Smart people, despite their intellectual prowess, face unique challenges. From overthinking to heightened sensitivity, these ten problems are a testament to the paradox of intelligence. Let's delve into the complexities that often accompany a high IQ.
Common Downsides of Extra-Intelligent People
Overintellectualize things
- Perfectionism
- Forget what it’s like to be a beginner
- They want to skip the basics
- Fear of looking stupid
- Too many people think they’re too advanced to perfect fundamentals
Smart people fall prey to stereotypes
Because smart people are better at quickly picking up subtle patterns, they are also more likely to pair certain characteristics with certain groups based on flimsy evidence
- This suggests a downside to being smart–it makes you risk reading too much into a situation and drawing inappropriate conclusions
They are easily distracted
More intelligent people may be more distractible at work because they have trouble prioritizing all of the great ideas they’re always coming up with, according to a new study.
- Another recent study out of Northwestern University linked creative accomplishment with a reduced ability to ignore distractions.
Smart people are more likely to be alone
Compared with the less gifted, smart people tend to spend more time alone.
- This could be because they are focused on other long-term goals, like building a world-changing business or curing disease
- However, science suggests that this lack of human contact actually increases happiness.
They’re weighed down by expectations
Having a great brain is wonderful, but having to deal with everyone else’s expectations of the marvelous things you’ll do with that brain? Maybe not so much.
- A study that tracked 1,500 super smart kids for decades found that many struggled to live up to their own and others’ hopes for their lives.
Dumb people are too dumb to understand exactly how dumb they are
Smart people are clever enough to know how much they don’t know
- In real life, the brightest are often the most tormented by doubt and they’re also the most likely to suffer from imposter syndrome
- The Dunning-Kruger rule states that it’s the most incompetent who are the most confident, while the most intelligent doubt their own abilities
