The Sad Tale of William James Sidis - The Smartest Man Who Ever Lived | Random Thursday

[@chester1851]

Nothing went wrong. He lived the life he wanted, realizing correctly that he was under no obligation to do anything extraordinary.

[@LetsGoSomewhere87]

The life he wanted? I doubt he was ever asked, its the life he was thrown in, writing books would pretty much be his best outlet, which is what it seems he did a lot of....

[@LetsGoSomewhere87]

@@dickartist that makes sense. This video is the first time I had ever jear of this guy, it just seemed like a sad life. Thanks for the link!

[@Crazywaffle5150]

@@KimmyQueen Yes he does.

[@Crazywaffle5150]

@@KimmyQueen Genius has nothing to do with accomplishments lol..

[@Crazywaffle5150]

@@KimmyQueen Not accomplishing anything has nothing to do with his level of intelligence. There is not much do debate. That would assume that higher intelligence should and should not be used in a specific way. It's like hypothetically being the fastest runner in the world and not joining the olympics or running any races. You can still be clocked as the fastest without actually using said talent. Using an ability is not the same thing as having the ability. I feel your original argument is from insecurity, not logic.

[@lemonade2473]

Imagine how frustrated he must have been, being surrounded by people who didn't understand him, and being controlled by them.

[@aerrae5608]

More like the fact that he was cognizant of that. That's literally the life we all lead now, maybe we always did.

[@MichaelWaisJr]

I dealt with that a lot. Now as a 40 year old man I am completely convinced that the educators I had in kindergarten and the 1st grade, as well as the individuals who performed my Individual Education Plans, have received their careers and credentials by performing some of the greatest blowjobs!

[@MichaelWaisJr]

Case in point: Franklin School (which was supposed to be SUCH a prestigious elementary school) was a school with a 1st grade teacher who was enormously celebrated named Mrs. Bernstein! Not only did she humiliate me by imitating me in class when I wasn’t speaking up around all the other students. She also was such a fantastic teacher that my mother saw her literally slap a child she begged to take into her class who was ADD!! Anyway, I like to believe that she lost her house and became homeless after contracting terminal rectal or brain cancer!! But hey, Franklin School right??!! Perfect school to enroll your kids into if you want them to become streetwalkers or flip burgers for a living in 18 years!! What an Ivy League school that clearly gives a shit about their goddamn students!! So you can see because of her teaching style that she had jiu-jitsu Orange or red belt cocksucking skills to be credentialed and allowed to be a teacher!!!!!

[@athenstar10]

Agree. I'm no genius but I even get frustrated being around imbeciles,😆

[@lizardog]

@@aerrae5608 it's always been like that.

[@michaelcox5166]

So a guy, incidentally a genius, decides he wants to live in seclusion and be happy, and it's somehow a huge mystery. Seems to me that says more about us than about him. Why do we think he owed us anything?

[@neilpeartspurplenose8739]

The capable are always expected to carry the burdens of the incapable on their backs. When the capable reject that notion, they are shunned by society. The dunces get to enjoy their hollow lives, and the smart are expected to toil away theirs. You've got to be damned to be truly free.

[@Nellosphere]

I would say he intentionally became a genius. I want to know his parents teaching methods.

[@Nellosphere]

At least he recorded his thoughts so we could work out his hypothesis. Did he produce any patents?

[@WaterPidez]

70th like mouhahahahahahahahhahahaga

[@kosztaz87]

@@WaterPidez What is funny about that?

[@barbaras6792]

My cousin was classified as ‘highly intelligent’. His parents tried to push him too far. He rebelled and ended up working as a bakery assistant. He was happier, too. It was like he put his mind in a sling, like a broken arm and let it rest.

[@michaelhawk-fitz7563]

@Erkinus and now here you are belittling him from your high horse..

[@michaelhawk-fitz7563]

if you're smart you just have more work thrown your way..dumb people get away with basically dong nothing..

[@jaredjones1752]

Though I'm not intelligent by any measure, I can relate to your cousin. I have a Bachelor's degree in Math, yet I think I would be happiest working as a short-order cook in a fancy restaurant. I love when people I cook for at home enjoy the food I made for them and I like coming up with creative twists to old recipes. I wish I could go back in time and resist the pressure my parents put on me to go to college, and go to cooking school instead. College was the most unhappy time of my life.

[@FS-me8mj]

could have done great things to help humanity if his parents didn't pressurize him

[@L.K.48]

@@FS-me8mj but it's exactly that thought that puts pressure on those people. Most of the time it doesn't matter too much if someone actively puts pressure on them. Them knowing that other people perceive their heightened potential and the possibilities and expectations that automatically go with this is enough to drive people insane, even if no one is actually pushing them to achieve great things. It's like building the best super computer that ever existed and then telling it that it's the most competent ever and therefore should try to solve all of the biggest problems known to mankind as fast as possible. If computers were anything like people that computer's processor would generate enough heat to compete with the sun. Weird comparison, I know. I guess you get what I mean.

[@chegeny]

“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” ― Oscar Wilde

[@bellamckinnon8655]

mm, nice

[@dataexpunged6969]

Because genius shows how discrepant they themselves are, and their ego won't allow it.

[@delrasshial7200]

@@dataexpunged6969 .

[@caioporto9234]

@@dataexpunged6969This is something I learned early in life. Being the son of a mathematician, I was somewhat more advanced for my age and eventually learned that I should feign ignorance if I wanted to have friends.

[@Anti-Alphabet_Mafia]

And they love everything except Jesus.

[@mattbritzius570]

You can't declare his life a failure unless you can prove he didn't enjoy it.

[@TheFamousMockingbird]

Even if he didn't enjoy it, the stuff he did mention is that of an unbelievably successful man. Lecturing at ivy league as a child, getting swaths of books on a amazingly broad amount of subjects. Having the government fear you for leading a protest lm beat js essentially the backbone of the society. He seems to have been quite successful. If he views this as unsuccessful then I can't imagine how he views his own life, because having a KZbin channel with a good amount of subscribers does not even come close.

[@janchovanec8624]

The trouble is, one can enjoy doing bad things. So who and how do you measure it? What if I would find joy in destroying mankind?

[@mattbritzius570]

@@janchovanec8624No need to get too relativistic in this instance. I wasn't saying his life was a success only on the condition he enjoyed it.

[@macmcleod1188]

@@mattbritzius570 It also leads to the situation where there is no standard for a successful life. So then you lose the ability to make any statement about how successful someone's life is. Which is really ludicrous. Perhaps with more qualifications: "By societies standards of wealth, status, sexual satisfaction, reproduction, and fame- he lead a "successful"/"unsuccessful" life." Whether he felt his life was successful doesn't matter by that standard. Some mass shooters may feel they lead a successful life as they are successfully murdering a dozen people. Most of us would disagree.

[@mattbritzius570]

@@macmcleod1188 Why should we have the ability to make any statement about how successful someone's life was? Who determines failure or success? Suppose there is a serial killer who really enjoys killing truck drivers. It gives him more pleasure than anything in the world. His reward center just lights up like a Christmas tree. And he gets away with it too. He kills around 30 dudes, retires, and fondly reminisces about his conquests. Then he dies peacefully of old age. Was his life a success? It doesn't seem like one to you or me, because murder is incongruous with our sensibilities. But who issues the final word? Is it "common sense?" Which is to say some collective sense derived from the subjective sentiment of the species. Or is it objective? And if so, by what mechanism is the quality of someone's life objectively determined?

[@mdtalhaansari1096]

"What went wrong?" Oh, I don't know, maybe that his parents turned him into a living circus at the age of 5 or 6, that he got exposed to crowds far too young? You know how crowds can be... You have seen youtube comments, right?

[@laguanhayes214]

That is very, very insightful. The comment section is sometimes as uplifting as what you see in a toilet bowl.

[@AngelCruz-kg5uw]

Unlikely

[@AngelCruz-kg5uw]

Answer

[@AngelCruz-kg5uw]

Is it only I who hates these specficers?

[@alexcerullo3143]

Angel Cruz me too they’re so annoying

[@MrThrib]

Living a quiet anonymous life is not failure.

[@CJR-lx4el]

👍

[@jordanphilipperris]

👍

[@Backinblackbunny009]

Being a hermit and dying at 44 seems less than ideal

[@palestar828]

How? Please tell me that. I struggle with this. I really have lived that life like for real. Most don't even know I exist. Isolation and loneliness can be a blessing and a curse. It's not always a blessing. It's painful

[@palestar828]

​@@Backinblackbunny009thank you for the validation

[@TrainTsarFun]

He never got a chance to be a kid. So sad for his childhood.

[@ordinarytree4678]

Train Tsar Fun being an adult is way more fun than being a kid.

[@アメリカやイギリスを英語だ笑い方]

Ordinary Tree Not in every case.

[@NatsGhost]

? Depends on your idea of fun. I barely wanted to socialize and just wanted to read and study and I was happy. Of course I'm a complete loser now, so maybe you have a point...

[@hatoftricks7132]

Being a kid back then wasn't the greatest? He might of enjoyed his childhood.

[@htoodoh5770]

Well, once you are a adult at the time there will be a lot of social pressure. So being a kid can be good and fun but that depend on their parent.

[@piggy201]

So they created a superintelligent person and when he grew up his reaction was to basically log off the human society and live anonymously... Says a lot.

[@arleybarrios2233]

VPN

[@RadenWA]

The smarter you are, the more you hate society and the system, who would've guessed.

[@meteor09]

Damn. When you put it that way...

