Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Saddest Truths About Smart People

People Break Down The Saddest Truths About Smart People
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

I love knowledge.

And I've always been envious of those that have it in spades.

I can't watch Jeopardy because it makes me sad.

Yet I love learning about all of the facts.

I've been told that power, much like ultimate wealth, apparently comes with a cost.

Make me believe it...

Redditor GoodDepth wanted to discuss the more somber life details about intelligence. They asked:

"What is the sad truth about smart people?"

I want an IQ of 180. But all the studying in the world won't get me there. Sadly... tell me about being brilliant!

Lost

The One Where Estelle Dies Episode 15 GIF by FriendsGiphy

“Intelligence is like four-wheel drive. It just lets you get lost in more remote places.' — Garrison Keillor"

No-Faithlessness5311

Mastery

"The smarter you get, the more you realise you don't know."

Crafty-Ambassador779

"I've noticed there's something weird with this, though. If someone hits a certain level of mastery in one area, they seem to think they can easily be an expert in all areas."

"As an example I used to be a professional carpenter that did work on mostly high end builds. The amount of Doctors and Engineers that were suddenly master plumbers, finish carpenters and electricians and 'knew' more than me after a few days of research was infuriating."

TheIowan

"facts and logic"

"They have no effect on dumb people's opinions."

theboomboy

"Persuasion (like teaching) is definitely a separate skill from intelligence. You can throw around 'facts and logic' all you want, but humans aren't robots. And what you/they consider factual and logical, may not be so."

ncnotebook

"I’ve found that people don’t like to be persuaded by logic and facts if they don’t have any logical facts to back their stance to begin with. They much rather go off hysteria and what they believe rather than what reasoning led them to that belief."

Vaxtin

Crushing

"Our school system (Australia) isn't built to deal with them. It crushes bright kids down to everyone else's level. The usual solution is just to give them extra work to do on top of the assigned work, when they finish that too fast. But to a kid, that's a punishment. In this way achieving beyond a certain accepted parameter is quietly discouraged."

theexteriorposterior

fools and fanatics

hocus pocus halloween GIFGiphy

"They are full of doubt compared to people who are not smart."

F**k-Reddit-Mods69

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. -B. Russell"

Paddlesons

So brains don't automatically equal brilliance and happiness... Who knew?

I Know what I Know

Think Season 2 GIF by NBCGiphy

"Being smart enough to know you're right while dealing with people too stupid to know they're wrong is soul crushing."

Stryker2279

"smartness"

"There's different levels of 'smartness' and different smart people go about life in different ways. But, I think universally young prodigies are typically isolated. They are at a level far above children their age, but are far younger than the people that match intellectually with (lacking life experience). Either way, a young prodigy can't connect with either group."

Firamaster

Potential

"They don't always find ways of living up to their potential."

Immediate_Aioli342

"To add to this, they're often told they should live up to their potential simply because it exists. The number of times myself and some of my current MSC colleagues have been told we are wasting our potential by not being physicians is soul crushing."

"And demeaning because it implies that pursuing anything other than the hardest, highest paid disciplines is a waste of you, regardless of what makes you happy. Truly sad to see smart people in careers or lives they hate because they did what other people told them they should do."

TinyBabyAlli

I should probably go back to therapy...

"Expectations. Never learning to study until it is too late. Being forced to learn outside of your age related interests. Being terrified of failure. Not being able to balance ambition and said fear of failure. Once again, expectations. My mother put so much pressure on me at such a young age I couldn't handle it. I have done well for myself as an adult, but will never be able to live up to those expectations set by her and others. I should probably go back to therapy."

Putty119

Levels

Praising John Goodman GIF by The Righteous GemstonesGiphy

"There are different types of intelligence. Being good at physics doesn't mean that you should manage people."

oliverismyspiritdog

Well I'm glad to only have average level intelligence. Who needs the stress.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Sydney Sweeney
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for W Magazine

Sydney Sweeney Could Face Charges After Hanging Bras On Hollywood Sign Without Permission

Legendary and controversial showman P.T. Barnum has been credited with saying, "Any publicity is good publicity." Of course, Barnum was operating in the 1800s when he could shape the narrative and kill damaging news.

In the digital age, publicity can quickly reach a global audience. Any missteps or poor choices are out there before damage control can be done.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glenn Close; Donald Trump
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Glenn Close Offers Dire Warning To Trump Over His Regime's 'Inhumanity' In Powerful Video

Film legend Glenn Close shared her feelings on President Donald Trump and his regime's "inhumanity" in a viral video on Instagram, saying she felt "compelled" to speak out in the wake of the murder of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Close—best known for starring in such classics as Fatal Attraction and who recently received raves for her work on Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery—condemned the "cold-blooded murder of American citizens" and warned Trump that "there will be hell to pay" as more and more people rise up against his leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; JD Vance; Tom Cotton
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Epically Rips JD Vance And MAGA Senator Over Their Hot Takes On Minneapolis Shootings

California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Vice President JD Vance and Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton after they both posted heartless remarks about the recent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Kristi Noem
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Al Drago/Getty Images

AOC Goes Nuclear On Kristi Noem For Suggesting That Protesters Who Show Up With Firearms Deserve To Die

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's hypocrisy after Noem responded to the murder of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis by claiming that protesters who show up with firearms aren't "peaceful."

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—whom authorities said was permitted to carry but was not handling—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Strangest Health Conditions They've Ever Experienced

The human body is complicated, fascinating, and sometimes difficult to explain.

While we know that, it's incredibly unnerving when we have a symptom that even our doctors struggle to explain or identify.

Keep ReadingShow less