A cliched as fuck question, but it is still something I regularly think about. I'm talking about personal intellect, not the intellect of humanity in general of course. And I know intellect is such a subjective term and we could argue all day what the exact definition of it is.. But for the sake of argument, I'll just broadly say "to know or be aware of". At first intellect seems like an invaluable tool.. But a tool to what? What do you achieve? Because goddamn, I am starting to think while smarts might open new doors, it closes doors to things such as happiness a little bit. I'm not that smart. A little, but I'm not a genius. But I feel like I have a certain level of "self-awareness".. I'd even toss modesty out the window and say I have a little more than most people, but how the fuck would I really know? I feel like the more the mind opens, the harsher reality gets. It makes shit hard. I think about when I was a little kid and remember never giving a fuck. I seriously at one point in time thought that I'll never die. It felt like it was one of those things you only heard about, and "it could never happen to me". Dumb as fuck, but great at the same time. I didn't know people did so many fucked up things, I didn't realize how unforgiving nature and reality really are, and I knew but didn't accept/comprehend that death has to be a part of life for now. Great stuff I wouldn't mind giving it up... but I wouldn't if I could. I'd feel deep down that I'm cheating myself. I couldn't bring myself to do it for some reason.. Which leads me to feel like "intellect" might just be a blessing.. but at the same time I feel it really limits positive emotions in ways.. And I feel like positive emotions are the most you can get out of life, and if it limits that, it's a "curse". It might just be both, but if you had to decide... which is it?
Most likely in our society it is a curse. It would be much easier to follow, thoughtlessly, than to actually think your way through life. Seems pretty evident when you look at any sort of religious fundamentalism...
r u stoned? But yeah, I agree with your point, I was a pretty tightly wound dude. I would see a lot of dumb asses who didn't care how they acted, and I would think, don't they care what other people think of them? But then I thought, who am I to judge them, and why do I feel like I'm being judged. And, who are these motherfuckers judging me, because they don't really know shit about me, and why are they wasting time judging me. So, why give a fuck what they think, be what you can when you can because someday it really won't matter? I think the people who are happiest know the smell of their own shit, and are comfortable with it, and could care less about the smell of the shit around them.
it's possible to give up the search for truth, just for a little while even, if you desire some relief. amor fati.
It's as if you crawled into my mind and rummaged through the boxes that were marked "open at your own risk" These are my exact thoughts. It's a little too early for me here to be as eloquent as you. But you nailed it !!
I think society has proven that ignorance is the preferred path at large... but it all depends if you want to make a change or not. Evolution is natural, and I think intellect is just a natural trait humans were "blessed" with.. but it just depends what you use it for. Don't use it to dwell on the bad and I think it's a wonderful gift.
i considor myself school dumb. i look around at all this technology and think "how the fuck do people make/understand this shit". when it comes to real life situations tho, im very smart.
I'd rather be aware of how shit really is instead of being ignorant and blind to everything. Being aware of things kind of makes me dislike a lot of people though, because I realize how stupid and uninformed people really are...
Some of you are so fucking quick to be assholes. Smart asses who fucking know-it-all and have it all figured out. Good for you. I believe the more aware you are of things the harder it is to be happy. Not Impossible, but hard. Because seeing things for how they REALLY are and not being blinded by all the bs causes you to be pretty negative. That's where I'm at currently. And sometimes I miss back when I was oblivious and ignorant because I was at least happy.
Your awareness is focused on the wrong aspects.. There's as much good as bad, depending on your perception.
I'd wager that you are not perceiving how things really are then. The real truth is the happiest thing you can imagine.
total curse! logic and truth only piss idiots ruled by their reptilian brain off. why do you think rush limbaugh uses the term intellectual as an insult?