[@BobrLovr]

@@meteor09 Ahhh the human mind, so great at creating patterns (read Michael shermer - the believing brain). Alot of these super smart freakish people hide away from the public, and most non critical people will usually interpret it as Smart = hate society Smart person hate society? Society = bad Antisocial = smart Probably because that's poetic, and gives some confirmation on their own anti-social behaviors. But has it ever occurred to you that these super smart freakish people are PESTERED constantly in the public eye with huge expectations? You're turned into a circus attraction, which is why they probably want to be secluded.

[@marthajf73]

Human societies really suck

[@zzulm]

The fact that geniuses quit on society says a lot.

[@Nellosphere]

People want to be told what to believe and publicity shapes peoples' opinions without them making much of an effort to establish the validity of the authors claims.

[@simonscardino6597]

They know a lot about to being roasted for no reason all time by dangerous idiots...! Haha...! 😂 😂 😂

[@simonscardino6597]

@Tech Stuf what team are they playing?

[@simonscardino6597]

@Tech Stuf okay, just kidding..! I heard a lot about old greeks, but sometimes philosophy becomes another religion. And estupid ppl usually kill others because some of them are just following contrary ideas. Anyway... 😂 Philosophy should be the defense of a better quality of life. 😂 😂 😂 Not a scam..! 😂

[@simonscardino6597]

@Stephanie Logan I thought they were playing with the Mets ✋😂😂😂

[@mel2000]

"So much potential and yet he remains nothing more than a historical footnote." That's an unfair assessment of a highly accomplished author and intellectual who is still being discussed to this day.

[@lashlarue7924]

True. Nobody is ever going to remember my dumb ass when I’m gone.

[@musazwane6049]

The last 8 words: historical footnote😐

[@naninuna7440]

Nobody has to suffer for the world, he owes society nothing if it made him miserable.

[@lashlarue7924]

@@disgruntledcommenter-o4h True dat. I don't wanna be remembered.

[@octilli]

@@musazwane60498 words? what are you talking about? do you mean 2? are you incapable of telling the difference between 2 and 8?

[@yourHandleShouldBeAtLeast3...]

Haha they clearly never met the KZbin comment section filled with the smartest people who are never wrong.

[@yonibennett6201]

😆🤣😂😅😁😅🤣😂

[@SJ-cl4wq]

KZbin comments section may have geniuses,don't discard any thing so lightly.

[@isthatujeebus]

@@SJ-cl4wq They tend to hide it so well though.

[@maestropyro927]

Sir, this is one of the best comments EVER in KZbin. Thank you

[@elimanning7257]

Wow your a genius

[@Optamizm]

"You're the smartest person in the world, you're going to make the world a better place" "But I can't, the world is full of morons who won't listen to me"

[@TeleNikon]

Marianne 2020

[@johnmonk66]

can the smartest goldfish improve the world for goldfish? no, because they won't listen

[@roymadison5686]

I'm normal, of average intelligence ....I'm surprised at how many dumb people are out there lacking common sense.. I think low I.Q. is the number one reason for poverty in the world. "You can't fix stupid". Its beyond government.

[@TeleNikon]

@@roymadison5686 - Hard to argue with that.

[@johnmonk66]

@@roymadison5686 every low IQ country is poor, and they all come here trying to make this a low IQ socialist government just like the one they fled...stupid

[@haimause9797]

"If he's so smart, how come he's dead?" -Homer Simpson

[@chad6846]

Hai Mause people say hes so smart but he wasnt able to parry death. Pff what a newb

[@Favour135]

Granted this is a joke but it reflects a danger of society where the smartest people are often the most shunned and no one knows of their existence till they died

[@NWOTheories]

Intellectuals can't live in a world full of anti-intellectualism.

[@phd1313]

Hai Mause He isn’t dead. He found out how to transfer to the 4th dimension. The rest of us though...

[@nigonkouk1770]

Because he wasn't Mighty Mouse yo''.

[@iosaturnalia]

I was considered a “prodigy” at several points throughout my life - I taught myself how to read at a very young age, was already reading full books by kindergarten, started taking college courses at age 12 and graduated university at age 19. The only good it’s ever done me is people looking shocked and saying “wow, you must be a genius.” My mom always told me that she skipped me ahead because I was constantly bored with the material I was learning, but now that I have an ADHD diagnosis it’s easy for me to see why I was so understimulated - and my obvious neurodivergence was never evaluated as a kid because my parents believed I was a genetically flawless supergenius and there could be nothing wrong with my brain. Nowadays, I find it very hard to be motivated to do anything outside of what I need to do, because I needed to do so much growing up. I’m a classic example of the “gifted kid burnout.” I’ve recently started regaining a love of learning through videos like yours, though. I feel like I want to learn as much as possible. Thank you.

[@mobydick1316]

Mom spaghet

[@emilysmith2965]

Yeah, why is that? Why is the default response to high intelligence this repulsive othering? “Ha ha, you must read the dictionary for fun. You’re, like, not even human!” If everyone could PLEASE stop doing this, we would all be a lot happier. Beautiful people don’t get treated like crap, even though some people may feel insecure around them. The perceived positive nature of their traits outweighs most people’s spite or nastiness towards them. So why isn’t it the same way for intelligence? We obviously NEED intelligence to survive in social groups and solve problems. And yet everyone in the wake of someone intelligent seems to fall all over themselves in some self-imposed quest for one-upsmanship. Maybe it’s because everyone can convince themselves they’re beautiful “in their own unique way” but you can’t really do the same thing with intelligence. You either know what you’re talking about, or you don’t. I don’t know where I’m going with this, except to say that I had similar childhood experiences and they’ve mostly made me feel alienated for no good reason at all. Everyone in the world doesn’t NEED to fit this role, but some of us do… and we just want to be appreciated and thanked once in a while, like anybody else.

[@brb4903]

everybody can graduate theology at 19 or be taking theology college courses at the age of 12..

[@johnvianny_official]

Its time to learn about spiritual things. And to fix your brain with Transcendental Meditation which can make your brain more harmonic and makes you enjoy the life more, scientifically proven.

[@steveflorida5849]

​@@johnvianny_officialthere is a beauty of understanding when one connects science with the intelligent living designer, implementer, and sustainer of Life, Consciousness, and the laws of nature. Personality adventure in discoveries and seeking a relationship with God and the heavenly spiritual family.

[@johnb2649]

“Talent is usually envied, whereas genius very often to be pitied.:” Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr

[@rustyboi5402]

•_•

[@b3at2]

The smartest man on earth stated that the problem with the world is religion and capitalism.... It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out but him being so just further confirms it... and this was 1910 not 2020z

[@rustyboi5402]

@@b3at2 •_•

[@locohobo1925]

Talent hits the target no one else can hit; genius hits the target no one else can see. - Schopenhauer

[@Cuplex1]

Nah, yes its not uncommon to come with the side effects in the form of mental disorders. But what if you had a truly perfect mind, far beyond what we think of is possible for a human to develop? But it did, where he had plenty of time to spend time with the usual geniuses, like Einstein when the both lived in the institute of advanced studies in Princeton. And long before being a part of the Manhattan Project and further more the thermonuclear bomb. There are countless stories of whom these extraordinary scientists for one couldnt understand how Von Neumann could be an expert in so many fields and with a perfect recall. Like rain man but better. Everything he skimmed through he would only need to read once. After he could literally retell the entire book exactly correct and answer which page a section of text was taken from given it was unique. He would spend a few minutes to relax and for fun and memorize phone books and then challenge anyone for the name and address of a phone number, reverse which phone numbers correlated to zip codes and names etc. His list of contributions to the world is beyond staggering. The list of prizes and medals is amazing considering he died from today treatable cancer in the prostate. Even at the age of 6 he had taught himself to divide two eight-digit numbers in his head and could converse in Ancient Greek. He basically accelerated science generations in his lifetime. Developing ground breaking fields in mathematics, logic, physics puh just about everything. Even economics. Which are the foundation of the computer revolution. He was surrounded by the most brilliant people who lived in the 20th century, yet so many accounts remain of very famous scientist's amazement of his mind and how far ahead of any human known he was in any subject basically. A true polymath. A small quote from wiki. Just a fraction... Makes you wonder if not the leap was similar to homo sapiens compared to chimps. (Not by the small text alone but by studying much more details!) Nobel Laureate Hans Bethe said "I have sometimes wondered whether a brain like von Neumann's does not indicate a species superior to that of man", and later Bethe wrote that "[von Neumann's] brain indicated a new species, an evolution beyond man". Seeing von Neumann's mind at work, Eugene Wigner wrote, "one had the impression of a perfect instrument whose gears were machined to mesh accurately to a thousandth of an inch." Paul Halmos states that "von Neumann's speed was awe-inspiring." Israel Halperin said: "Keeping up with him was ... impossible. The feeling was you were on a tricycle chasing a racing car." Edward Teller admitted that he "never could keep up with him". Teller also said "von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my 3-year-old son, and the two of them would talk as equals, and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us

[@zsofiaszekeres197]

A few years ago I watched an online video about a math prodigy, and the kid's mother told a story about how her child, after a mathematics competition just looked at her and said: "I'm so much more than this. I'm not all about solving math problems."

[@BigCroca]

Sad

[@nicholasreid1836]

On this sad case, it is good to read Amy Wallace's biography of Sidis called "The Prodigy". You can read s review of it at the following link, and it is good to read the comments section under the review, where there are comments by a distant cousin of Sidis. reidsreader.blogspot.com/search/label/THE%20PRODIGY%20%E2%80%93%20A%20Biography%20of%20William%20James%20Sidis

[@mangot589]

Good for him!

