Re: happiness, it’s that meme graph:
Dumb: low expectations, low results, is happy
Top: can self-modify expectations to match reality: is happy
Muddled middle: takes expectations from environment, can’t achieve them, is unhappy.
This is funny, although of course what this is really pointing to isn’t a literal U-shaped graph, but that it’s really better to think about this in a much more multidimensional way, rather than just trying to graph happiness vs intelligence. Of course there are all sorts of other traits (like conscientiousness, etc) that might influence happiness. But more importantly IMO is what you are pointing to—there are all sorts of different “mindsets” that you can take towards your life, which have a huge impact on happiness… maybe high-IQ slightly helps you grope your way towards a healthier mindset, but to a large extent these mindsets / life philosophies seem independent of intelligence. By “mindset”, I am thinking of things like:
- “internal vs external locus of control” - level of expectations like you say, applied to lots of different life areas where we have expectations - stoic vs neurotic/catastrophizing attitude towards events - how you relate to / take expectations and desires your social environment (trying to keep up with the joneses, vs deliberately rebelling, vs lots of other stances). - being really hard on yourself vs having self-compassion vs etc
Re: happiness, it’s that meme graph: Dumb: low expectations, low results, is happy Top: can self-modify expectations to match reality: is happy Muddled middle: takes expectations from environment, can’t achieve them, is unhappy.
This is funny, although of course what this is really pointing to isn’t a literal U-shaped graph, but that it’s really better to think about this in a much more multidimensional way, rather than just trying to graph happiness vs intelligence. Of course there are all sorts of other traits (like conscientiousness, etc) that might influence happiness. But more importantly IMO is what you are pointing to—there are all sorts of different “mindsets” that you can take towards your life, which have a huge impact on happiness… maybe high-IQ slightly helps you grope your way towards a healthier mindset, but to a large extent these mindsets / life philosophies seem independent of intelligence. By “mindset”, I am thinking of things like:
- “internal vs external locus of control”
- level of expectations like you say, applied to lots of different life areas where we have expectations
- stoic vs neurotic/catastrophizing attitude towards events
- how you relate to / take expectations and desires your social environment (trying to keep up with the joneses, vs deliberately rebelling, vs lots of other stances).
- being really hard on yourself vs having self-compassion vs etc
And so on; too many to mention.