How does high intelligence and insanity have inherent link?

Question

I despise people who do not understand that insanity is a deterioration of mental health/well-being and entails distortion of reality whereas high intelligence is not easily understood but does not necessitate a breakdown of logic and mental acuity. Insanity refers to a structural framework (and most of the time a neurochemical problem) whereas intelligence may possess similar traits of social isolation at times, but the person's sanity is intact.

How do people get so confused? It seems as if the easy way to feel superior is to say they've lost their marbles. If they'd only be knowledgeable about the process and all that is involved in losing one's marbles, would they blurt the same thing?

If a dummy gets upset and loses it, he is just acting on his true feelings. If an intelligent person loses it, he's mad/crazy?

Answer 1

The dummy is more likely to get locked up for expressing this side, where as the intellectual can think his way out of trouble. Dummy's get called crazy too. People of higher intellect can become very bored with every day life and that coupled with an extreme ego can lead to the insane actions on behalf of that person. A dummy will be out right with his feelings, but not actually know what it is when asked to explain. An intellectual knows exactly what his problem is and can give many levels of why they are upset.

Answer 2

First off can i say i dont believe in this neurochemical problem you mention.its speculated that it exists but theres no proof at all.it is not taken seriously by scientists and doesnt feature in ANY scientific journals cause there simply isnt any proof.and also i have never ever heard of it being connected to insanity.the reason why high iq and insanity have a "link" is cause it always is going to stick out more when a rational person goes irrational.also its more scary.have you ever heard that quote "its not the crazy things an insane person does thats disturbing,its the rational stuff they do".its much more sinister when a well educated and highly respected person goes mad for fear of what they are capable of.also i would like to say one more thing that i think is relevant ........."ignorance is bliss".never a truer word said.i think its very valid here.i think part of the reason some highly intelligent sane people go "mad" is cause they arent ignorant.i think being intelligent is certain situations can be very distressing which can overtime lead to problems,depression being one which in turn can lead to more.i am finding it very hard to explain exactly what i would like to convey here but i hope it was helpful :-)

Answer 3

Very good question.

I recently read this from a private blog. Interestingly similar conclusion:

"High intelligence, in other words, helps its possessor deal with social stress just as it does with other complex challenges in life. People with high IQ have lower accident rates, and obviously do better in life, because they can see the answers to problems better than those with lower IQ. That much is nearly intuitively obvious.

Yet the myth of a link between high IQ and mental illness, or at least a disturbed personality, lives on, as The New Yorker article illustrates. Science, however, shows otherwise. When these things are studied systematically, we discover that higher IQ enables one to cope with the stresses of life, even when those stresses are social or psychological."

I think those of normal or below-normal intelligence find a perverse solace in labeling an intelligent individual as maladaptive, or more crudely, nuts.

In short, I think you've answered your own question. My post only validates your perceptions.

Answer 4

NOT EVEN! That is a particularly unpleasant and even highly offensive manifestation of a way-too-popular psycho/emotional coping mechanism! Namely, the tendency towards turning what one considers to be an unattainable positive into a negative, in order to make it seem less desirable. In this case, we have the people who think (whether justifiably or not) that they, themselves are not intelligent, and either cannot or don't want to exert the effort to become intelligent, tainting the concept of intelligence with that of insanity to lessen their own pain of envy. (It's a lot easier - and therefore, waaaaaaaay more popular - than working and studying to up one's OWN intelligence level.) It is a really ugly, mean-spirited and particularly nasty variation on the regrettable concept of achieving uniformity by tearing down whatever is perceived as the higher standard rather than raising up the lower one. Again, more popular because it is easier!

Answer 5

Rent the movie "A Beautiful Mind" & see if you still want to ask your question. (Starring Russell Crowe). A touching film about a brilliant mathematician's descent into madness.

They say there is a fine line between genius & insanity because often those that are extraordinarily brilliant are eccentric & seem crazy to others. Their closet may have 20 identical suits so they don't have to waste time worrying what to wear (Einstein). They may build castles on mountaintops with caves and rivers inside (King Ludwig in Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Castle). They may cut off their ear & shoot themselves in a field after painting glorious canvases (Van Gogh).

Ordinary people don't do dramatic things and they often don't understand those who do. Extraordinary people may seem crazy because their actions aren't "normal."

There is another link. Sometimes a highly developed brain (with an awesome capacity for creativity, invention, etc whether it's in the humanities, maths & sciences or any given field) may have a tendency to go askew. It's as though too much mental activity can drive you mad. You can think too much, see, know, hear, feel too much & become overwhelmed. If ignorance is bliss, it follows that knowing too much could be despair/hardship. I have heard that there is a link between schizophrenia & intelligence (not just in "A Beautiful Mind"). A highly imaginative person could have the potential to invent, create, discover but they may also cross the line into delusion, paranoia. I worked with someone whose mother was schizophrenic. He said that she had always been an exceptionally intelligent woman but unfortunately as she got older she suffered from paranoid delusions. Her mind was so overactive that it would create & imagine elaborate worlds & schemes that weren't there.

Look at Howard Hughes. Brilliant, successful businessman who became so afraid of dealing with the world that he shut himself off, became a recluse. Thinking too much can be dangerous. It can drive you mad.

Now this is not to romanticize insanity & certainly not all insane people are geniuses. But there definitely is a link. To say that there is not would be like saying that there is not a link between suicide & being an artist (Sylvia Plath, Kurt Cobain, Van Gogh to name a few). Sometimes it is the most beautiful souls in this world who suffer the most and can not bear to exist...

The key is to protect the artist, the genius. The world can be very harsh to sensitive, intelligent people who don't quite "fit in" with the majority. Even when they achieve success, they may still feel like an outsider. They may suffer from an inconsolable sadness, locked in a prison where they think & feel too much, shut off from a society that doesn't understand or accept them. It is a tragedy that so many of these people destroy themselves. They have to focus on the beauty rather than the ugliness. They have to appreciate the gift that they have even if it comes with a curse.

Ok maybe I am romanticizing it! Perhaps because many of my favourite artists/writers/musicians have fallen within this category...

I believe that madness/insanity is the mind's reaction to too much pain. If someone suffers a great deal of abuse, neglect, tragedy, violence, despair, they may reach a point where they snap. The reason that a lot of highly intelligent, highly sensitive people may go mad is that they may experience a great deal more pain because their experience is more acute, they think & feel more than the average person so their pain would be more intense.

Just a guess. What do I know? I'm an artist & musician but no genius...

Answer 6

People expect intelligent folks never to 'lose it' because they're supposed to be smart enough than to get upset or lose their cool over whatever it is they're stressing. Therefore, it becomes crazy that someone with a high intelligence would act so irrational. Which is definitely BS.

Answer 7

"ignorance is bliss". never a truer word said. I think its very valid here. I think part of the reason some highly intelligent sane people go "mad" is because they aren't ignorant. I think being intelligent in certain situations can be very distressing which can overtime lead to problems such as depression."

From personal experience I find dealing with people that are ignorant or simply don't care about learning to be very aggravating. About 90% of the population live in a warped reality thanks to indoctrination and are either not willing or are unable to perceive reality for what it is. That in of it self leaves the more intelligent individuals with few people to talk with and a throng of people who they don't care to deal with.

(This post is for current readers. I am aware of the date for the original question.)

Answer 8

One has a short circuit and the other does not.