Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative

by Eric Maisel

The challenges smart and creative people encounter--from scientific researchers, genius award winners, to bestselling novelists, Broadway actors, high-powered attorneys, and academics--often include anxiety, over-thinking, mania, sadness, and despair.

Specifically, the challenges that smart people face, including:
- "racing brain syndrome"
- living in an anti-intellectual culture
- finding ideas worth loving
- dealing with boredom and hypersensitivity
- finding meaning in their lives and their work
- struggling to achieve success

In "Why Smart People Hurt," psychologist Dr. Eric Maisel draws on his many years of work with the best and the brightest to pinpoint these often devastating challenges and offer solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology.

His thoughtful strategies include using logic and creativity to cope with the problems of having a brain that goes into overdrive at the drop of a hat. With a series of questions at the end of each chapter, he guides the reader to create his or her own roadmap to a calm and meaningful life.

"Why Smart People Hurt" is a must-read for parents of gifted children as well as the millions of smart and creative people that are searching for a more meaningful life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Science, Personal Development, Writing, Adult

230 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is the author of more than 40 books in the areas of creativity, coaching, mental health, and cultural trends. He is a psychotherapist and creativity coach, and writes for Psychology Today and Professional Artist Magazine and presents workshops internationally.

Reviews

[Caely · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt like bait-and-switch - it quickly becomes clear that the solutions the author proposes are all "natural psychology", a discipline that he doesn't properly introduce or explain. The analysis isn't particularly insightful, the writing is weak, and the emphasis on problems makes the first three-quarters of the book fairly depressing. Not worth the time.

[Helen Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting. It was like listening to mentor, an old teacher or wise relative who sees the world in the same way. It explained many of my thoughts, feelings and struggles with the world. Yes it talks about mindfulness, along with so many other books these days. However its wording is concise, its structure uncluttered and the message crystal clear. It provokes consideration of issues and explains options.
Essentially the author explains how the meaning we search for in life is really just a psychological subjectivity and that when we let it, or the pursuit of it, dominate our lives, we makes ourselves and other miserable. To some extent I am already able to suspend my quest for meaningful living in the face of the realities and necessities of life and was able to answer some of the questions he poses in the book. I already have ways of managing existential stress and channeling my need for meaning-making.
However it was reassuring to learn that others think the same way and encounter like dilemmas.
Next on my list to read is Dr Maisel's book on managing performance anxiety. Feeling excitement on approaching the next read is one of the best feelings.
Thank you Dr Maisel. I am so glad to have discovered your writing!

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inteligência - Aliada ou Inimiga?

As vicissitudes da busca incessante de Sentido e algumas sugestões úteis sobre como as ultrapassar!
É algo absurdo ter a inteligência como inimiga ao invés duma aliada e este livro propõe-se desfazê-lo!
👍🌟🌟🌟🌟👍

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

The central premise here is that if one enjoys intellectual stimulation, then they may find themselves bored with the various paths presented to them by life. Or , I guess more accurately, by the institutions that funnel them from social system to social system . In other words, many of the viable career options in the market - end up being a form of horrid drudgery for those who like to sore across planets in their mind. I think that this may be a widespread issue and for many that find themselves in such a position, they must know life can be more pleasant elsewhere.
But does the author provide a functional and useful resolution for this?

I’d say not really.

He briefly goes over other issues one may have such as isolation, but only to a superficial degree.

Perhaps this may help someone out there find it to be a cathartic break. For others, it may bring them to a position where they will see themselves as part of the improperly treated elite.

Either way, it was interesting.


This does touch upon an issue I’ve put a lot of thought into though. That being, how much talent is wasted in the wrong jobs across industrialized society. There are I expect, way too many people in jobs that don’t quite fit their personal skills and aptitude’s, but rather serve for those people as a stale form of torture. Beyond simply being bad for those people, it makes our society as a whole less efficient and useful than it could be if Human resource were properly used. All in all, I expect this book hints at a serious sociological issue that is oft ignore. Nevertheless, be wary you won’t find topics in sociology in this text. It is primarily on being mismatched with one’s personal life.

Recommended for :
Clinicians in health care
Those smart and under appreciated willing to read an eh book

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to rate or review, not least because I generally have a hate-hate relationship with "self-help" books, and this one pushes too many of my wrong buttons (if it is indeed a book, and not purely a giant informercial for the author's "Natural Psychology").

