A Society Too Dumb for Its Geniuses

Do you ever wonder why we need to be intelligent or smart to fit into a certain society? Couldn’t we all just be dumb and create a dumb society together?

This has been stuck in my mind for years. All those countless times spent studying, all the hard work that I do — what is it for, after all? If I’m dumb, I’m going to fit into a dumb society, but why am I working so hard to fit into a good one?

As far as I observe the world where I live, I’ve noticed that certain people are trying so hard to quit the dumb society. (Although there are people who have already accepted the fate that they’re dumb and don’t have the courage to change.) They don’t want to be dumb because they are surrounded by a bunch of smart people who judge them for being dumb. Certain smart people think dumb people are mostly poor, troublemakers, disgraceful, and carry lots of other negative sentiments.

This leads us to one question:

“Are we learning for the sake of knowledge, or to be accepted by society?”

Will being smart make society finally accept us?

Do We Learn for Knowledge — or Acceptance?

We keep seeing successful people who mostly come from a good educational background, even if they were born into decent or poor families. This shows that they’re proving to the world that poor people can also succeed — but the price for that is being smart.

Now, what kind of smart does society want? How do we know we’re smart enough to fit into society? Does being smart mean knowing lots of things?

If being smart means knowing a lot of things, happiness would no longer exist. Being smart is sacrificing your own happiness. When you start to be smart, you relate everything to proven theory; you no longer do unbeneficial things — you start thinking it’s a waste of time. If you’re dumb, you don’t relate everything to facts; as long as it brings happiness, you’ll do it.

The outcome of being smart? You’ll lose friends. The society behind you will think that you’re boring, as everything you want is facts, facts, and more facts.

Intelligence can be perceived as a threat that disrupts social harmony, challenges existing beliefs, and exposes the limitations of others. Intelligent individuals often feel isolated because they question the status quo and seek deeper truths, which can make them appear different and out of sync with social norms that favor comfort and conformity.

To relate you to this statement, let me give you an illustration. Have you heard the tales of Vincent van Gogh, Nikola Tesla, Ludwig van Beethoven, Galileo Galilei, or Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis?

They’re all very remarkable people in world history. From each of their personal tales, being extremely intelligent can isolate you from society, eventually leading to mental illness and death from loneliness.

Why? Because society at that time couldn’t accept something beyond their era. The same concept will apply forever. For example, Dr. Ignaz discovered that the cause of childbed fever was doctors delivering babies immediately after performing autopsies, without washing their hands. Dr. Ignaz then advised his colleagues to wash their hands before delivering babies, but they ignored him, saying it wasn’t their fault. They mocked him. Dr. Ignaz was fired and moved from hospital to hospital. He suffered severe depression and was put in an asylum, where he was beaten by guards. After years of suffering, he died in the asylum. Meanwhile, his colleagues began taking his advice to wash their hands with chlorine before delivering babies — and boom. Dr. Ignaz was right. The rate of childbed deaths decreased from ~18% to >2%.

This makes me think — is it really good to be intelligent, or is it just nice to be ordinary?

And after all, will being dumb make me happier? And why does being happier make me feel satisfied?

— Wisdom in a World That Fears It

— Where Happiness Ends and Knowledge Begins

“Episteme.” (Greek: ἐπιστήμη)