FF!!! wrote:The hunger for knowledge is what drives me to read and do my own research. The acquisition of same knowledge is what makes me happy. I enjoy being what I would consider to be an intellectual, but I would never forfeit my own happiness in order to learn more. I can read about physics and chemistry and learn about it without fully comprehending all the complex equations that go into it and just accept it for what it is.
I'm curious to know how gaining knowledge gains you happiness. I find them two rather separate ideas. What about it makes you feel happy? I wanted to comment on this, but felt it was a bit presumptuous. So I would like to understand your perspective.
To bring the point home, I DO understand what you mean, when you say "I find that I read so much of what is 'real' or truthful that it actually makes me unhappy or unfulfilled with life." There are many factors involved here. One of them is that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know. I think some people are content to just scrape by with the bare minimum, and it's kind of depressing because that is a good chunk of the population, and that unfortunately is what is 'real'. It's hard to stimulate your mind when everyone around you is talking about whether Ashton Kutcher is better on Two and a Half Men than Charlie Sheen. The truth about our world and our universe is generally rather ugly, in that we are so insignificant and the only thing people care to talk about is what movies and TV shows they've seen lately.
I agree that most small talk isn't exactly mentally stimulating, and I would say that the issue isn't with people not being intelligent, but with them having different conversational interests than you. Your posts tells me that you are interested in talking about topics that you consider intellectual, but at the same time you look down on people discussing their own interests. If someone were to overhear one of your intellectual conversations and decide you were a pompous *, would you consider them to be judgemental? You're doing the same thing.
You say acquiring knowledge makes you happy, but that does not mean the rest of the world needs to feel the same way. You don't think everyone is entitled to find their own source of happiness?
In any case, however you feel about this, it shouldn't be depressing to you. You shouldn't base your emotions on the actions of other people. You only have control over yourself. Don't concentrate on the world, but appreciate yourself. SELF HELP BOOK'D!
That being said, NEVER sacrifice intelligence for happiness because even though ignorance is bliss, I truly believe that there's nothing that can possibly make a person happier than when they can share deep philosophical and scientific thoughts with other intellectuals.
Truly?
We have a completely opposing perspective on happiness, I think. I would say it lies in the simpler things of life.
Let me explain a bit better because I think you're reading me incorrectly. When I say that gaining knowledge makes me happy, it's because I enjoy learning new things. Not just about life, love, scientific discovery, etc, but also about myself and other people. I really do enjoy learning, and having conversations with other people (whether I would consider them to be intellectual or not) helps me to do so. This isn't the ONLY thing that makes me happy, mind you. I like my video games, music, movies, sports, partying, all that jazz. I see happiness and intelligence as separate concepts as well, but these concepts can be joined together if one so wishes. I could sit and read a good fictional book and gain as much enjoyment out of it as reading a work of non-fiction, you know what I mean?
How do my posts tell you that I'm only interested in topics I consider intellectual? What posts have I made that ever gave you that presumption? Realistically, no, most small talk isn't mentally stimulating, but I wouldn't consider most of the threads on any message board to be small talk. I don't need to have an intellectual conversation in order to enjoy talking to someone, I mean I enjoy having conversations with everyone on this forum, and I wouldn't speculate that all of you have similar interests to myself. For a long time I have run with the notion that nobody is really stupid, there are just different forms of smart. For instance, I can't build an engine, and someone who can may consider me stupid, or at least lacking intelligence in that area. However, I can build a computer, and I would never think of anyone who can't to be dumb. This doesn't mean I can't enjoy hearing them talk about their fortes and that they can't enjoy hearing me talk about mine.
What ever gave you the idea that I look down on people discussing their own interests? I implore you to show me some example of me EVER looking down on someone for any reason. I don't have the means to turn my nose up at people because I have never viewed anyone as beneath me or above me, I see people on equal ground, unless you do something to really * me off haha. I can't help but feel like you think I'm some pompous * for some reason that I can't quite understand. Sure I love to discuss my favorite music and my interests, but who doesn't? I would never scoff at you or anyone else for doing so. So please, if I have ever given you this impression, I ask you to explain how and why because it's completely unintentional on my part.
I would indeed consider someone to be judgemental if they thought I was an * because they didn't value the things I value. That would be extremely judgemental of them to do so. They can certainly value different things than I do without thinking less of me, and I don't do that to anybody else. I'm definitely not trying to say that my viewpoint is for everyone. I was simply trying to establish that happiness and intelligence is a lot like a balancing act. I even said "but I would never forfeit my own happiness in order to learn more". I won't go out of my way to be more intelligent if it's going to make me unhappy, and I don't think anybody should. Everyone IS entitled to their own source of happiness, but there should be a level of intelligence that goes along with it, hence why I said it shouldn't be sacrificed. I was trying to juxtapose the two because I don't think it's great for someone to purposely dumb themselves down just to fit in with people or to be more content with their station in life, and I think that's really the topic of discussion here. It seems to me that was what tman was getting at, but forgive me if I completely missed the point.
I believe EVERYONE deserves to be happy, and should always do what makes them happy. Let me clear that up right now because I think you got the wrong impression based on what I said before. I just think there's a balance. What I was trying to say is that you ought to know where the point of balance is, and neither should be sacrificed for the sake of the other. I believe intelligence is important because it can lead to happiness, but having fun is equally important to happiness. They are separate but one may still affect the other at a certain point. The simple things are extremely important to my happiness as well.