[@c.s.70]

Kid is right. Yet narcissistic parent and society treat them like tools and send the message that your only value as a human being is if you’re a tool for others. So sad.

[@TheSultan1470]

Like what

[@fitzhugh7463]

I hope that when I die, they make a video about me, “the man who survived with a negative iq”

[@svenvolwater5473]

SELF BURN!! ,those are rare.

[@thatonedemonchild624]

@@svenvolwater5473 they’re not rare

[@rashidimussa5143]

WTF 😂😂

[@svenvolwater5473]

@@thatonedemonchild624 its a joke🙃🤦🏿‍♂️

[@thatonedemonchild624]

@@svenvolwater5473 okay I am sorry man I miss communicated and forget this was a joke.

[@phil4986]

William Sidis did not fail. As he constructed his revelations, he made sure he cataloged them in books and published them. William had an understanding that access to the information was more important than credit. It would be a fascinating project to track down all his books and especially any of his dissertations about fourth dimension theory he lectured on while in college.

[@swiftycortex]

Sure would

[@cringevidshub3767]

Regardless of what anyone says about him wasting potential he was a very peculiar person who only appeals to very peculiar people, and he made his name known among those people

[@nancyoleary1197]

Probably AI could help with this.

[@roblockhart6104]

"He wrote that there are regions of space where time goes in reverse and would not emit light." Sounds to me like he was on the threshold of discovering black holes. The man was simply way ahead of his time. Too bad he couldn't live long enough to see the world begin to catch up and understand his genius.

[@johnmonk66]

a black hole is gravity so strong nothing escapes, it doesn't go in reverse, if it did it would go back to the big bang and have destoryed us all long ago

[@DameionC]

@@johnmonk66 All know laws of physics breakdown beyond the event horizon of a black hole, there are many theorys & even more unknowns that happen inside one. Time very well could be contained & running backwards for all any human knows right now.

[@johnmonk66]

@@DameionC well your jabbering of science fiction theory has proved it... not. PROVE IT

[@DameionC]

@@johnmonk66 I wasn't writing fiction, I was quoting facts of a knowledge we just don't have yet by smarter people than I. So unless you got the facts on something the rest of us don't, have a good day.

[@johnmonk66]

You can't just say it is a fact and run away. Your a moron, I am not writing fiction, I was quoting facts of knowledge that you are an idiot told to me my someone a lot smarter than you, so until you can prove your 'facts', have a good day in your safe space.

[@BReal-10EC]

I had several friends that were the smarted kids in my school. They were /heavily/ pressured by their parents, and were constantly told "we expect you to do amazing things" by everybody. The valedictorian got his doctorate, got married, then killed himself. Others burned out in college or shortly after (job politics), but remained alive and employed.. usually turning back to teaching to get out of the business rat-race. So yeah, one can easily burn out. Ambition must be tempered with mental health. Sometimes you just want to stop thinking. Our "success = wealth" culture definitely doesn't help our metal health.

[@dreggory82]

This comment is extremely good.

[@EngelbertHumperdinck86]

Metal health will drive you mad.

[@jdenmark1287]

selection bias buddy. look it up

[@omarabuaita3858]

@@disgruntledcommenter-o4h "MANY more people deserve praise for reletivity" Got into Caltech but doesn't even know how to spell "relativity". Nice bait.

[@keirfarnum6811]

Omar Abuaita You mean “riletvity”?

[@codacreator6162]

Einstein's greatest gift was a high functioning imagination paired with genius for maths. Shakespeare's linguistic Intelligence was also paired with tremendous imagination. There are innumerable examples of this. Genius is one component. Smart is only as valuable as its willingness to explore the novel for innovation is where progress lives.

[@Shinobubu]

THIS.. it's not enough that you are smart. You need to create as well have the capacity to explain said creation.

[@LMICUK]

Wow love this 💙

[@idontwantahandlethough]

Very well said! Also: motivation is another important factor. I'm sure there are a lot of geniuses who just simply have zero desire to do what most of us would probably want them to do with their lives.. so we'll probably never know about them.

[@nenmaster5218]

Elon Musk is literally called in each comment-section the smartest Man alive, which shows that his marketing-department worked as intended. Still, it's hilarious to most; and hilarious to all Experts; that people really think this. Truly a very fascinating social study has been done here and surely, people only care who's famous and can present himself well. Reality does not have to disagree or Reality will be thrown outta the window; ok.

[@jout738]

Yes I also had good imagination as child, when intresting imagination could amuse me as child without nobody knowing what I even imagine. Yes some people are genious, but some got the passion to imagine the stuff their genious about.

[@starvoyager7313]

He wasn't weird! He was tired of being used/seen as a "show pony." Wanting to live life on his own terms was among the💡 "smartest" things he ever did! 💯💫

[@brzpicnic]

Sounds like he really was the smartest man who ever lived.....rejected society and didn’t like people....

[@Aqib2]

ALEXANDER SMITH Wtf

[@thelastmanstanding3369]

ALEXANDER SMITH you just proved his point.

[@zacktuchannelboogaloo5632]

Original Unabomber

[@donniequalls9693]

@Amis Amis After seeing your sentence structure and punctuation, I can promise you that isn't the case. :) Edit : Punctuation ;)

[@donniequalls9693]

@Amis Amis lul nice, I was hoping you'd have a sense of humor.

[@budgethitman2212]

He may have simply gotten tired of explaining shit to people.

[@joyl7842]

I get tired of doing that basically after doing it the 3rd time. So doing that for so many years is still very impressive! Much respect for the ultra-smart and teachers.

[@christianvitroler5289]

Dealing with the idiocy around you can indeed be very taxing on you. I can totally relate to that and I am not a prodigy, just way above the average. Being as intelligent as those people, though, it must become really painful to deal with.... let's say... politicians or leftists or feminists or... feel free to fill in your own nemesis!

[@memamagdy307]

from good will hunting

[@funnyanimalshorts643]

He wasn't taught the right things. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad. It explains how education does not equal success. If you are busy learning 7 languages, but aren't learning how to keep good credit or learning how to deal with people socially, your future will not be a fun one.

[@LordPrometheous]

Christian Vitroler sometimes dealing with average people can feel like being surrounded by idiots. Sometimes I think that average is the new idiot. It does not require interfacing with beings of a particular political disposition; there are plenty of idiots to go around.

[@tonydamiani8029]

Imagine being surrounded by children your entire life. Folks who simply cannot understand you as much as they might want to, yet, being adults, they aren’t afraid to argue with you even though their ideas are to you idiotic. Humans aren’t wired to be alone, but this guy truly was alone even when surrounded by people.

[@mndlessdrwer]

Welcome to the entire premise of Flowers for Algernon. A story about a man brought out of the cave of idiocy to reach intellectual heights far beyond his fellow man, only to find that in brilliance lies a deep and pervasive loneliness, as nobody is truly capable of understanding you. It's a good, if incredibly sad, novel. It also has one of the more interesting narrative devices, in that it is written journalistically as a parallel frame narrative from the point of view of Charlie, the main character in the plot, and from the journal entries from the scientists operating the study which granted him his intellectual prowess through their experiments.

[@logicss2893]

Most teachers in a nutshell

[@cricticalthinking4098]

​@ayy lmao This is kind of off topic, but you'll probably be happier watching birds than building spaceships. Everyone I know that can be considered "above average" in intelligence, not even necessarily genius, ends up struggling with the ramifications of their intelligence. "Your mind is a cruel master" is the words my therapist would use, and I agree with him. You will struggle to find brilliant historical figures who don't suffer from problems related to their mind. Heck, take it from me, your counterpart (also USA), who was also evaluated at a "12th grade reading level" in elementary school. In fact, all I did was read during my waking hours, so it makes sense that I would quickly master it. I suffer from high levels of anxiety (enough to give me panic attacks in the middle of the night), have no friends because of how I am socially, and insomnia because of how my mind won't turn off at night. And I only consider myself slightly above average, I perform well in school (college) with minimal effort, but I would say I lack creativity and motivation. I'm happiest when I'm relaxing over a good book, enjoying nature (don't discount birdwatching so quickly as a recreational activity!), and spending time with my family. I could be like Mr. William described in the video, and have been pressured by my parents, but luckily I wasn't. I have enough problems mentally without that on top of everything else! Here's my advice to you. 1) Don't worry about how "smart" you are at this point in time. If you want to explore spaceflight, then go explore it. Hobbies are often more enjoyable than learning in a school setting, and my own strongest skills are things I learned on my own. Would you rather have been given some meaningless research assignment in the third grade instead? 2) Don't overvalue intelligence. If anxiety disorder has taught me anything, it's that intelligence (thoughtfulness, problem solving, and learning ability) doesn't come without cost. The thinking part of you is only a small part of the whole, whether you like it or not. Finally, even if someone is very intelligent, there are still people that can do everything that person can do, and better. Remember that compared to the 7.9 billion people on this planet, you are but a frog at the bottom of the well. 3) Try watching the birds sometimes. It's relaxing and can teach you how small you are compared to the everyday happenings on this planet. From your comment I can tell that you feel a bunch of resentment towards society as it stands today. If you've watched this video through, you'll find that being unhappy with the current state of things is a common mark of intelligence. However, society is out of your control as 7.9 billion other people make up human society as a whole. Apply your mind towards something you can control, rather than ruminate towards the things you can't, else you may find yourself in the same situation as me when your mind has been sufficiently trained to ruminate 24/7.

[@solonada9602]

I wish I could become a genius. The ability to understand how the society is broken is actually good; you can use it to benefit yourself, to formulate new ideas. For example, I have created my own ideology, because I had realised how flawed our society is. I know I am more intelligent than the average person, but only by a few points, not by 2 whole standardized deviations. But I wish I was.

