Would you rather be smarter or happier?

[Syringer]

Theres a quote by some guy somewhere that says something along the lines of, ''happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.''

To some extent then I'd have to say I agree with it. The happiest, most 'blissful' people indeed are the more ignorant, and therefore most carefree.

Still, I don't think happiness is all we should strive for in life, but rather 'satisfaction'..which to me is a sort of blend between happiness and intelligence, "success" (however that's defined), among other things.

I think one of the best examples of this comes from the Simpsons (duh)..where homer gets a crayon removed from his brain and then gains 50 iq points but along with that he becomes an overthinking, emo, type..and once its removed he becomes his happy carefree self again.

Obviously these are extreme points made on a silly cartoon show-but certainly theres much to be said about the inverse relationship between happiness/intelligence.

For me personally, I would go with intelligence, for the 'satisfaction' stipulation I mentioned above..and theres a part of me that feels as if over thinking/worrying about trivial things kind of defines who I am (i.e. this post here), which as a result is really what ultimately satisfies me..

Pollage coming when Im on a real PC.

 

[moshquerade]

richer.

 

[KeithTalent]

If it's a conditional inverse relationship, i.e. by increasing one I will be decreasing the other then I would have to go with increasing happiness. I can afford to drop a few IQ points since I already am so smrt.

KT

 

[3chordcharlie]

Who would not rather be happier?

 

[clamum]

Happier.

 

[Chryso]

Obligatory spider comment.

 

[pontifex]

happier

 

[nakedfrog]

I'm fine, thanks.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I'm fine, thanks.

that's why i said "richer".

 

[skace]

The way your question is worded and the way your first post is worded seem conflicting. When I read your title I was assuming at my current intelligent would I rather be happier or more intelligent and I'd rather be happy. But the body of your post is how people are happier the less intelligent they are, and I'd rather not be happy in that manner. I don't want to lose intelligence to be happier, especially since the sort of happiness that comes from lack of intelligence is usually detrimental of some sort. IE: Being happy because you don't know enough to worry about your finances and then you eventually end up screwed. I'd rather be intelligent enough to worry if it means I come out better in the end.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
richer.

Fo' sho'! I'd take being rich along with being dumb and not horribly happy . I could at least buy my happiness then!

I don't know if I necessarily agree with this either. It takes a smart person to realize that certain aspects of their life may not be exactly ideal, but it takes a smarter person to realize that they probably have it quite good.

 

[bigrash]

definitely happier

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
If it's a conditional inverse relationship, i.e. by increasing one I will be decreasing the other then I would have to go with increasing happiness. I can afford to drop a few IQ points since I already am so smrt.

KT

:music:
I am so smart
I am so smart
S-M-R-T
:music:

 

[irishScott]

Intelligence and happiness go hand in hand IMO. The problem is that a good amount of intelligent people don't know how to let go of their academic factual side on occasion and just have fun/go with the flow. I'm extremely intellectual, and it took me a while to figure it out, but I can easily have loads of unintellectual fun when I'm in the right mood.

To answer the question, I'd take intelligence.

On an unrelated note, I'd say the happiest people I've ever met have been Buddhist, and are extremely intelligent.

 

[Dacalo]

I am satisfied with my intelligence and financial status, so I will take happier any day.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I'm fine, thanks.

that's why i said "richer".

Sure, sign me up for one of those, then!

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: skace
The way your question is worded and the way your first post is worded seem conflicting. When I read your title I was assuming at my current intelligent would I rather be happier or more intelligent and I'd rather be happy. But the body of your post is how people are happier the less intelligent they are, and I'd rather not be happy in that manner. I don't want to lose intelligence to be happier, especially since the sort of happiness that comes from lack of intelligence is usually detrimental of some sort. IE: Being happy because you don't know enough to worry about your finances and then you eventually end up screwed. I'd rather be intelligent enough to worry if it means I come out better in the end.

Nah you wouldn't lose out on either one, just gain it one area or the other..

 

[hanoverphist]

with intelligence comes awareness. how you deal with that awareness sways your happiness level. ill take intelligence, ive already conquered most of my happiness demons.

 

[Jeff7]

Smarter. I could easily have happiness through a lobotomy or severe brain damage, and devote the rest of my life to enjoying the amazing wonders of tying shoelaces around my thumbs while drooling on myself.

I doesn't always have to be a perfectly inverse relationship, either. I think that it goes in periods where that relationship is true, but then there are "adjustments" in the graph. Happiness declines as intelligence increases, to a point, where some personal revelation is made or found, and the happiness goes up drastically, starting a new period.

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
with intelligence comes awareness. how you deal with that awareness sways your happiness level. ill take intelligence, ive already conquered most of my happiness demons.

Part of the reason I see some decline in happiness as intelligence increases is the adage, "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." If you're really ignorant, but unaware of it, you may think of yourself as the smartest person in the world. "I could bound myself in a nutshell, and consider myself the master of infinite space." Or something like that. It's like the Point-being in the book "Flatland." Its universe was itself, a single point. It knew of nothing other than itself, and thus anything that existed was simply viewed as some part of it.
As awareness increases, you may see before you so many paths in life, so many options. It also works backward - you see more and more things you could have done before, but of which you were ignorant at the time.

 

[kranky]

I'll take smarter, which I cannot change, because being happy is a choice.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
richer.

:music:
Now I aint sayin' she a gold digga...
:music:

 

[sdifox]

Ignorance is bliss

 

[jonks]

Smarter so I can invent the happiness machine, duh. Besides dvr or fleshlight that is.

 

[Canai]

Originally posted by: clamum
Happier.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
Smarter so I can invent the happiness machine, duh. Besides dvr or fleshlight that is.

It's called weed.