A new study was recently released by Norman Li and Satoshi Kanazawa. The study shows how normal people prefer living in the country or small town with a lot of social interaction. It then shows the opposite for those with a high intelligence. Apparently “smarter” people prefer large cities and little social interaction.
They base this on a survey of happiness, so the reliability may be a bit off, but it is still a bit interesting. (I have never taken an IQ test, but maybe this shows that I have a high intelligence, or I’m just happy with whatever I’ve got, and a complete mutant at that.)
What does this mean, overall? It’s hard to say exactly, but it probably means nothing. Some may think that smarter people are too busy working on the next best thing, and so they need less social interaction. Others may posit that smarter people have lower social skills, like that silly show Scorpion, and so they avoid, by choice or by omission, social gatherings. It could also be that people with a high intelligence are too focused on fact, and have a harder time just going with the flow that social interaction requires.
Whatever the reason though, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy. My little family likes to spend time together, without others most of the time. We don’t feel a need to socially interact on a regular basis. My successful friendships are the ones that are the same, as in we can go months without talking, but then we just pick up where we left off.
Does any of this mean anything? Personally I don’t think so, but it is nice to know that person is not alone, even in their seclusion.