[@RandyVidz]

@@solonada9602 Well nobody is gonna understand you and we humans are social animals. We need people to understand us, we humans got our intelligence by walking on land getting more dominant instead of hiding in the trees eating fruits, we liked being in bands of 30-50 people. If one of those people in the band were significantly intelligent compared to the rest he would feel like they are really dumb and this will ofc create problems, like imagine the first person to ever use tools and then trying to explain it to the other people who basically have no deep understanding of knowing the physics of everyday objects enough to think that you can use them as tools. They don't even know what a tool is. I think it's a little depressing not being like the rest. You don't wanna be alone with your brain what's the point of it all then, what's the point in having a brain when nobody can understand it.

[@Ghost_0418]

I think it’s hard for people with such high IQ’s to relate to other people and form deep meaningful connections. Must be very lonley

[@phyokyawkhaing2251]

I would say that this attitude is why he felt so bothered. Not a personal attack or anything but you can see from the comment that Sidis was put on a pedestal. "He has a higher IQ, therefore he must be different from us" Even if the original commenter didnt mean it that way, it's the sort of message that's conveyed. "He is not that same as I" "He must live a (insert either positive or negative adjective) life" Because he was treated so differently, like a foreign royalty or exotic zoo animal, i would reckon it affected him in a negative way. It would've been best to just treat him like any other person, to make him feel like he fits in. That would've been best in my opinion.

[@chadwaldron3568]

You have no idea.

[@NetralFN]

@@phyokyawkhaing2251 he call you stupid in his mind

[@wendyglatt5287]

A lot of them find partners..that’s how he was born

[@TheUniversesDaughter]

reminds me of the book flowers for algernon

[@tarareneekennedy]

I am by no means a genius, but was raised constantly being told that I was “gifted”, as I was always above my peers in school. I spent much of my elementary years in a “gifted and talented” program away from the other kids. When I moved on to middle school, again I was in one of these programs. In high school, I was pressured to take on college level courses and AP classes. I ended up intentionally dropping out of school at 16 and joining the work force instead because too much was being asked of me. I am turning 25 in a few days and my second son will be born around the end of this month. Only in the last few years have I finally gotten to the point of not feeling like a failure for not “living up to my potential”. My only goal now is to live a happy live and instill good values and confidence in my children, no matter what they decide to do or what society tells them.

[@nepadron]

Yes, MANY children (including myself) were accepted into the TAG program. In my opinion, way too many. Unfortunately, the open-ended program didn't produce much success. So you are far from alone, when describing that you didn't live up to this self-percieved benchmark of success. There are many elements that are involved in being both a gifted child, and a successful adult. Many, many gifted children become entitled and lazy, and continue that path towards adulthood. Some reject the title completely.

[@zeroquanta4252]

You couldn't have been too smart NOT to know that the Government scooped the guy up,,,,,

[@andrewc1036]

Be a good dad and you're a success

[@chauxsitty]

Thank you for this post. I have the same issue and I feel like a failure every day. . .

[@jamessullivan1348]

Happy belated birthday 🎂!

[@TrumanGN]

He wasn't weird. He just knew life was short and he wanted peace and quiet.

[@tacituskilgore9838]

Bruh

[@tracienatalie673]

That's what I think to, but if everybody isn't like everybody else, or bounces around working crappy jobs they ARE labeled as weird!

[@jeffreyyoungblood7438]

I've read his biography. I would describe him as eccentric. And yes. He did want peace and quiet.

[@neilpeartspurplenose8739]

@@jeffreyyoungblood7438 Of course he did. His mind was probably always so busy, he needed seclusion to bring him any semblance of peace of mind.

[@duggydugg3937]

Truman Green we are all crazy it's just a matter of degree

[@geneticepistomology]

I grew up with a prodigy. I can remember our “graduation” from primary school, where he had to leave early because he was also receiving his bachelors in mathematics.from Duke the same day.

[@DogDogGodFog]

Wow tell me more?

[@geneticepistomology]

Torbulentin What you like to know?

[@qurrrat-ul-ain]

@@geneticepistomology where is that prodigy now? 🤔😳

[@geneticepistomology]

A N N I E A professor at a major university (still too young for tenure, these days anyway). Many peer reviewed articles published. 40ish

[@turkeyguy0]

That's not exactly a prodigy, That's just anyone who got sick of the slow pace of school and started studying on their own.

[@joonasnaski9513]

Smartness does not come with happiness.And this man is a perfect example.

[@BreadVanVleet]

Other way around lol

[@shamtradtam3769]

Absolutely no one thinks smartness comes with happiness

[@joonasnaski9513]

@@shamtradtam3769 How do you know?

[@UATU.]

His intellect was his own, he didn’t owe humanity any performance or narrative satisfaction.

[@funnyanimalshorts643]

No, but he owed himself a little success. Plus its sad his genetics couldn't be passed on.

[@jfitz3133]

If you equate money with success, your vision is skewed.

[@StopFear]

Allison how would you know that it was what he thought?

[@animation1234111]

Allison I wonder if he would’ve agreed with that. I mean he tried to change society for (at least what he though was) the better and got arrested for his troubles.

[@animation1234111]

Allison I mean he didn’t let a sense of obligation rule his life, but he tried to some extent.

[@MrJmazing1]

He never "Freaked Out" He made a decision to live a private life. There's nothing wrong with that.

[@catinthehat906]

The neurotypicals will never fully understand.

[@sasukenarutolucas3526]

@@catinthehat906 stop it, get some help

[@catinthehat906]

@@sasukenarutolucas3526 You may not realise but I AM the help.

[@bird2034]

sasuke aruto\lucas bruh

[@ronaldvasquez6488]

@@catinthehat906 everyone has the same neurological structure... expected for a genius.

[@otto16121970]

Today i was looking for my reading glasses while holding them in my hand

[@sandilou2U]

I have used the flashlight on my phone to try to find my phone.

[@yashkaliapiano]

Happens to us all

[@otto16121970]

Stephanie Logan probably :-)

[@markhirstwood4190]

That just means you're lacking in some awareness or have a miswired connection somewhere. You can fix that. Nothing to do with super smart or super dumb.

[@louisblazejewski7884]

At least you weren't wearing them

[@bklaw1234]

My mother's mother, and William Sidis, were first cousins. My mother said he was always referred to in the family, as "Billy Sidis". She said his life was marked by great promise as well as much sadness.

[@scottwarren4998]

did he solve any known math problem? what do you know about him?

[@Spoon80085]

As the smartest person on earth, I can say the pressure is immense

[@Bgrosz1]

Why are you wasting your time on comments! Go find the cure for cancer!!!

[@Bialy_1]

@@Bgrosz1 It is kinda funy that you admiting that someone is smarter than you and in the same time you think that your decisions are the best and the smartest guy on the planet should folow them...

[@Bgrosz1]

​@@Bialy_1, Well, obviously that is just a joke reply to a joke comment. I have no idea how smart or not Clumsy Captain actually is. But also: Having intelligence and using intelligence are two separate things.

[@philip6419]

@ Bryon. I am.. Its called 'CAPSOL-T'. Pass it along.

[@butchbrewer4923]

Yas bitch

[@tomfitzgerald8150]

I think by age 6 I finally stopped pissing my pants....

[@alexey1820]

HAH, I stoped pissing my pants at like 7-8

[@thr2648]

Awake?

[@schreckpmc]

At age 60, I started again.

[@PlanetGamingOfficial]

Age 8 or 9

[@mythicize2351]

@@PlanetGamingOfficial James is that you

[@TKMRacer28]

James at 11: Got into Harvard Me at 33: Can’t find the tomato sauce in the fridge but someone comes along and finds it immediately

[@Hexanitrobenzene]

Do some research about "tunnel vision".

[@jamesb2187]

@@Hexanitrobenzene 9 months late buddy

[@Ford-dc9mu]

@@jamesb2187 have you saw a comment and said hey imma reply oh nevermind it's to old I do that alot but here lately I say screw it and reply until now thank you.

[@jaredluo]

8* accepted at 11 lol

[@pooksterwookster]

@@jaredluo *9 if you’re gonna correct somebody make sure you get it right lol-

[@PeachysMom]

If his dad went to medical school, he was not a psychologist, he was a psychiatrist. Just a pet peeve of mine, as a psychiatrist

[@mrjamsherable]

How does that make you feel, please go on. *pops pen in corner of mouth*

[@joeycee2585]

​@@jamieramone8216 😁

[@briancase6180]

Yes, it appears this detail is wrong; he was not an MD.

[@engrumarkhan]

Twist in story: he faked his death so he can live peacefully 🤔

[@bobsagetisepic1197]

Maybe..... or maybe not.

[@AsfandiarTesla]

That makes him still alive😂

[@superdupersketchy4524]

@@AsfandiarTesla that makes him dead

[@fezzik7619]

@@AsfandiarTesla still alive at 122 years old. Did you think that through?

[@ram5ramen582]

@@fezzik7619 he will turn 123 this year on April first

[@thenewtalkerguy496]

Who says anything went wrong? Just because you are smart means you have to devote your life to studying? Wth?

[@nicholasreid1836]

On this sad case, it is good to read Amy Wallace's biography of Sidis called "The Prodigy". You can read s review of it at the following link, and it is good to read the comments section under the review, where there are comments by a distant cousin of Sidis. reidsreader.blogspot.com/search/label/THE%20PRODIGY%20%E2%80%93%20A%20Biography%20of%20William%20James%20Sidis

[@TheRSFelon]

Nicholas Reid How many times you gonna copy paste that? Is it a phishing link? Lol

[@Arknio]

It's his and anyone elses choice, but I believe if you have a gift that no one else has the right thing to do is use it to help everyone else.

