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Krystian Luevano

Mr. Vetters

English III AP

11 March 2021

Knowledge in the Name of Sorrow

In 1922, Albert Einstein, rather than immediately accepting his Nobel Prize for his work

in Physics, decided to give a series of lectures around the Far East, touring throughout the Asian

continent. In Tokyo, Einstein and his wife Elsa stayed at the city’s luxurious Imperial Hotel

while accepting a delivery from one of the bellhops. Einstein found himself with no spare change

to give the young man. Instead, he took two small pieces of paper, and wrote a few messages on

them, then handed the notes to the bellhop, making sure to tell the boy that those two notes are

invaluable. Rather than being some sort of scientific discovery that Einstein had kept to himself

and randomly passed on to a bellhop, the notes carried some helpful life advice, words that can

also give us an insight into how Einstein felt about his success. His message said, “A calm and

modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant

restlessness.” It’s no coincidence that Einstein would’ve felt this way, especially during one of

his golden years, only reinforced by the thousands of his followers waited below, hoping to see

one of the greatest minds of the time. Despite his success and reverence, the intellectual Einstein

still had humble aspirations in life. While it’s quite a leap to say that Einstein was unhappy with

his accomplishments, the general idea that intelligent people could still pine for a simpler life

makes you wonder if their knowledge comes at the expense of ignorant happiness. In the first
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chapter of Ecclesiastes, it is written that "For in much wisdom is much grief, and an increase of

knowledge is an increase of sorrow.” It may seem contradictory to believe that a pursuit of

knowledge can be a regretful endeavor. While not all prodigies end up in a state of depression,

it’s hard to deny that it’s at least a possibility, sometimes an inevitable one at that. There are

many would-be innovators who most likely never get the chance to change the world or even

reap the benefits of their ingenuity. The prime issue with society’s brightest is that they’re highly

ambitious, which tends to be their downfall. Furthermore, having an extensive knowledge of the

world and its institutions can prove to be a burden on some, heavily disrupting their personal

lives, including their relationships with other people.

The gift of intelligence is usually complemented with a heightened yearn for

accomplishment, which is only natural. After all, if these fine minds are equipped with a firm

grasp on the society around them, then clearly they have the power to change it for the better.

Unfortunately, they both soar and plummet on their steep hill of ambition. Intelligent people

usually have polished analytical skills, and this dilemma is birthed when they turn those same

skills on themselves. These astute individuals indulge in social comparison, an unhealthy habit in

which one heavily compares their attitudes, abilities, and traits to other people. Prodigies can’t

just be exceptional in their field, they have to be the best in their field. As discussed in an

interview the Atlantic conducted with Raj Raghunathan (a professor of marketing at The

University of Texas) about his similarly-themed book If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy,

intelligent individuals are affected by their need to affirm their expertise in their chosen field or

hobby. “What are the yardsticks for judging somebody on a particular dimension?” asks

Raghunathan, who explains further by using the profession of a professor as an example: “What
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are the yardsticks for being the best professor? Is it about research, teaching? Even if you take

only teaching, is it the ratings you get from students, or is it the content that you deliver in class,

or the number of students who pass an exam or take a test and do really well in it?”. Because of

a lack of true parameters when it comes to measuring someone’s inherent talent, people often

resort to abstract, unconnected details. They judge their own worth by how much money they

make, how much accolades they receive, or by how prestigious the company they keep is. Of

course, none of these factors can really determine how effective all of your hard work is, but

oftentimes they are used as supplements for happiness. If I win all these awards, then surely that

must make me happy? While some people may be comfortable with judging their happiness

based on these supplements, the more knowledgeable folks just can’t seem to find happiness in

their own success. Or maybe they are aware that wealth and status doth not a happy life make. A

perfect real-world example (besides Einstein and his “key to happiness”) comes in the form of

Charles Dickens, the man behind such literary classics as A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great

Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens, with such a prolific output, was known to suffer

from depression throughout his life, which always seemed to hit him the hardest when beginning

work on a new novel. Dickens was a man who came from nothing, having watched his family be

thrown into a debtor’s prison at the age of 12, and being forced to slave away at a boot factory.

Through his writing, Dickens managed to accrue a well-deserved wealth for himself, definitely

acquiring the life that once seemed like a fantasy to a young, poor Dickens. Despite all of this

good fortune, Charles Dickens never seemed to be satisfied with any of it, as his sorrow seemed

to grow with age. At one point in his life, Dickens had an affair with an 18-year-old named Ellen

Ternan, leaving his wife of 22 years to care for his ten children. The constant wave of
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dissatisfaction felt by Dickens is shared by those with a similar intellectual stature, as true

satisfaction is always just one more impossible standard away from their grasp.

The tale of a depressed and distant intellectual has long become a cliched archetype,

much like the quote I used from Ecclesiastes. Yet, there is undeniably some truth to it. Charles

Dickens was not the only one to have suffered from mental illness, as there is an uncomfortable

connection between intelligence and depression, anxiety, or mood disorders. The results of a

study conducted by Ruth Karpinski of Pitzer College on members of Mensa (a high IQ society)

found that around 27% of them suffered from mood and anxiety disorders, 17% higher than the

general population rate. It is reasoned that intelligent people tend to be more anxious and worry

about everything, a huge indicator of psychological overexcitability. Another famous genius,

Abraham Lincoln heavily suffered from depression during the Civil War, the most stressful time

in his political career. As discussed in the previous paragraph, intelligent people keep themselves

unhealthily busy, something that causes them immense stress as they try to achieve unrealistic

goals. Couple with the fact that a lot of these individuals tend to be more socially isolated from

their peers, it’s no surprise that depression marks their lives so negatively. The character of the

Doctor from the long-running science-fiction program Doctor Who serves as a reasonable

parallel to this idea. The Doctor is renowned for their high intelligence, and just as much so for

their eccentricity. While the Doctor is literally an alien, their character does have so humanistic

traits that are shared with other gifted people. They are usually portrayed as socially awkward,

distant, and sometimes cold towards their friends. But most importantly, the Doctor’s intelligence

and gift of the TARDIS (in other words, their accomplishments) frequently act as a burden in

their long existence. The ability to go anywhere in time and anywhere in space is always at their
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fingertips yet there is always this underlying sadness to it all, highlighted by the Doctor’s

revolving door of companions. The Doctor frequently invites human companions on their

intergalactic trips, to the point where they are unable to travel without another conscience at their

side. Yet, the Doctor often acts callous to their companions, and in some incarnations, even

shows apathy towards putting their lives in danger. Their emotionally distant tendencies are

usually explained as the result of their near-immortality, being able to outlive their human

counterparts, and to complicate things even more, being able to start over with a new face and

new life cycle. Using the Doctor as an exact example is pushing things a bit far, but in more

earthly terms, these types of real social problems faced by the Doctor are similar to those faced

by prodigies. The cost of knowledge is the loss of normal, functioning relationships with others.

Whether due to the nature of their work or just their behaviors, their high IQs leave them with a

life full of worries, fears, anxieties, and even contempt for the society around them.

It’s important to note that all of these concepts could be simply be chalked up to the

individual and not necessarily their high intelligence. After all, discouraging people from seeking

out knowledge is a highly ignorant and close-minded thing to do. I don’t believe that intelligence

itself makes a person more despondent, but truly how they use it. There are smart people who

use their gift to do good in the world and help others, while some would rather exercise their

supposed superiority over others to fuel their ego.

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Works Cited

Pinsker, Joe. “Why So Many Smart People Aren't Happy.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media
Company, 26 Apr. 2016,
www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/why-so-many-smart-people-arent-happy/47
9832/.