Why Intelligence Doesn’t Always Lead to Happiness

Society prizes both intelligence and happiness. Yet scientists have shown that, for some reason, the two simply cannot coincide. As Ernest Hemingway, the highly prolific, intelligent American journalist and novelist himself said, “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”

It is not quite clear if the American author was referring to every intelligent person or only to some of them—or possibly most. Nonetheless, as psychologists and psychiatrists have proved, he was not far off the mark.

Defining intelligence

There are eight principle forms of intelligence: logical-mathematical, musical, logical, linguistic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetics, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. When most people talk about this, however, what they mean is logical-mathematical or above- average mental cognitive abilities.

Cognitive thinking is testable is one reason. From the first grade to the end of graduate school, testing is a necessary evil in education. The only problem lies in the fact that tying intelligence to educational performance often leads to misinterpretation of a student’s actual abilities. This brings us to the topic of IQ.

IQ or ‘intelligence quotient’ is the assessment of an individual’s level of intelligence based on the score received after taking a standardized test. Alfred Binet created what was later recognized as the first IQ test along with Victor Henri and Théodore Simon in 1905. They named it the Binet-Simon test. Then, German psychologist William Stern coined the term Intelligenzquotient in 1921. The term IQ is derived from this German word.

There is an enormous debate on the usefulness of IQ tests, however. As with most things, some support these while others do not. Yet despite the constant controversy surrounding the definition and importance of intelligence, we still used today to judge people’s past, present, and future achievements.

More to the point, it remains the deciding factor when it comes to accessing better or higher education. This is bewildering considering that we have well-known, highly intelligent individuals, such as Albert Einstein, who were considered poor learners simply because of learning disability like dyslexia or lack of mental stimulation.

What’s more, a high level of intelligence caused Einstein and many others some form of high anxiety, having driven them to judge themselves by their performance. In turn, this places them in needless competition with themselves and others, which current and past research has shown is not exactly the road to happiness.

This is because, in the words of Oscar Wilde, “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”

Defining happiness

The great Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was ostensibly the father of modern society’s concept of happiness. One of his most famous and influential works was the Nicomachean Ethics, a guide for humans to the good life and the reason behind all our actions.

Aristotle sought to answer the question of happiness in a series of lectures addressing the question: “What is the ultimate purpose of human existence?” That led him to the belief that happiness and the pursuit thereof was an essential part of human nature.

Interestingly enough, eudaimonia, the Greek word for our rather bulky English translation, actually refers to “flourishing” and psychological well-being. It was a way of being in action that he called energeia, suitable to a human soul at its proximity to excellence and virtue.

Of course, this is quite a different take on how today’s Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter communities seems to define it. Social media, it seems, has transformed the quest for internal well-being to one of outwardly popularity and wealth.

On another relevant note, the great philosopher also had quite a philosophical theory on how we should eat.

Be that as it may, in our guts, we know that those things to do not necessarily steer one to true contentment since, like intelligence, wealth and fame often fail to ensure lifelong satisfaction with oneself. Yet there is a inherent moral paradigm, it seems, in trying to attain both.

Happiness vs. intelligence

Friedrich Nietzsche once laughingly said, “Mankind does not strive for happiness; only the Englishman does.” Despite poking fun at the Brits, his words may have been highly accurate in the sense that even the word no longer adheres to one fixed concept. There is, thus, a slight disambiguation when one attempts to pinpoint one meaning.

Merriam-Webster, for example, describes it as “a state of well-being and contentment; joy; a pleasurable or satisfying experience.”

According to Cambridge, it is only “a feeling of of being happy.”

Britannica defines happiness as “a state of emotional well-being that a person experiences either in a narrow sense when good things happen in a specific moment, or more broadly, as a positive evaluation of one’s life and accomplishments overall.”

No wonder experts say intelligent people not only find happiness an unnecessary pursuit but an often fruitless one as well. More to the point, the way we each measure happiness differs while this is not quite so true about intelligence.

As Georgia O’Keefe once famously said “I think it’s so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary—you’re happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.”

A high IQ does not equate to a lifetime of joy

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know,” said Einstein, and he should know. There are, however, very specific reasons why those with a high IQ are more likely to be unhappy.

First of all, those with anxiety issues are prone to over-thinking even the smallest detail in their attempt to make sense of the world.

Also true is the fact that they not only expect too much of themselves, but too much is also expected of them by others.

Lastly, intelligent individuals tend to grow bored very easily with work, small conversation, and resting on their laurels.  The results of their studies or work also often cause dissatisfaction, even if it is very good or better than required. For that reason, they are constantly moving away or forward.

The fourth reason why the pursuit of happiness is challenging for intelligent individuals is overthinking. Of course, overthinking is toxic for just about anyone. What about those people who stay up late at night staring at the ceiling or the wall? They are most likely smart people, though not so smart if you think of all the needless worry and loss of sleep.

Social isolation is another curse they face since many are by nature introverts and therefore find it difficult to interact with other people.

Being too advanced for the basics adds to that problem since most cannot stand having superficial conversations.

Misunderstanding, by nature, stems from all of the above. People just don’t get them and find them distant and/or arrogant.

Those who are intelligent also set high-standards, leading to disappointment with themselves, their partners, family members, work colleagues, and friends.

So what is the moral of the story? Being smart is great, but being happy is too.