[@Loki-cd9nu]

@@TheRSFelon most likely a stolen link using grabify and he is taking people's ip would not click on if i was you

[@jeffreyyoungblood7438]

@@nicholasreid1836 I read his biography about 20 years ago. He lived a sad life. Love to read his relatives take on it.

[@jaywyse7150]

When you know uncommon knowledge, it is hard to relate to common people socially

[@memelgaming]

ikr

[@bryonwatkins1432]

BINGO!!!!

[@BH-2023]

If you're a narcissist, sure

[@brendawilliams8062]

To each their own dignity in their own space

[@opalsirius8484]

5:40 It's not about living up to expectations. Intelligent people make everyone around them feel inadequate and awakens a dark competitiveness that can be very hard for the genius to overcome if it's e v e r y person they know. Really smart people learn to keep their high intelligence under the radar but even so it's very lonely and the lack of stimulation from peers can drive them crazy. It's horrible for every remark made to be met with a sneer and eye roll; it's not just lonely, it's torture

[@mrbackranked1788]

No

[@garlandking4519]

Relatable.

[@johnnygraz4712]

We see this a lot today: parents turning their kids into lab rats as an extension of their own ego.

[@bbHoodski]

Where do we see this alot today?

[@etooamill9528]

@@bbHoodski Alternative medicine

[@Nik.No.K]

In my view all children are an extension of their parents ego but not all to this extent

[@KShiro-xb7sj]

@@bbHoodski i immediately thought of the many prodigy child musicians I’ve seen lately on IG and KZbin, not exactly “lab rats” but I imagine there’s a similar kind of encouragement and pressure

[@Fritz9672]

@@KShiro-xb7sj Nowhere near

[@IvanNOFX]

I went down into the comment section, came back up with cuts all over my body. So edgy down there, better be careful.

[@IvanNOFX]

Selim Sultan Akbar case in point...

[@IvanNOFX]

@Selim Sultan Akbar Thank you :) that's the first on KZbin.

[@FentFiend420]

So many mega high IQ Rick and Morty fan Socialist nihilists in the comments, it's almost like I'm back in the 9th grade.

[@evelynjordan2902]

That's too darn funny!!

[@warpartyattheoutpost4987]

Delusions of grandeur galore!

[@fuhkutube]

Leonardo da Vinci was great in the Titanic.

[@logophile611]

fuhkutube lol

[@gravewalker1632]

I believe most of his paintings and inventions sunk with the Titanic but somehow he survived changing his name to play a part in the movie.

[@captainzoltan7737]

ik so many people get him mixed up with the real genius and amazing inventor leonardo di caprio

[@Michael-cg4un]

How can he said Leonardo da Vinci was one of the smartest? He was a fraud. He never invented anything, only draw some non functional doodles. Dumbass.

[@bugzyhardrada3168]

@@Michael-cg4un Dude maybe you should take a look at history one more time Seems like, perhaps alot of the pages got stuck together when you glanced through it the last time.....

[@terrifictomm]

Josh Waitzkin, the boy whose chess journey was featured in the movie, "Searching for Bobby Fisher," dropped out of chess and took up martial arts, primarily because he wanted to get out of his head. Wise kid. Not just smart.

[@RealTechZen]

I think it most likely that William Sidis found dealing with average people to be horribly tedious, and yet not worth the conflict of telling them so. Back around 1971, David Frost interviewed a man who was speculated to have the highest IQ of anyone then living. He asked if the fellow had faced difficulties as a child because he was so much smarter than those around him. The guest got a sort of peculiar expression and said, "I've never considered it from that point of view before! I always thought I had problems because everyone around me was so abjectly stupid!"

[@Tsumami__]

John Battey Similar to a line Vivien Leigh utters as Cleopatra in the film Cleopatra. Its not that I'm smart, it's that everyone else is so stupid! Lol

[@King_Trakx]

So... as a kid, he didn't think of himself [as being smarter], but of others [how dumb they were; yet not in comparison, but simply that they were]? Interesting. Most people see life through their own perspective first and foremost, especially in adolescents.

[@Sunnnnnnyyyyyyyyyy]

John Battey M

[@diavolacciosatanasso]

Indeed the true curse of high intelligence is a world around you that looks hopelessly stupid. Which eventually sends you into seclusion.

[@elgintv]

@Highland Kingman Nasty! But I guess you were borne too loose. (one of my girlfriends' trampstamps - I keep offering to correct the spelling, but she strangely demurs)

[@TonyChev]

Being more intelligent than others makes one feel isolated. You feel like you're living with children who can't understand your ideas.

[@J.Millhouse]

A smart man is an idiot without humility. Figure out where you lie.

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

Living with ignorant children is not the worst. The crowds of ignorant adults spoil the soup.

[@albatross1688]

@@NICEFINENEWROBOT Don't bother talking to Trump supporters. They really aren't worth your time and effort. I guess I can take pride in being more intelligent and articulate than the President of the United States in spite of by no means being a genius, but...that thought scares me more than anything.

[@funkymunky7935]

@@albatross1688 Ok, bigot

[@alexcerullo3143]

Pat Broadbent a smart man is a smart man and an idiot is an idiot. That’s it.

[@RandomStuff-Nemo]

The smart people are the most confused. They have questions without answers.

[@Andytlp]

@@kittystar4874 If thats u.s .... they eat like pigs and the food is awful. Youre supposed to prepare your own meals and it doesnt cost more than fast food garbage.

[@pravinrao3669]

@@Archives007 Dude we simply exist why should there be a reason for existence. I mean our existence should have a different reason than a rocks existence.

[@Oliver-bn7jt]

@@Archives007 sociopathy overload

[@archiedaga933]

They have the answer without the question

[@AZ-dp4ht]

@@kittystar4874 yeah you lost me at basic psychology, you should work on not sounding like a complete degenerate thats trying to come off as smart.

[@haveaday1812]

The more I learn about geniuses going into seclusion and railing against technology, the more I realize they are probably on to something.

[@hurricane3518]

ted kaczynski

[@JG-yk6ny]

He primarily railed against capitalism and religion, which he saw as great evils. He was probably on to something.

[@briefcaseblues6061]

When asked "how's it feel being the smartest man alive"? Einstein said "Idk, when you see Tesla ask him.

[@briefcaseblues6061]

@Stingy From lazytown I thought that's what I stated.

[@briefcaseblues6061]

@Stingy From lazytown happens to us all :)

[@francosantella7113]

Stingy From lazytown fat oof

[@mattk6101]

Too bad he never said that.

[@jeffreyyoungblood7438]

Einstein never said that.

[@darthsavage4025]

My boss came up to my desk as I was watching this. He stuck around for a few minutes He says you should keep up the good work... and that I should actually start doing some work

[@aleatoriac7356]

If someone tries that kind of psychological warfare nonsense you could show them this: alifeofproductivity.com/exactly-how-long-your-work-breaks-should-be/

[@genericasian5699]

Aleatoriac The entire article sounds like the ramblings of the unemployment line. It's not psychological warfare. He was watching a video during work.

[@darthsavage4025]

haha yep, I was watching the video during work, so my boss's comment was 100% legit As was my comeback: "Calm down, you don't pay me by the hour." :)

[@sertaki]

+Morbius, [insert ridiculous "insult" here]

[@aleatoriac7356]

Generic Asian Dominance hierarchy is psychological warfare 101. Argumentum ad baculum coupled with naturalistic fallacy. It's short-sighted, irrational, and almost barely cognitive. Regarding the other comment about merit - the only merit that is rewarded in any of our cultures is abusive, ape-primitive dominance games. Then again, this is the usual equivocation of "merit" that I've come to expect in these kinds of conversations.

[@thundrthediety9292]

James Sidis at 6: *Writing books in 7 different languages* Me at 6: *Closing the fridge slowly to see when the lights turn off* Edit: Thanks for the likes guys!

[@sandilou2U]

Slow development does not always equate to lower intelligence when someone becomes an adult. Keep trying to figure the refrigerator light dilemma. You will find the answer one day (when you do message me, my electric bill has been breaking my budget)🤪

[@blackdogslivesmatter1568]

@@sandilou2U Take the bulb out😂

[@kyrlics6515]

Also you: couldn't make an original comment. funny

[@K4inan]

I remember thinking that the speed of light must be when the light turns on from being off when I flip the switch. After doing that for a while and noticing the timing always varied, I thought that the speed of light must be when the light turns on and it hits me. After like 10 minutes of trying to calculate how fast that was I just thought "it must be super fast" and then I asked my dad a million questions.

[@jwvandegronden]

All I read is two inquiring minds. So cool and so cute. I did the same thing :D My son recently educated me; I just explained the other day to him what symmetry was. Next day we are in a Lego shop and we both built our own vehicle for some contest. We took pictures to upload onto the site and he asked me: is your vehicle symmetrical? Yes, I replied. Than we could have taken photos of just one side... Damn!! 5 yo smartypamts. Inquiring minds. Got to love them!

[@seanvassar1117]

You completely skipped over how he got out of jail, and how his parents kidnapped him and kept him their asylum for a year, traumatizing him for the rest of his life. Never speaking of his father again and never speaking of his mother unless it was about his hate for her.

[@gladitsnotme]

Yikes

[@Anonymous99816]

oh damn, so they kidnapped him so he could be their lab rat again? talk about toxic parents.

[@overjoyed4505]

Dude was a full on highly intelligent and rather moral person. And society shit on him for that...

