Who has it harder, smart people or stupid people?

SAD PEOPLE.

Well I'm no expert but a lot of really smart people lack social skills. For any number of reasons they can't relate to the masses. This causes problems when it comes to making, having or keeping friends and relationships. They are often seen as arrogant which keeps people at a distance. They may have the knowledge for a great job but that doesn't mean they will be able to hold that job, or if they do then they will possibly be so involved with work that they just lessen their ability to socialize even more.
Stupid people do get ridicule but also compassion from people who are patient and want to help. They probably have better social skills because of more interactions on a daily basis. They may seem like more fun to be around because they won't have such high expectations for others and because they don't over think things, which can be maddening at times.
I'm sure someone will be able to explain this better, but I think they can both have it equally difficult or equally easier but for different reasons.

I'd have to say stupid people.
I know a few of them... and no, my saying that they are stupid is not an insult. They genuinely have it hard because they don't understand how to make it easier.

My stupid friends...
Don't get the connection between their boyfriend's drinking and driving and his fitness to be a parent or boyfriend, end up paying hundreds in his bail bonds just so he can go to work in the morning wondering why God is punishing them... then...

Don't understand how birth control works and where to get it and if explained to them, still don't understand the urgency of getting it before they have sex and later...

Get pregnant, don't understand the urgency OF seeing a doctor when they start randomly bleeding or seeing one every month, don't understand how important it is to not drink or abuse substances during pregnancy and...

Have difficult pregnancies, lose jobs that would have otherwise accommodated due to their ignorance of the policies of the job and their lack of willingness to read the company handbook because they don't understand the benefits of knowing the rules and...

have difficult deliveries and a difficult time raising the kid because they don't understand that when a kid turns colors or doesn't talk until he is 2, he might need to see a Physician, they don't understand the concept of red-dye and sugar in fruit juice leading to hyperactive behavior...

They don't understand that certain jobs require certain skills, they don't understand how people's minds operate and they don't get the concept of spending their money on paying their bills instead of spending it on tattoos and $100 sneakers.

Stupid people quite literally have a hard time making connections between cause and effect as well as short-term and long-term and the concept of foresight. They often live in the moment and don't even think to ask for advice (when they do, they are saying "tell me what I want to hear"). They don't listen to people that truly wish to help them and they live very difficult lives.

I would go as far as to compare them to dogs that are punished too long after they poo on the carpet. If you punish them immediately, they will understand that they shouldn't poo on the carpet, but if you punish them an hour afterwards, they are clueless as to why you're angry. Stupid people don't always get punished immediately, they have a hard time making connections that way.

Smart people not only learn from their mistakes but the mistakes of others.
Stupid people have a hard time learning from one or the other.

All arguments about how smart people are misunderstood aside, I'd say that stupid people, in the truest and least derogatory sense of the word, have it harder because they simply don't understand or it takes them much longer to understand.

Neither. Some people have it hard regardless of how intelligent or unintelligent they are. I can see how intelligence is preferable to a lack of intelligence, though.

Have you ever tried to argue with a stupid person? That shit's impossible!

I think emotionally smart people have it harder because they cannot ignore the way the world makes them feel. And we all know that ignorance is bliss

Too long, didnt read

This post seems like a rant more than anything, but I'll try to explain my thoughts too.

Can I assume that by "smart" and "stupid" you are referring to IQ? Or is it ability level? Because I know plenty of high-IQ people who can't operate a lawnmower, while there are less-intelligent people who could assemble said lawnmower from parts.

I don't think there is any catch-all argument for "having it better." Quality of life has so many factors built into it. There are brilliant stock brokers out there who are miserable, and disabled janitors who are some of the happiest people I've met. Yes, basic education is easier for the "smart" people. Yes they get the better-paying jobs. BUT the job may be less secure or more stressful than that low-paying job. The relationship argument is iffy, because there are smart people who lack social skills, as well as those who don't. A dumb guy may have a great body, and get a date before the smart guy does. Or the smart guy is just an a$$hole, so the girl goes for the nice dumb guy. I think your argument is more emotional than anything.

There is also the "nature vs. nurture" argument - being predisposed to a certain way of life, or getting what you want out of it. But that's a WHOLE lot more to write.

Personally, while yes I do think the deck is stacked against the "dumb" population, I don't think there is a reasonable way to compare the two. That's the great thing about being an individual in such a large society - not a single one of us will be the same type of person, get the same opportunities, and have the same situation as any other person.

