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I have never known a smart person who did not want to become economically successful.
Then you don’t know many smart people.
There’s plenty of bright folks out there who don’t want higher incomes, prestigious positions, sole businesses, or investments that may come with more stress, workload, business travel, risks, or mental and emotional breakdowns.
Economic success isn’t free, there’s always a cost or risk associated with it.
I’m pretty sure the Unabomber was smart, but he wanted to be a terrorist instead.
△ Dunno that wealth is 'unimportant', though perhaps not everyone agrees that it's the only thang in life... let alone whether simply acquiring it is always the 'best', 'happiest', or most meaningful use of their particular lives and abilities?
Obviously, wealth isn't the only (or most meaningful) thing in life; but that wasn't my question relative to (those who have expressed a lack of 'interest in') acquiring it, particularly since most people have to work for a living anyway - yes?
In other words, wealth is often achieved by highly-intelligent people, whether through career or investment (and most likely a combination of both). Who is going to say (per the quote below), 'Yeah, no thanks; I'm not interested in wealth.'
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdaelectro
Many highly intelligent people, just have no interest in accumulating wealth.
I think most 'highly-intelligent' people have a desire to be compensated (and well) for what they do. :-)
Sometimes people that are exceptionally smart are “too smart for their own good”. By that I mean they see the system and they think it’s so banal and unrewarding that they don’t want a part of it. Sometimes they’re also more socially awkward and so it’s harder to succeed financially since that often requires going far outside your comfort zone socially.
Its really pretty hard to tell who is actually wealthy. Those with real wealth may not choose to flaunt it. Some have made fun of some old farmer driving beat up pickup and wearing bib overalls only to find out he was one of wealthiest men in the state. And some driving exotic sports cars and wearing fancy suits , maybe leveraged up to the hilt. How many times has Trump went bankrupt and been at mercy of truly wealthy men whether he would ever get another loan? We all heard him declare himself a genius. So there you go. Genius if OP was correct should always be right and never go bankrupt.....
Wealth has lot more to do with taking huge gambles combined with lot luck. You have to have some brains too, but brains alone wont make you rich, nor will hard work. Especially if you dont give a flying fig about luxury and keeping up with the Rockefellers. Talents come in many varieties. Many well known artists whose works sell for incredible sums lived most of their life destitute. Nobody appreciated their works until after they were dead.
Sometimes people that are exceptionally smart are “too smart for their own good”. By that I mean they see the system and they think it’s so banal and unrewarding that they don’t want a part of it.
I'd argue the person isn't that 'smart' if they can't wrap their head around a way to make their intelligence work for them - even if it's by way of changing the system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thatsright19
Sometimes they’re also more socially awkward and so it’s harder to succeed financially since that often requires going far outside your comfort zone socially.
Smart people are used to (excelling in) a competitive environment (college and career); and more often than not, have excellent communication skills and solid friendships with their peers (fraternities, etc). Re: 'socially awkward', I think more in terms of highly-gifted kids (as opposed to 'smart' or high-performing) i.e. the type who is playing Mozart as a preteen and finished college at 19, advancing ahead of their peers/friends and being shoved into an older environment.
Its really pretty hard to tell who is actually wealthy. Those with real wealth may not choose to flaunt it. Some have made fun of some old farmer driving beat up pickup and wearing bib overalls only to find out he was one of wealthiest men in the state. And some driving exotic sports cars and wearing fancy suits , maybe leveraged up to the hilt. How many times has Trump went bankrupt and been at mercy of truly wealthy men whether he would ever get another loan? We all heard him declare himself a genius. So there you go. Genius if OP was correct should always be right and never go bankrupt.....
Wealth has lot more to do with taking huge gambles combined with lot luck. You have to have some brains too, but brains alone wont make you rich, nor will hard work. Especially if you dont give a flying fig about luxury and keeping up with the Rockefellers. Talents come in many varieties. Many well known artists whose works sell for incredible sums lived most of their life destitute. Nobody appreciated their works until after they were dead.
It’s very hard in the arts for a variety of reasons. For example, I’ve heard that just 5 famous composers (bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and *cant remember*) account for more than half of the value of sales in classical music. But it’s not only that it’s a small amount of people who ever have their work seen, but of those big names more than 95% of their work is unknown and unseen. It’s incredibly hard to hit that flashpoint where your work could even reach the point of widespread adoption even for those that “made it”.
Last edited by Thatsright19; 08-06-2021 at 04:24 PM..
It’s very hard in the arts for a variety of reasons. For example, I’ve heard that just 5 famous composers (bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky) account for more than half of the value of sales in classical music. But it’s not only that it’s a small amount of people who ever have their work seen, but of those big names more than 95% of their work is unknown and unseen. It’s incredibly hard to hit that flashpoint where your work could even reach the point of widespread adoption even for those that “made it”.
There's a difference between gifted and talented vs. smart people 'getting rich', per the thread.
I'd argue the person isn't that 'smart' if they can't wrap their head around a way to make their intelligence work for them - even if it's by way of changing the system.
Smart people are used to (excelling in) a competitive environment (college and career); and more often than not, have excellent communication skills and solid friendships with their peers (fraternities, etc). Re: 'socially awkward', I think more in terms of highly-gifted kids (as opposed to 'smart' or high-performing) i.e. the type who is playing Mozart as a preteen and finished college at 19, advancing ahead of their peers/friends and being shoved into an older environment.
Why do you think intelligence always translates to economic value? Perhaps the smart person wants new challenges or challenges that aren’t valued economically by society. Even many high paying professions where you need to be exceptionally smart have aspects of useless grind, grunt work, paying your dues and other nonsense. There’s an element of being too smart for your own good where they can’t fathom the concept of conforming to such stupid systems biased in tradition, or whatever. Smart people are often bored to death by systems (like education) that have been dumbed down for the masses and lose interest.
I think you have a huge bias that thinks intelligence automatically translates to ability or desire to secure economic wealth.
For example, the jersey shore cast made millions providing value of something that people wanted to see. Ie drinking, partying, hookups, and general stupidity. That’s something that someone intelligent might not understand in the slightest. It’s not just intelligence that secures economic value.
Why do you think intelligence always translates to economic value?
Logical point being, most people have to work anyway - don't they? What 'highly-intelligent' person would work for free or not use their intelligence in a way which is beneficial to themselves (or their future) and/or others?
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