[@invalidaccount6147]

Whaat!? 😐 Any other thing he missed out?

[@kaisacat]

"Until 1919, when he was arrested for holding a political demonstration... which I didn't think you could be arrested for...?" Oh 2018, you sweet summer child.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

I'm going to appropriate your phrase "sweet summer child"....

[@mariusvanc]

@@maskedmarvyl4774 "sweet summer of love child"

[@patchr5491]

Lol people get arrested for that all the time. Jane Fonda did not to long ago and she's 82.

[@paccawacca4069]

You still can't. Ditz

[@greencertifiedweb]

One problem people overlook with regard to intelligence is the loneliness... The lack of people who can stimulate you in conversation or even understand what you're thinking or talking about at the same level of consciousness. This point was touched on briefly in "Good Will Hunting" when he got angry at his instructor for not understanding that the math the instructor was so challenged by was like breathing for Will! It would also explain why he was so willing to work construction and drink with his buddies. In that situation, he could turn it off, the benign chatter wouldn't challenge him but it wouldn't frustrate him either.

[@jeffwillsea6757]

My uncle drank so that common life wouldn't bore him either. Problem was that through it he also lost his morals.

[@gablo1089]

@@jeffwillsea6757 Are you just commenting this on every post god damn lol.

[@WJRHalyn-jw2ho]

03:45 - Sounds like he was describing black holes, decades before they were acknowledged. He must've been a hell of an interesting conversationalist when he chose to be.

[@christopherhall5361]

black holes are just dense regions of space where gravity is so powerful light can't escape, just because time slows down the closer you get to the event horizon doesn't mean time moves backwards beyond it, all physics breaks down at that point and time becomes irrelevant

[@fionatanzer5270]

Christopher Hall - but perhaps he was right and time does move backwards once in the black hole

[@christopherhall5361]

@@fionatanzer5270 well since we can't observe anything beyond the event horizon, we'll never know, but i'm willing to bet it doesn't

[@wiczus6102]

you dont know what lorentz transform is. And black holes were acknowledged before he was born. chu chu hype train, lets get excited over nothing.

[@demonemperor424]

general theory of relativity was published in 1915 so black holes were already within the minds of many scientists.

[@johne5543]

Trying to raise a child to know absolutely everything about everything and be the perfect human being in every possible way, what could go wrong?

[@joesoldchanneldeprecated5948]

I have no clue. (TikTok?)

[@michaelhendry781]

Douglas Adams got it right: “It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn't stand was a smartass.” Most people don't like others that are smarter than they are. Smart people tend to get isolated (at least they don't get burned at the stake as much anymore).

[@davidbeppler3032]

True, but on the other end, low IQ people can't find menial work jobs and end up being a huge drain on our government.

[@MickeytheTorch]

@@davidbeppler3032 Jordan Peterson nails this aspect of it. They are the ones who's jobs are being automated away.

[@marthajf73]

Correct. This jealousy puts these geniuses outside our social norms. They simply can't function under the stupid confines of society

[@Widestone001]

"as much"... sadly, true.

[@starrjean]

42

[@rag_llm]

What was I doing at age 6? At age 5 I successfully created the first time machine. I traveled back to the days of the Vikings and had a wonderful time with Olaf the Conqueror attacking villages and drinking tons of ale (they even made me a little battle ax and tiny armor!). Unfortunately someone mistook me for a ammunition and launched me with a catapult. I landed badly on my head (but at least I wiped out several enemy sheep). Due to that brain injury I became profoundly stupid. Fortunately, the time machine was programmed to automatically return me to the present time but due to a misplaced semi-colon in the code, self-destructed taking the design plans with it so I have no proof. I lived out the rest of my life as an ordinary computer programmer until last year when I died during a bad flamingo racing accident. Even on my last day, I still had a fond passion for pillaging.

[@vtlman]

Sorry to hear that.

[@Rose_Harmonic]

and now zombie you just prowls the youtube comments :P

[@rag_llm]

lol. Are you a fellow Cryptozombies fan?

[@Rose_Harmonic]

no actually. that was just the sort of remark I chose to make. It's funny how we can accidentally reference something you might not know about.

[@jeremymahrer1832]

Asterix and The Goths........thats the book you need.

[@cosminblk8359]

Unfourtunatley, he shares the same birthday with the man with the lowest IQ in recorded history: Logan Paul IQ: probably under the level of the sea

[@azarishere6442]

Anubis its over 9000 metars under the sea But honestly i dont think that those two are dumb, they probebly dis all of it on perpuse to get viral and rich. And the way that they act in thair videos is just an act

[@ghanimkanugrahan7948]

Thanos would be proud. It's a balance you know.

[@ruthikrysiak6155]

Don’t you know that iq is an absolute gimmick made by a French kindergarten teacher in the 1800s to see if the children knew what they were supposed to know

[@bibtebo]

Logan and jake share a birthday?

[@liamobrien9451]

If jake Paul was an idiot he wouldn't be so successful. He might be a sociopath with a knack for taking advantage of kids, but he is certainly not dumb

[@mndlessdrwer]

Welcome to the entire premise of Flowers for Algernon. A story about a man brought out of the cave of idiocy to reach intellectual heights far beyond his fellow man, only to find that in brilliance lies a deep and pervasive loneliness, as nobody is truly capable of understanding you. It's a good, if incredibly sad, novel. It also has one of the more interesting narrative devices, in that it is written journalistically as a parallel frame narrative from the point of view of Charlie, the main character in the plot, and from the journal entries from the scientists operating the study which granted him his intellectual prowess through their experiments.

[@davidirizarry6216]

I love that book from Daniel Keys.

[@lucykinski]

I’m going to bring this down to my level of intelligence and ask you all to watch the episode of the Simpsons where they discover Homer has been living with a crayon wedged up his nose since he was little. They remove the crayon and he can’t deal with the repercussions so eventually has the crayon 🖍 put back. There really is a Simpsons episode for everything.

[@mndlessdrwer]

@@lucykinski Don't forget about the episode of SpongeBob where the top of Patrick's head comes off and they accidentally replace it with a chunk of Brain Coral. Patrick's personality changes completely as the brain coral makes him extremely intelligent, but he misses the more innocent friendship he had with SpongeBob, and decides to recreate the accident that made him smart. They end up finding that his head couldn't have been where he picked up the brain coral, and locate it, allowing Patrick to abandon his massive intellect to save his friendship with SpongeBob.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

And great film with Cliff Robertson . .very moving ! I defy you not to tear up at the end.

[@davidkugel]

I taught "Flowers for Algernon" to a Middle School English class over 20 years ago. The novel blew me away. "This brilliant book is too good to waste on 13-year-olds." I think of the writer of Ecclesiastes who said, ""The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow."

[@asgerms]

Imagine being that smart. No real "peers" to hang with. Everybody else is at the stage of an "8 year old" compared to you, constantly calling you weird because you're interested in music and astronomy; not spitting-contests. Hang with them or go do your own thing? (alone, ie. "weird recluse")

[@DeeegerD]

I can relate - a world full of dimwits.

[@muhammadabdullahhanif8860]

When you are very smart no one can see what you see. You cannot become yourself if you socially interact with people. Because you afraid losing oneself and cannot connect with people you Will develop social anxiety and despise the people because you anxious when near people. If you want to become a great smart person you must able explain your knowledge and logic with simplicity so that people can understand you and you can help them become a smarter and better person.

[@asgerms]

VIKDR : Your friends IQ is definately super high, but no so high as to rule out him join Mensa (or the like) where the IQ-requirements are in his ball-park (I think). Thus getting a level crowd that could carry a decent conversation with him. I believe that is why such organizations exist, not for snob-factor but to make life bearable for these individuals. But that Sidis guy with 250IQ? Well, if 100 is normal and 150 is genius. Try scaling it! I'm a normal 100IQ guy, but if I were in Sidis shoes that would put 99% of people at 40IQ (totally retarded) and even the Mensa crowd at 60IQ. Talk about being in solitary confinement for life!

[@VIKDR1]

asgerms, if you saw my comment on another post, it looks like Sidis, while smart, was exaggerated, and there is no record of any IQ test. One comment about his IQ may have actually been his placement in a civil service exam. He fell at 251, which shouldn't have been the case with such a high IQ. There are actually higher IQ groups than Mensa. Mensa is an IQ of 130, or the top 2%. (98th percentile) He actually qualifies for the Prometheus Society. (99.997th percentile, or the top 0.003%) But I doubt he would be interested. He would be the type of person who would make fun of people who "pay to join a group that tells you that you are smart."

[@101m4n]

Imagine feeling that way for your entire life. Trapped in a badly designed world, powerless to make a difference.

[@jackalnerf6230]

Poor guy, I dealt with a plethora of mental problems throughout my childhood because of the pressure I got for my intelligence, I can't imagine dealing with that he did.

[@Luna3141592]

The kind of pressure put on William Sidis is EXACTLY the sort of thing to break someone. Being raised to believe he's the single most extraordinary person on the planet might sound like a great life, but it's been significantly proven that "golden children" grow up to have high rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and to be generally unstable because no one ever taught them how to just be a person.

[@joesoldchanneldeprecated5948]

The one fatal mistake of parenting.

[@Luna3141592]

@@joesoldchanneldeprecated5948 fair enough XD

[@Trillyana]

This is probably how I was seen when I was able to read and comprehend the New York Times in preschool and full novels in Kindergarten. I was tested at a 5th grade reading and math level before I started Kindergarten, but sadly the more time went on the more my peers caught up. Probably because I left my education up to my schooling and didn't try to learn on my own. I would go to classes, do my homework, and study a tiny amount for exams and that was it. Feels like a waste now.

