firstrays...you pointed out that "You don't see too many astrophysicists painting a masterpiece do you?" Art and science do tend to be segregated, often to a fault. However, one is impossible without the other. While not a masterpiece in the sense of Picasso or Dali, a scientist sees beautiful art in a microscope or by studying the world on a molecular level.
On the main discussion here....i think that the "depression" that comes from going off the bridge that you spoke of and delving into the unknown, a large part of it does stem in part from the lack of answers and realization that those answers are out of reach. A part of it for me is frustration at those who don't care to know the answers, those who follow blindly through without questioning. Depression is so often put in a negative light and seen as an ailment of this century, and I do agree that for many it is a serious affliction. I would never belittle the personal struggle that many people suffer through quietly. Yet I see it as almost a necessary evil in the whole process of knowledge. Most of you agreed that a higher intelligence puts you at a higher risk for feelings of depression and hopelessness when you inevitably run into that brick wall that we all face now and then. But intelligence and emotions are so closely linked in most people that I don't think that there is any way to avoid it. It would be almost impossible to think and reason on a level that allows you to ask these questions about life, spirituality, etc., without involving your feelings. No matter how hard you try to be detached from all of it, eventually you will have to feel the magnitude of what you've learned (or haven't learned). Without this depression, the sadness, you wouldn't have learned anything. Most of the symptoms of clinical depression (i.e. self-doubt, guilt, hopelessness) might just be your body's response to your mind's frustrations.
I don't see an ignorant person as one who merely lacks knowledge, but more the person who realizes what they don't have and yet has no desire to learn. They are the ones who are content to live life trusting in the bridges that get them neatly through, and not questioning what is under them. Not so much my depression, but the indignation that it's based on, comes from these people. They don't realize that those of us who do choose to gain knowledge and forge off of the "beaten path" are the ones who put those bridges there. The bridges appear when someone takes the time to seek out, not just the answers, but the questions themselves, making the way for others behind them. Those who stand meekly by, waiting for someone to answer the question for them and blindly accepting any answer as the truth, are part of the problem rather than the solution.
I think that when you hear intelligent people referred to as anti-social or introverted, a lot of it may come not from self-consciousness, but the feeling that those around them have given up on that quest for knowledge. When was the last time that you craved a conversation that involved more than fluff and nonsense? Did you spend time trying to explain that to the people that you were with, or did you try to find an outlet for it elsewhere? Maybe they questioned your silence, and labeled it as something else. But anyone who has ever been called the brain, or the nerd, or the bookworm, may have suffered from all of these things, but most knew deep-down that the answers they were seeking couldn't be found in the right haircut, or the right clothes, so they either kept it to themselves or searched for someone who would understand it all. A large part of the sadness for me came from thinking that there was no one to understand. Depression can be an ugly monster that traps you inside yourself, so the next time you go away from the crowd and peek under those bridges, make sure someone is holding your hand.
thanks for letting me ramble guys, hope at least some of that made sense
