Not everyone wants to be hanging round in large groups of people and for those of a higher intellect, the very idea is a total nightmare.
A new study has shown that while socialising with friends might be something many people enjoy, it can actually make smart people more miserable, reports the Daily Mail.
Two psychologists from the London School of Economics and the Singapore Management University who carried out the study, believe the various levels of social skills we possess are actually all down to our ancestors.
The pair studied people aged between 18-28 and interestingly discovered that those who lived in areas of dense population, such as cities or large towns, experience ‘lower levels of life satisfaction’.
Fascinatingly still, they found those with ‘extreme’ levels of intelligence who socialise often, are unhappier as a result.
This is apparently attributed to the ‘savannah theory’, which looks at our ancestors and how ancient humans socialised and interacted and is applied to our modern day lives.
They believe that those who are more intelligent can adapt more easily to the ‘challenges of modern life’ and could find it easier to step away from social behaviours and roots, ingrained in us over thousands of years and move ‘forward’ in life.
The academics, Satoshi Kanazawa and Norman Li, believe that our human relationships and need to socialise stems from our ancestor’s time in the sparsely populated African savannah, where human interaction was integral.
Now though, they suggest there is a clash between our minds and bodies in the way we have evolved and the manic lives we lead today.
They believe the more intelligent a person is, the greater the clash between aspiration and achieving our career goals and dreams, while still having roots in our ‘evolutionary past.’
This is an extremely interesting study that could lead to us better understanding one another in the future.
It certainly explains the sheer anger that swells inside us on the daily commute though…