[@mndlessdrwer]

I fell into a similar rut, but came to the understanding that my intellectual capacity simply doesn't allow me to dive into the finer minutiae of any given subject. Instead, I am doomed to understand the surface level concepts by which things operate, and be able to quickly assimilate and synthesize information, only for said knowledge to quickly fade from memory and the remnants are not particularly useful. I believe that most of my problems stem from a lack of motivation and poor long-term memory conversion. I just don't find joy in learning the non-applicable underpinnings of various fields, and my memory is too poor for things like programming, chemistry, etc. I guess this is why I succeed so well in literary analysis instead of mathematics or physics or chemistry. I made it through four levels of Calculus and a class on the Theory of Mathematics before hitting my wall on the subject. I made it to Modern Physics and Optical physics before encountering the same problem. Chemistry, well, that I had the good sense to give up before I made it to Organic Chemistry, since there only madness lies.

[@BradPwnsU]

Hahahaha you were seen as the smartest person ever? Mm ok anime profile picture. Lmao

[@mobydick1316]

I hope your mom cooks good spaghetti for you man. 🙂

[@stucrucify9774]

Doesn't seem that strange to me that an exceptionally intelligent individual living within a broken system might experience social discomfort and even conflict within that brilliant psyche of theirs.

[@foxleo6729]

Shows that at the highest levels of intelligence we tend to value our simplest instincts the most and our external societal pressures lose meaningful value.

[@cdreid99999]

There is literally nothing people hate more than knowing youre smarter than they are. Which is why people with extraordinary iq's often learn to hide it. You ask others opinions. You allow people to make mistakesm you heap praise on people for doing things you are more capable of. Becausr its really not worth being hated for

[@cdreid99999]

@@foxleo6729 where did you get that take from?

[@foxleo6729]

@@cdreid99999 one of my own takes from the free behavioral health 101 class posted by Stanford University and seminars lectured by Robert Sapolsky

[@cdreid99999]

@@foxleo6729 from having a genius level iq..

[@zasherakhan6957]

Tomorrow is his birthday so happy Birthday to the smartest man who ever lived and then eventually died

[@mechadonia]

Unlike the smartest man living right now who is presumably immortal until proven otherwise

[@dylandaw8610]

"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing" -Socrates

[@nodozhit]

Objectivity versus subjectivity

[@phyl1283]

Socrates was a pessimist.

[@72marshflower15]

Intelligence is relative as everyone is stupid in their own ways...

[@ZackScroggins]

"All we are is dust in the wind, dude" -Ted "Theodore" Logan

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

"... know not much" would have done, too.

[@katakana1]

"He blamed all of society's problems on religion and capitalism" I don't care how controversial this is, but... *Boy was he ahead of his time.*

[@stohess]

Well that is to be expected from the man with the highest IQ ever

[@maxw9833]

I'm not so sure about religion, that's a bit more touchy, but 100% on capitalism

[@JohnCena-lh4zb]

Yh it’s not like the world has any other problems before capitalism. You are absolutely correct

[@user-hi6uh8sb3m]

@@maxw9833 religion is capitalism you give ur money to the church just like you give ur money to the state. people like you are so worked up on the definition of “faith” that has been taught to y’all. that you cant see that religion is a cult that you pay for. You or your parents have already been brainwashed by the cult leaders so you think your supposed to go to church every Sunday and give them 10% of your check you got on Friday. For hope or faith that you’ll be rewarded at the end of your life. But that church still got your money. It’s just like going through your day to day life where the state taxes the money that you work for in the hope or the faith that they will have your back in the end but neither the church or the state cares about your well-being they want that money.

[@maxw9833]

@@user-hi6uh8sb3m we just have different cultures and circumstances, in my country you're not obliged to give money to the church. All they do is put a box there and if you want to, just put money in there. But trust me, if i had to guess maybe 10% put money there, bc the pastor is already well off. In addition to that, people could give any amount of cash they want, the most I've given is 5 dollars. But in a way i see why u think it gives "cult vibes", but u need to know that not all churches are actually good Me personally, i dont even go to church nowadays, i only identify as a Christian as a safety net if there is such a Creator out there.

[@bix6139]

Poor man, he was treated like circus attraction =( And there's a crime that still remains undercover: social murder.

[@TommyMedal]

I wish shitty parenting was a crime

[@evanbrown6923]

Social murder? Sounds like a new buzz word to make people even bigger pussies than they already are.

[@Ceej3]

“Where you end up in life has very little to do with your intelligence” a good reminder to not be too hard on yourself :) was to me at least

[@davidho2977]

I heard someone did a study and they found that 70-80% of where you end up is due to social skills or lack thereof.

[@peruvianfarmerbasereality6515]

The picture at 1:56 is not William Sidis, it’s John Von Neumann. For anybody interested in William Sidis look up John Von Neumann, he was considered to be a genius by other geniuses and he pioneered and contributed to several fields of science.

[@dgrando202]

I like how you forgot to mention that Ted was a test subject for the Cia and under the watch of the educational institute to which he attended. Theodore didn't just go mad

[@tasheemhargrove9650]

"What went wrong"? - Society. Society isn't structured with intelligence, and the use of it, as the highest priority. This is evident in how he was treated. Considered weird and crazy. Treated like a foreign object in the eyes of the media and pop culture.

[@christiantaylor1495]

Tasheem Hargrove He made lots of money and was a successful inventor and author. Seems like society enabled him to meet every goal he went for to me.

[@King_Trakx]

@Steve Ala So... you relate because you feel like an outcast due to the business certificates you achieved with your high IQ? Was your goal to become a meter man (there's nothing wrong with that) or are you still striving toward your goal? If you're willing to share, I'm genuinely interested.

[@neomeg2232]

He grew up sharing a planet with several billion people that had an IQ 100 lower than him. Imagine the world calling you crazy for knowing how to tie your shoes because they all had down syndrome.

[@sertalis]

He was a family friend who lived with my family in Harlem for years. My mother talked a lot about his debates with her uncles. Never realized how well known he was

[@ahmadalisain4342]

Wait, this person is born at 1898. How old is your mom ?

[@spiritual9574]

@@ahmadalisain4342 how old is this person?

[@eekee6034]

​@@ahmadalisain4342 If his mind was still sharp at 70-80 years old, these debates could have taken place in the late 70s. His mom needn't be older than about 55 or 60. EDIT: And then I realised the year of his death must be a matter of record, and neither you nor me looked it up. Oh well, such is commenting. ;)

[@andyc9902]

Who

[@Enhafun]

@@eekee6034 but he died in 1944 tho- if his mom were old enough to understand what he was talking about, even discussing with her uncles she must be over 90 years of age at least and the person commenting should be 60 smth

[@PrinceJes]

The wisest man to ever live once said, "Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 - King Solomon

[@ahe79]

Massa I’m not religious, but that IS wise, and true.

[@tlaws1000]

Realest book in the Bible.

[@davidkugel]

It is nice to find another person who reads Eccl.

[@SailingSarah]

The demise of the wisest man was that he became the biggest fool. Women had pretty much everything to do with it.

[@shanghunter7697]

@@SailingSarah Oh boy

[@kitcutting]

"It takes great skill and talent to conceal one's skill and talent." - Francois de la Rochefoucauld

[@vermin5367]

*James at age 17:* bloody genius *Me at age 17:* _why is a hamburger called a ham-burger if it's made out of beef?🤔_

[@devbali-q6f]

It's because it's from Hamburg

[@freddybenelli9100]

Who is James?

[@marcruslytorralba2765]

I made mine at home

[@WatchfulHunter]

Dead bull flesh did not sell many burgers. Excusing it saying it's from hamburg is an intentional deception. We know burgers. And this is known as a ham-burger. We also have cheeseburgers. Not Hamburgers with cheese. And it is not a sandwich from Hamburg, Germany.

[@yxyz8150]

what about hot-dog?

[@nougatbitz]

4:40 He understood the nature of humans and knew nothing could save them from their own savagery.

[@GlembloGlorpis]

Which he is a human himself and a dead one

[@missingpiece2071]

Burn out man, Burn out, pushing your limits results in longer recovery times. Sustainability in all things physical and mental. Taking time for contemplation and rest is as important as the task at hand.

[@Dragon-ul8fv]

Give some examples of mentally burning out and the activities associated with them.

[@LuckyBadger]

I am a nanny for 5yo and 18mo little girls. The 5yo was almost completely fluent in 3 languages by the time she turned 4. The 18mo baby is speaking 2 languages, in 3 word sentences (or more). They speak Spanish at home, Hebrew in day care, and English with me. I speak all three languages, but I emphasize on English, using the other languages to bridge the gap. I love these girls so much! Not only are they smart, they are funny, energetic, and well loved by amazing parents.

[@mobydick1316]

Excuse my french but what the fuck

[@jakevendrotti1496]

Emphasize on grammar, then

[@Vincenzo_Santorini3]

Damn, I feel sad for them kids 😢

[@brb4903]

to speak fluently some languages at a young age doesn't warrant intelligence... to learn them by themselves yes!

[@dabdella1460]

The Man finally realized he had the right to just breathe . He was intelligent enough to dabble in whatever direction he choose And to do nothing for a spell and be ok with it is a lesson in itself. He learned he grew he shared the man was a success. Dd

[@markhirstwood4190]

it took me till age 36 to realise that, all i really have to do today is just breath. doesn't help, but at least i knew it. 42 now. suicide seems like a good option, but i guess i keep living for curiosity.