"Smart" and "Stupid" simply aren't clearly defined in the question.

Most of the answers skirt around the concepts of wisdom and intelligence.

Assuming the most base, all-encompassing definitions for each... I would say that "smart" people have it "better" but it is more burdensome to them. There is a freedom to remaining unaware.

But again, it's really hard to answer using those terms. Someone with an IQ of 180 might have no clue what the best way to get some riled-up inner-city street kids to calm down would be. Someone who speaks 7 languages might not even have a high-school level grasp of math. It's all relative.

Smart people have a much harder time. It is harder to get jobs, since most bosses want to be superior and will be intimidated by someone with superior intellect. If they do get a job, they will then be over worked and literally do more work than 1/4 of the office. On the flip side, smart people who work for themselves generally do much better than any stupid person or stupid group, however building an entire company or name takes a tremendous amount of work to get going.

Socially, dumb people have the advantage, as they will unknowingly be taken advantage of, enjoy almost any conversation and they have less of a social filter, which equals more friends. Also I think most smart people have more interests that keep them at home learning, while a dumb ass will just roam around any shit bar or social event with not a thought in their head.

Dumb people get into brutal fights, while smart people can typically diffuse them, as they see the situation for what it actually is and apply some cunning wit to fetch a predicted outcome. Smart people think ahead and in most cases can see where something is going before it has even started.

I could go on for days but picture this:
Galileo: "THE WORLD IS ROUND, I HAVE PROOF"
Rest of the world: "Hang this LIAR, BLAH BLAH!!"

I mean... Now you tell me how dumb people have it worse in this democratic society? Because if being smart is rare, then who the hell do you think is making the decisions in your country? I'll tell you right fucking now... A whole bunch of spoiled punks who went to prestigious Universities, in an attempt to LEARN and guess what... Most of them never do, but once they take that graduation picture they begin to assume knowledge, where it never existed and that's all folks.

If you got it, you got it, it can be faked but never truly emulated.

A lot of these reply are great and we'll thought out perceptions. I love to experience fellow humans using their brain in a positive way. My perception reflects in this way. If you travel through human history you will see the depth at which "Highly gifted intellectually,individuals, frequently experience challenge in life. As do less gifted in the specific area of less numerical intellegence. I think the true measure of intelligence lies in how we as humans are able to "problem solve". Herein lies my point. Problem being the key word. No of us are immune from lifes mad variety of challenges. It all lies in accepting this and always searching for your answer. How can you work around your individual issues. Where are your weaknesses, do you care enough about yourself, your environment and each other to take the time to think at all. I know we "All" have them! Focus on your strengths accept and work with or challenge and change your weakness. Good luck guys! And if you can compensate for those personal difficulties then you are smart and there is great hope for you!

Interesting topic. The term smart is very broad, so for the sake of what I say lets go with general smarts. I think that it is the smart people who have it harder, although "hard" is also a broad term. I find the frequent mention of stereotypes in this topic obnoxious, not everyone who is smart is awkward socially, lots of them just don't care or care minimally. I am hesitant to categorize myself in the smart category so I will just speak from personal observations. A lot of what I have glimpsed over on this thread proves valid points. Smart people can see problems they cant fix and it can be quite torturous, dumb people either see the problem but leave it to others or chose not to see it. Smart people are also often lonely, many of the people they meet are not on the same level as they are on and so they don't get much out of interaction. That could possible be a reason why some smart people are socially awkward; they don't get much experience as the typical stereotyped social butterfly ditz. The awkwardness could also be attributed to Aspergers, a form of autism that makes a person of superior intellect but very awkward. Imagine knowing so much, seeing and understanding so much but not one to share it with who would be able to appreciate it. Being unable to express something, unable to have a true close friend.

Take in consideration the fact that most intelligent people are tortured by existential questions with no exact answer. A stupid person doesn't really care about big things.
Imagine if you would ask "Why is the blood red?" and no one could tell you exactly why.
As a pretty smart person, I am often thinking how would it be if, at the end of the day, when I'm lying in bed, I wouldn't try to find clues and answers to everything, I would just go to sleep.

It is intelligent people and those with common sense. Stupid people are too fucking stupid to see the issues. Intelligent people are smart and see everything wrong, everything they cant fix, and are misunderstood and judged harshly by stupid people.

