is good. I can see everything with more objectivity and not simply endure this life as I barely can without thinking even a moment that maybe being alive is not a blessing as I thought, but a curse that keep me trapped and which only exit way is death.

I used to be ignorant too and I suffered anyway. And it's better being intelligent or at least having knowledge to know the truth of your reality.

Well, I want to be very clear that when I talk about being intelligent I am not talking about having gone to a fancy school or reading a bunch of books, or having a privileged education, being intelligent has nothing to do with that. I've met incredibly humble people, some who can't read even, who are incredibly intelligent, so if it seemed at all like I was trying to drive a wedge between economic classes, please excuse me for that was not my intention. Some people, I think, are just born with blissful ignorance, the perfect sheep, the ones that are quite content doing whatever is mandated without question. That's what I mean.

I think we've all been brainwashed by the powers that be just so that we can serve them. Society has always been like that. You are born, you go to school, if you're lucky you go to a good school, because for some reason good education is not a right for everybody, go figure; then you get a job, if you're lucky a 9 to 5 desk/office job that will allow you to "grow" within that company and in a few years make it to the top of the ranks, in the meantime you will have gotten married, if you're lucky, had children, if you're lucky, and once you reach that top in your career then after a few more years you retire. Once a year, if you're lucky, you went on vacation. That's considered a good life pretty much everywhere right? And some people really do think that is a good life.

I only have the people I know personally as true examples, and of course the stories of people I've read about. But it seems to me that that's the pattern everyone tries to follow. Everything revolves around money. You gotta work hard so you can play hard. Feed the machine until you die, then your children will, and so on. I realize that might sound very bleak, but that's how I see it. What do you think?

 

[athousandsorrows]

What you are talking about here is known in academia as "depressive realism" as well as that intelligence negatively correlates with happiness. Depressive realism is still somewhat controversial, and supposedly the original research has been debunked.

Did not know that. Will look into it. I like learning new things. Thank you!

 

[athousandsorrows]

I literally couldn't remember words or construct sentences, which sucked. I also had the same zombification you experienced. That drug should be taken off the market imo.

Agree, it was nightmarish, literally. I was taking Seroquel with Cymbalta and since the Seroquel made me incredibly sleepy, and would knock me out easily for 14 hours or more, I'd be asleep most of the time, and the Cymbalta (at first) was causing horrible nightmares, so the two combined were just keeping me asleep in a nightmare all the time. It was awful. Thank goodness I was able to ween off of both.

 

[Tiburcio]

Well, I want to be very clear that when I talk about being intelligent I am not talking about having gone to a fancy school or reading a bunch of books, or having a privileged education, being intelligent has nothing to do with that. I've met incredibly humble people, some who can't read even, who are incredibly intelligent, so if it seemed at all like I was trying to drive a wedge between economic classes, please excuse me for that was not my intention. Some people, I think, are just born with blissful ignorance, the perfect sheep, the ones that are quite content doing whatever is mandated without question. That's what I mean.

I think we've all been brainwashed by the powers that be just so that we can serve them. Society has always been like that. You are born, you go to school, if you're lucky you go to a good school, because for some reason good education is not a right for everybody, go figure; then you get a job, if you're lucky a 9 to 5 desk/office job that will allow you to "grow" within that company and in a few years make it to the top of the ranks, in the meantime you will have gotten married, if you're lucky, had children, if you're lucky, and once you reach that top in your career then after a few more years you retire. Once a year, if you're lucky, you went on vacation. That's considered a good life pretty much everywhere right? And some people really do think that is a good life.

My education was garbage but anyway I noticed it. And I still prefer this to living in the ignorance about the topic.

 

[athousandsorrows]

My education was garbage but anyway I noticed it. And I still prefer this to living in the ignorance about the topic.

I respect that. My education was pretty good, though not "the best", and I've always felt this way, so my point is valid that education really has nothing to do with being intelligent enough to know how much life sucks. I, personally, would prefer to be way, way more ignorant about everything and live in ignorant bliss, just content with life like so many people are. I hate waking up every day. I stay in bed for an hour or more just getting the courage to get up to go pee lol, all the while intermittently crying over nothing and everything. It's awful.