[@MrBluemanworld]

Never heard of him, very sad. It's something to think about

[@TheVariableConstant]

Wow that's impressive you havent but probably expected. His godfather and uncle was William James, one of the most intelligent and influential American academics in history...

[@TexasScout]

I found this to be true, that people who are extremely talented in a particular area, are usually deficient in some area of their personality.

[@extropiantranshuman]

Nothing wrong with that. It takes focus to work on an issue and that means naturally not socializing as much. Those skills come back and after a problem is solved. The truth is - it's not true. Otherwise you wouldn't see so many intellectual voices these days - youtube, podcasts, business ventures, etc. socializing more than the so called 'low iq workers' everyone talks about here.

[@garyha2650]

Only so much brain available. But then there's also spirit. But if the brain is a transducer then only so much of the spirit trying to express can make it through very well. A case to think about might be blind musicians where the large amount of brain usually used for vision can instead be allocated for music.

[@joepapa1189]

I’m in all the honors classes in school I’m friends with mostly nerds. They’re some of the most anxious and depressed people I’ve ever met. Most of them are on the brink of suicide from just homework pressure alone, one of them is a jerk who lashes out at all of her friends (don’t know if she’s just a jerk or if it’s her way of dealing with depression and anxiety), one kid stayed in a mental ward for a week half way through the school year just from all the pressure. Being smart appears for most people to suck since “the smart people will save us all” mentality is shared by most other people. So imagine a group of 14 and 15 year olds who are not supposed to “save us all”. I feel really bad for all of my friends. My parents don’t care what I do with my life as long as I can live comfortably and am happy. But everyone else’s put a weight on them the second they got their first A and it won’t be lifted until one of them is dead.

[@JavierCR25]

So much pressure on a child probably wasn’t good. While his intellect was far advanced his emotional capacity wasn’t anywhere near developed. Certain environments don’t only require intellect but rather the emotional rationale only given by experience. Just my 2 cents.

[@tomylaw]

Nailed it

[@Crazeddingo]

Imagine being told you were one of the smartest people the when you try to fix society no one listens.

[@nickkerinklio8239]

No political movement will fix all of societies problems.

[@nickkerinklio8239]

@ayy lmao if you can’t even keep composed while writing a KZbin comment, I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to have a discussion with you. Nobody cares who you hate.

[@jesspavlichenko5745]

@@nickkerinklio8239 Sure, but we don't need to choose ones that exasperate our problems. Capitalism had its chance and it has destroyed our planet and society

[@nickkerinklio8239]

@@jesspavlichenko5745 what do you propose as a solution? Capitalism isn’t going to go away so long as humans can trade things of value

[@jesspavlichenko5745]

@@nickkerinklio8239 capitalism isn't "trading things" lol

[@samhill6590]

While I don't claim to be anywhere near as smart Mr. Sidis, I was identified as "gifted" in 3rd grade due to my natural affinity for music. It was a nightmare all through school as much more was expected of me. It drove my teachers crazy that I refused to do homework, yet I could ace any test set before me. I finally dropped out of high school halfway through my senior year and joined the military. I've spent my entire adult life playing dumb just so people would leave me alone, so I can relate to what Mr. Sidis went through. It seems that if you think once, people expect it from you all of the time, and that is a burden no kid should have to endure.

[@samhill6590]

@hal marsh I've become pretty good at faking it. It's not as easy as it sounds LOL!

[@copper589]

This reminds me of a story I saw on science Channel of a kid from China I think of a kid who got a perfect on the SATs when he was like 11 or 12 and graduated from Harvard when he was 16 and got a PhD. At the end of the documentary on him he said he didn't know what to do now and wished to slow down for once in his life and take it easy

[@CorwynGC]

The simplest conclusion is that people are jerks. The only sad part is the cerebral hemorrhage. Nothing at all sad about 'obscurity'. Especially when that was what he *wanted*. Thanks to him for adding to the human body of knowledge despite people being jerks.

[@extropiantranshuman]

Maybe he had to do all the work by himself, because no one would help him out (or maybe could) and that's what happens. Educating oneself allows one to give themselves a chance to help these brilliants succeed.

[@wernhardbierbauerthefourth2476]

Sidis is such a cool last name. Sounds like a sith lord or some kind of deadly disease...

[@latrellsprewell653]

Wernhard Bierbauer The Fourth he was a Sith Lord. It's been proven by top scientists.

[@FireworksAndHurricanes]

Plus, his last name is palindromic. Meaning, it's spelled the same backward as it is forward. Pretty short but neat surname.

[@irisfainberg7623]

Im israeli, never thought of it that way since i hear that family name alot :)

[@dillondrozario1613]

Lord sidious

[@HumanimalChannel]

@@FireworksAndHurricanes thanks Edward for remembering what I couldn't...palindrome...I woulda for there eventually but you saved me the frustration!

[@valiantwarrior4517]

I’ve never really considered the outside pressures such public geniuses must face. Can’t hardly blame him for wanting to hide. I had read just a small bit about this guy before, but hadn’t heard the details of his life. Makes you wonder just how many amazingly intelligent people are out there who are hiding away or just live in places where such things are not very recognized. Obviously one can be highly intelligent without education, but such opportunities definitely open up many options. I’m a new subscriber. Thanks for the cool videos. I enjoy the style you use to present them. Feels less like a documentary and more like a storytelling. 👍🏻 Humans are already far too separate in their minds.

[@LMICUK]

When you're smart (in what ever form that may be) it's hard to switch your mind off.. he sounds like he was a brilliant man but when you that aware of the world you will always be haunted by the bad parts of human nature as it's only logical to do so✌🏾

[@shizukamori6755]

I only have average intelligence, but I'm smart enough to realize I can't change the world, or fix humanity's problems, or whatever. So I just live my life in peace and quiet, doing what I love and minding my own business.

[@gbaker9295]

That's right. Do what you can and be kind to people. Can't carry the weight of the world alone

[@phyl1283]

...nothing wrong with that. If you aspire to nothing, you seldom fail.

[@whatsupbudbud]

I would consider my intelligence to be above average but I've come to the same conclusion. What I've found is that people like being ignorant. The only driving force for people is self-interest, so anything and anyone who comes in the way will be the enemy. Powerful people know this very well, hence they're in power and the stupidity of the world continues. Sadly, the older I get the more I seem to accept that L value in the Drake equation tends to tilt towards zero.

[@cantthinkofnameyeah7249]

Every prerson hes many daily problems that could be solved by simple inventions and every so often one of those problems is significantly commonplace to others also. If every person looked to save a couple thousand to pay for a patent we live in a highly efficient world

[@cantthinkofnameyeah7249]

*has

[@jaredjones1752]

I finished reading the biography of William James Sidis today, and one of my aunts is EXACTLY like William's mother. Like, it's downright scary how similar they are. (Coincidentally, my aunt's son--who is an M.D.--cut off all contact with his mother 15 years ago,. just like William cut off contact with his. Future mothers take note!) I can see why William despised her, and I think she's to blame for what happened to him in adulthood more than anything else. I know from personal experience what hell being around someone like that can be.

[@frisco21]

Those afflicted with Aspergers who function at advanced intellectual levels know this feeling well. It is extremely frustrating, to say the least. Even superficial social interaction with others is awkward and psychologically painful.

[@soygato2722]

frisco21 Esspecially when your not smart

[@soygato2722]

Sergio Valentini Autism doesn't make someone smart. I literally forget how to spell my own name sometimes

[@yourlordandsaviouryeesusbe2998]

@@soygato2722 He meant to draw attention to the fact that you used "your". So yeah... You're definitely not smart.

[@soygato2722]

My Lord, I completely agree with you Yeah i know that.

[@rny999]

Gift or curse depending on subconscious programming, simply augments and replicates what's already there, like a genetic gamble or mutation towards higher heights or lower lows. The greater meaning/definitions and bigger picture is pivotal towards their own personal evolution.

[@kristinetravis-ot6bb]

I can relate. I'm a genius, and extreme pressure from my parents resulted in attempting suicide at age twelve. It's been thirty-five years since I tried to end my life, and I'm agoraphobic due to the unchecked aggression that find palpable when I interact with people. American society is broken, and although I can see what is needed to do to course-correct, I can also see that the people in power will never allow it. Of all that I know, one problem I can't seem to solve is how to live with is being controlled by people who are inherently dishonest and create false narratives that result in the deaths of enormous amounts of people in the pursuit of the illusion of more power. If anyone has any ideas about how to make peace with that, I'm listening.

[@ShortJoey]

Dog you ain’t a genius lmao

[@kristinetravis-ot6bb]

@benj4865 I'm curious: What gave you the idea that I'm not being honest about my IQ? What would someone have to gain by being dishonest about that? There are plenty of days where I wish you were right. It's unbelievably difficult to deal with being governed by people who are too ignorant to see the problems they are creating by legislating solutions without comprehending the long-term effects of their proposals. Imagine for a moment that elementary school age kids were running the country, and how frustrating it would be to watch them pour billions into something that's a big deal to them, but does nothing to help with whatever problem they're trying yo solve . I had to stop watching the news because I couldn't stand to watch those "kids" in DC continue to destroy the rest of the world while they pretend science is just a liberal conspiracy. The absurdity is maddening. It's the reason that so many geniuses end up completely insane. Do some research, see that what I'm saying is accurate, or stay willfully ignorant like the majority, ur call.

[@MrIronJustice]

Why do you think so much about the government? You sound obsessed. Master your thoughts and set limits on how much futile worrying about unsolvable problems occupy your time. There's plenty good you can do within your sphere, the people in your life, local organizations, etc