People who are smarter are not always extremely emotional and do not always take pleasure in stupid things, they are not as easily amused, and are always considered odd. They tend to be less patient and probably quicker to temper.

Stupid people do not see issues with the world, are extremely easy to amuse and will cry for anything and everything. Intelligent people tend to be pessimistic since they see all the problems and are often treated like shit so are miserable.

They are also probably agitated and impatient dealing with everyone with such low intelligence. A stupid person is usually very cruel to those that are different and do not fit their mold of what they believe to be perfect, they have simple interests and always look on the bright side. Intelligent people realize that things do not always have a bright side and when their more likely to become unhappy.

Stupid people often choose to ignore stuff which they find unpleasant since they think ignoring it will magically make it go away. People who are smarter have to know all the issues since they feel a need to repair and fix everything that is broken.

Hell and heaven exist. Hell is being smart enough to see the problems and not being able to fix it. Heaven is being too stupid to realize there was a issue to fix to begin with. So I think those smart enough to see the issues are some how being punished. Since being able to see the train coming and not being able to stop it is the worst hell of all.

being smart is harder. we have to deal with stupid people.

Being smart is OK if you're good at convincing people you're smart. But most people do not have that skill. Consequently, smart people generally appear stupid to everyone else, because they will have thoughts and ideas that are different from "common sense". Because by virtue of being so smart they will have "better than common sense", and therefore people will think they just plain have no common sense.

The people who are just smart enough to know that they're stupid. They have it the hardest, I believe.

It`s great to be smart, except when your`e surrounded by morons who make fun of you because they don`t understand you.

I honestly can say that I'm not sure whether I'm smart or stupid. It all depends on the society's mindset, which affects the person in question. If the majority of people which are around the same age group of that person are those who think that appearances are more important than thinking of your future, that getting a boyfriend or a girlfriend is much more important than studying, that people who work hard are geeks/nerds, then obviously if the person gets a B for a test, he would think that he's smart, because the people around him don't get the same. It's all about the number of people who gets the same results. If the majority of a school gets A in their subjects, a person who gets a B who think they're stupid, and a person who gets an A+ will think they're smart. And vice versa. If the majority gets a C, the Ds' will think they're stupid, and the Bs' and As' will think they're smart. I believe that yeah, every single person has a different rate of learning, but it's the teachers' responsibility to help those slower people, not the smart peoples' responsibility. Also, I think that smart people also have problems too, like dealing with expectations and stuff. Not all smart people are born smart, some really work hard for it and they achieved it. For me, I'm a little better because I have a good memory for things that I intentionally memorise, so I can quickly learn a topic and move on to another, but it's a different topic to be emotionally smart. For example, psychologists. If their partner is lying, they'd know, and they feel sad. I can say that I'm quite emotionally smarter than people, but that means I suffer more. That is the reason why I have depression and other shit going on with me, because I kind of understand how someone really thinks of me. So emotionally stupid people gets it better, because they're nicely oblivious. On a totally different topic, smart people may also be unable to do things that 'stupid' people are able to do normally. Cooking, gardening, caring for pets, doing chores, and other kind of stuff. They have a mindset that nothing else matters except for understanding what is going on in class. And you can't blame them. You can't blame smart people who looks down on the stupid ones. Blame their society and parents. And I think most smart people are actually kind and are willing to be friends with stupid people, contrary to what you said.

I feel sorry for those that are really smart and stupid.
They are really smart as in they are good at math and chemistry ect and yet lack common sense and trust a stranger to take your $10,000 and "double" it.

It would really suck to have people talking advantage of your intelligence like that.

I think, although it hasn't been mentioned, kids who mature really early on have it harder.
Imagine having a mental age of 21 and being in a class full of 13 year olds!
How fusterating!

i write alot but not this dame much they out
wrote me and my work

Some people like to write a load of stuff that no one will read.

The shrewd man is greater than all others; he conquers the kind man, the merciful, the angry, and the strong. No human power can prevail against him.

If you meet an intelligent person who's not social or has no friends, then he's someone who's ignorant on what to do among his peers.

As I've said before, ignorance is the cause of all the world's misfortunes.

It depends on whether your a good person or not. Its better to be smart by definition.

I would much, much rather be more intelligent than I am as opposed to less intelligent than I am.

I haven't experienced both sides so I can't really say, but having been treated like a very stupid person and a very smart person before I can safely say that I enjoyed being treated as if I was clever a lot more.