It seems that high IQ and loneliness go together.
I have been really impressed as I read through some of the threads here. Most of the members here think and act above their peers.
Why intelligent people are unhappy
It is no secret that Einstein used to be a loner himself.
Your thoughts on this?

I certainly can see some truth in that assessment.

However, I think the below helps to describe how I feel about my own existence sometimes...

I think it's a bit self-serving. It's one thing to say that intelligent people see more of the tragedy in the world; people who are intelligent generally tend to be more observant and critical thinkers, so that makes sense. Because this is the case, intellectuals may be more unhappy than people who are less intelligent, but that is due to their unhappiness with the state of things rather than unhappiness about their own lives.

As far as unhappiness as a symptom of an intellectual's own life, I believe that, whatever social stigmation aside, it's not far from the level of the average person. If a person is highly ntelligent, would it not follow that they'd be smart enough to figure out how to succeed? At least, an intelligent person should at least be able to duplicate the actions of others so as to function socially. At most, an intelligent person would recongize the importance of confidence and seek to build it within themselves. There are plenty of smart people who make something of themselves in this world- in fact, I would argue that more smart people are successful than stupid folks are. I would also argue, that while the article says that only a "few [intellectuals] reach the top of the business or social ladder", there are many many more less smart individuals that don't come close either.

As far as the prison phenomenon the article talks about, that may simply be a case of intellectual arrogance. If I think I'm smarter than most people, chances are I'll try to put one over on them. Again, however, the question comes up- if I'm so smart, how come I didn't forsee this or forsee that? Why was I caught, if I am supposedly intellectualy superior.

So the article, while parts of it may be grounded in truth, seems to me to be more a self-aggrandizement of intellectuals. Chuck Klosterman talks in his book Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, how people think being depressed is equivalent to being intelligent, and it seems to me that he may have a point. Regardless though, being smart and being depressed are two seperate things. Being smart is a trait. Being depressed is an emotional state. They probably go hand in hand no more so than being stupid and being depressed do.

I'm intelligent. Supposedly.

I'm also unhappy alot. That much I know for sure.

wow thanks closetgeek that article made my day a lot better.

I wondered about that comment also.

"...a larger than average percentage of them[prison inmates] are more intelligent than the norm."

While there is no doubt some very bright inmates, every study that i have seen looking at it, seems to conclude that the studied prison population is below the norm of the general outside population. While that does not negate Mr Allin's claim, for both of them to hold true there would be few in the prison population in the average range, which seems unlikely.

That was a very interesting article. Thanks for posting.

Nice article, though i must disagree with this claim. True High iq ppl might find it hard to socialize with the average jock, but THEY CAN SOCIALIZE WITH THEMSELVES CANT THEY? lol sry for the caps , but i just find it impossible to believe. Theres nothing stopping an intelligent person from being funny, witty, an interesting person, or a good life partner.

I have always believed uncontrollable circumstances are what make most ppl lonely. However this was a really interesting article and topic that u posted

I like the article but disagree with some of it. I'd say i know alot of smart people who hanlde stress above avrage. Id also say i know quit a few inteligent people who dont socialive well because they are Introverted. they look into them selvs and conitrate on that to much. im not saying they are self centered but they simle ether dont care to socailive or they're overly criticle of them selves in social inter action.

Id also say i fall in the same place as AntiHero. ["My Existence lies precisely within the range where one is to intelligent to function within society, but lacks the ability to accomplish anything above average."] but the doesnt come just from my intelligents but it also come from the lack of motivation or direction i have along with the lack of social skills i have.

I don't like the word intelligence one bit, I think theres knowledge and then there is ignorance. If you believe you're intelligent, then you're predisposed to be unhappy because you're implyingthat you don't belong in this world of "unintelligent" people. Would you be happier if there were only intelligent people in this world?

We could never unanimously agree on a specific definition for the word intelligence so how could have a discussion on the relationship between "intelligence and loneliniess." Well here is my opinion, people design their beliefs based on their experiences and evidence. It has nothing to do with their capacity for logic or what is rational, anything can be rationalized, people believe exactly what they want to. It is no different for the "intelligent" or the...well...whatever you call the group you'd like to juxtapose with the group you're in.

I know I'm not answering the question itself...because I think it's irrelevant and because Zraskolnikov's response was so beautifully done. Right now it seems to me that to you wear the title "Geek" a little too proudly, not humbly as it might have first seemed to me.