Story 34. Written by Jim Waitlord

Shopenhauer on Intelligence

According to Schopenhauer, intelligent people are envied and make others feel uncomfortable. The psyche of humanity is such that everyone considers themselves incredibly smart—even the dumbest among us. In fact, this perceived intelligence is inversely proportional to actual intellectual capability, a relationship that could be expressed with an advanced mathematical formula. But for the less gifted, let's put it simply:

Perceived Intelligence = Imaginary Intelligence / Real Intellectual Capacity.

The most successful, wealthy people are often not the brightest. They succeed because others trust them blindly. And those people? They are either stupid or, at best, average. Take Elon Musk, for example. He backed Trump, believing that would help him get to Mars. And Trump, within days of taking office, pulled the U.S. out of the climate agreement. Yet, Musk’s insane plans receive all the funding and resources they need, making him even richer. The fate of the planet? Irrelevant. He and Trump get wealthier, and the world burns. His new playground is Mars. And sure, he might actually make it there—but for what? By the time he returns, there will be no one left to celebrate his achievement. His obsession with power and glory will have doomed humanity.

Another prime example: Putin. A man obsessed with reviving the Soviet Union, pulling former Eastern Bloc countries back under Russian influence so he can cement his place in history. He wants his name written into the history books in golden letters, etched into the annals of power. And then there’s his good friend Orban, who is more than happy to sell out his own country in pursuit of his fantasy world—the old Hungary, a romanticized, unattainable dream. But this is nothing new for Homo sapiens. Look at the Roman Empire: people spent 1,500 years trying to restore it, despite its inevitable downfall.

Or consider Sultan Suleiman II. His dream? To carve his name into history by conquering Vienna. He marched forward, determined to secure his legacy. And how did it all end? He died in his tent outside "Szigetvár".

This is the pattern of history: ambition, delusion, collapse. And yet, people never learn.

Shopenhauer on Intelligence