Some of us (many of us?) might wish on occasion that we were just a little bit smarter. A little quicker on the uptake, a little brighter – just enough so that we get all of the jokes, or don’t have to study quite so hard to ace the toughest exams.
You might be surprised, then, to learn that hundreds of people answered a Quora thread entitled “When does intelligence become a curse?“, and that some of the answers are kind of depressing.
Below are 6 that are not only super thought-provoking but, as it turns out, are backed by science.
#6. You’re expected to be a top performer.
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In an excerpt from Smart Parenting for Smart Kids, the authors note that the parents who are often most anxious are the ones whose children are already doing well in school.
“Sometimes that can lead to too much focus on what they do rather than on who they are.”
Simply put, we’re in danger of churning out children who know how to take tests, but may avoid challenges that they fear they could fail, out of a worry about disappointing their parents and other adults in their lives.
#5. You annoy people when you correct them in casual conversation.
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It’s hard to keep your mouth shut when you know something said in a conversation is incorrect, even if you also know that doing so could make them not want to hang out with you anymore. It’s a struggle, and it’s real.
#4. You often think instead of feel.
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There is some interesting research out there that suggests high emotional intelligence compensates for low cognitive ability – meaning that people who are smart don’t rely on their emotional skills to solve problems. Quora user Marcus Geduld explains his real world experience with this as follows:
This is a common problem for smart people, especially ones who are highly verbal. They use words as a smoke screen, and it’s all the more effective when their words are true. Less articulate people tend to vent through physicality. They yell, punch, kick, run, scream, sob, dance, jump for joy…I explain. And when I’m done explaining, everything I’ve explained is still stuck inside me, only now it has a label on it.
