If you are so smart
If you are so smart, how come you aren't rich?
This is a comment I received today and for some context, it was an open discussion about AI and the potential challenges and threats to life as we know it. We didn't get very far into the conversation when this was said.
I find the concept of wealth being an indicator of intelligence an interesting and somewhat disturbing one. There probably is a high correlation between intelligence and wealth but, intelligence need not be present to attain wealth nor, must wealth be accumulated in order to be intelligent.
I remember reading that Einstein died with about a million dollars to his name which with inflation adjustments worked out as 13 million in current value. This is by no means a small amount but, for one of the unarguably most intelligent people in the world, pales in comparison to thousands of professional sports people, actors, CEO's and of course, the Billionaire's club members.
Mark Zuckerberg for example has a net worth of 70 Billion and as influential as Facebook is and as intelligent as he himself may be, he is definitely not at Einsteins level. Yet, he was able to accrue over 5000 times his value, does that actually make him 5000 times smarter?
The problem with tying wealth to intelligence brings up some very big issues as it very quickly would become apparent where most wealth is created and, it is not where most really intelligent people spend their time.
We live in a strange world where cancer researchers must fight for funding while gaming companies get money thrown at them to create more entertainment solutions. From an investment perspective, things like gaming is a wiser investment as the return on entertainment is significantly higher and more likely than the return on some obscure Hail Mary cure. The market also seems insatiable.
But, the smart Einstein types are often bored by the mundane world of consumptive entertainment and historically, would warn people away from this kind of activity. For them, it was a much more interesting life to attempt to solve real problems, even in theory and even if it didn't bring them huge financial gains. perhaps the gains for them was the bragging rights to solving a very difficult problem.
I wonder what the world would look like if all of the smart people working on all of their projects decided that their primary focus would be personal wealth generation instead. I would imagine that overall, the rest of the world would be quite displeased with the results, especially if they decide to abandon fields that are looking to improve world conditions.
Of course, there are plenty of smart people that work in just about every field imaginable but not all smart people are driven by wealth creation. Many would be happy to have enough money to pay their bills and of course, enough to fund their research and paths of discovery.
For me personally, I am likely the first to admit my lack of intelligence across nearly every area but, thinking itself does not require intelligence, it requires creativity. And how I see it is that I have a fair amount of creativity to offer and I may wander upon an idea that may somehow fall into the lap of an actual intelligent person and inspire them to discover a solution. There is no guarantee.
The person that said this to me is one of the people who has the approach to life that unless there is money to be made, there is no point to it and if one isn't aiming for maximal wealth, they are idiots. I am sure he isn't the only one that acts in this way.
But, I wonder how much of what we consume is developed by people who didn't get rich developing it and creating it, how many people were behind discoveries and final products that never get a mention? Are they unintelligent too? Perhaps.
I don't really know what actually classifies as intelligent but in general, I would assume there is somewhat of a 'to each their own' attitude involved. I do think that as a society we spend much too much time and resources on the creating and consumption of entertainment services and much too little on things that actually matter.
I get teased a lot for taking life 'too seriously' but in actual fact, I enjoy a my life. I enjoy thinking about things rather than watching television or gaming, I enjoy spending time in discussion, or writing about a range of topics. I enjoy diving into the negatives. I am unlikely to ever get rich doing it but one thing I do know for certain, I don't count my life as a waste because my bank account is currently hovering near zero.
I may regret this approach one day of course but hey, if I was smarter...
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
I rather have empty bank account than become slave of the money or do anything just to make money for sake of money. If I create something and money comes as added bonus, sure, nice to have.
Money as a byproduct is what I would like to be able to achieve, not as the focus. I don't need much though and any extra I would most likely put back into doing something more.
By that person's way of looking at things,
Pablo Escobar was the most intelligent man, since he was generating more money in a shorter time than anyone.
Nikola Tesla was so stupid, how could he be intelligent if he didn't have massive wealth, right?
Nah, there might be a correlation between intelligence and wealth, but in no way this is a causality...
By that person's way of thinking Escobar was intelligent and Tesla was an idiot. I know he thinks that way on both cases. Escobar was stupid for getting caught though.
If you are so rich, how come you aren't smart? That's the more interesting question. (I'm not the one who thought it.)
And people have been wasting their time with IQ tests. Would be so much easier just checking people's bank accounts. Would also make Nobel Prize awarding much easier. "Who's the richest nominee?"
Justin Bieber is much more intelligent than that. As is Kim Kardashian.
Had those exact thoughts. There's no way you can ever justify such discrepancies in income. At most people should be earning, say, 10 times more than the poorest person on Earth? And we're being generous.
Very good point.
Oh, I don't know about that! You're doing pretty well here!
Good post.
Thanks for taking the time but are you implying that Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian may not be as smart as I am am led to believe?
Great post. The way I see it, some people have disadvantaged upbringings and thus don't have all the access to make all the right moves to become rich. Also not all smart people put in effort, or they lack confidence, and thus don't reach the top of their potential. Sometimes it is passion/effort (even creativity as you mentioned) plus opportunity that makes the difference, not pute smarts. In the end we are all just people - Mass X Acceleration.
There are many factors involved but those that 'make it' omit many in their retelling. Many weed out all they cannot attribute to themselves.
Bill Gates and I about the same age. I am not comparing our intelligence, just comparing our time of passage into society. There are many factors that enabled him to become a very rich man. I could not have done the same because of ethics, not smarts. Riches are sought by many, but very few find them.
Ethics or a willingness not to adhere can play a large role. Perhaps this is why so many go into philanthropy after they have collected enough.
I'm more of your average Joe I suppose and living debt free. So in my mind, I am rich beyond measure, haha. I couldn't agree more with this article. I know several examples of less than brilliant folks who are fairly wealthy (multi-millionaires). For most, it had all to do with timing and connections and/or inheritances.
I enjoyed your explanation and look forward to reading more of your articles.
Timing, connections, luck and who you marry or take advantage of helps a lot too. I am pretty simple so I aim for a relatively simple life. They say, live within your means.
So true. I live off-grid, back in the woods in an awesome berm house. If I hit the lottery, I'd still live here, just buy up the land around me so I'd have fewer neighbors, LOL.
if we could live without the need to exchange anything with another entity (person or company) then most probably there will not be a need of money. I think IQ kind of smart and being financially literate is two different thing. Accumulating wealth is like accumulating enough tokens to exchange with more resources, achieving bigger things. Not necessarily means that most of the billionaires are greedy.
Not at all. I don't assume most billionaires are greedy, I think that for many, doing what they love creates a massive financial byproduct. But, doing what you love may not always be in a field that this monetary reward is available. It doesn't make it less worthy because of a lack of financial gain, nor does it mean those that are doing it without reward are stupid.
True 😄 as long as it creates certain impact for the humanity. It is always good to contribute. However, if what we do can be sustainable both financially and impact, then it would be great! And yes, the primary intention may not necessary be accumulation of wealth but to focus on the problem itself.
The more you know, the more you know you don't know. Smartness is a hard word to define. Some say it is IQ, which represents a mathematical intelligence type. Some say there are multiple types of intelligence. And some will just tell you that smartness is related to adaptability to your own environment and situation. Wealth for sure isn't a measure of intelligence, but I suppose intelligence makes it easier to obtain wealth, given that it isn't that hard to obtain if you want it.
Could it be that those who chase money as their primary goal are missing out on a lot of the other 'valuable' things that life has to offer?
I know of several divorces that happened because of the focus on making money.
That is so brilliant. I am very grateful for that! Love it.