But ...

It also provided a enough "aha" moments, and insight into some things that have been bugging me for a while, for me to give it a high rating, regardless of its many, many flaws.

The constant refrain of the book is that smart people are really, really good at thinking themselves into all sorts of traps, and really, really bad at being smart about the challenges of being smart. Maisel sets out fifteen key areas in which this often applies, and suggests a variety of techniques for addressing them.

I'm not entirely convinced by many of the proposed solutions (and got increasingly more irritated by the constant framing of them in terms of what "an adherent of natural psychology" would do), but simply providing a framework to notice and name a lot of bad thinking traps — many of which I'm well aware of falling into regularly, but have never really been able to identify with this level of clarity — is (hopefully) of sufficiently high value on its own.

[Ian D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Τον όρο First World Problems τον ξέρετε; Ε, αυτό σε βιβλίο ψυχολογίας. Ενδιαφέρον παρά τον τίτλο και μη με ρωτάτε γιατί το έπιασα, έχει πρόβλημα ένας φίλος μου έξυπνος...

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not good.

I don't give one star ratings very often on this site, but the wrongness of the premise and the loose treatment/interpretation of science was not only frustrating... but it was also not that smartly put?

First of all: smart people are not a creed. People are smart to different degrees and about different things. There are people with giftedness (a real condition) and people who are stupid on both extremes of the spectrum, but the great majority of human being have developped knowledge and quickness of tought about at least one subject or another. So, outside of Maisel's abitrary (and non-sourced) claim that "smart people are 15% of the population", this is a book about how it stressful it feels to be a responsible adult human that was deceitfully packaged.

Also, there's very little pertinent observations or advice in there. It reminded me of the papers I wrote in high school where I tried to stretch two lines of knowledge into a three pages essay. I don't doubt that Eric Maisel is a super brilliant dude, but there is better, less lazy and more honest self-help out there.

[Cassie ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some ideas that were relatable and promising, but it all just seemed to boil down to an ad for "natural psychology " Meh.

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is not a lot of love for Eric Maisel's natural psychology, but if a person has the sense to look at it as metaphor, it's interesting. Maisel has always been my "go to" writer/person when I am in a creative crisis. He is highly recommended by my therapist, who by the way, does not even believe in the literal tenets of natural psychology, but who respects Maisel's attempts to show anxious creatives how to get out of pain. Smart people suffer, because they think all the time and they know, and they can't stick their heads in the sand and hide from reality. It is an assault on the creative's emotions to engage in a world that is often very chaotic and unsympathetic to bright, questioning people. Maisel always has the creative person in his sights. His goal is to help. He knows a lot of us are in pain.

I can't recommend this book for many. I think you have to get Maisel, know that Prozac is not likely to get you through your next artistic project, but might help you get out of bed or learn how to endure chit-chat.

It's also not a "western thought" book, so it's not a typical self-help, which makes me laugh when I think about it, because Maisel is really not writing self-help books though he tried or his publisher did, to organize this one as that. Being smart, gifted, or creative is not going to always make you happy or fill your bank account, or even lead to success. Being creative is about process and drive and most of all, making meaning in a world that has none. It's meaning that we need but at the same time, we know there is no meaning. I know this seems like a contradiction and it is, really, that is the ambivalence that creatives live with and endure.

I think, perhaps, it's best to understand that Maisel's natural psychology is really a reaction against the current model of biological madness. "This too shall pass." People who don't like Maisel or his books think him and even people who write good reviews of it as conceited. Not true. There are a lot of existential themes in Maisel's thinking. For example, he writes of deep sadness being diagnosed with depression, because everyone knows, in this time of a million self-help, feel positive books, we are not supposed to feel bad. And if we write something like this, we are ignoring mental health and the dangers of depression. Not so either.

There are things about this book that I am critical of, probably the nature of the self-help book to begin with. There are so many and people seem to crave them. The usual anecdotal examples of self-help books is present. And Maisel doesn't really write those kinds of books. That is clearly where he fails. But he cares. He knows what it means to have a creative mind that runs away with itself, that cannot be put into a LABEL. It is labels that have ruined us all. We are not labels. So no one likes this book. Probably because they want a label. Oh, well. Moving on.

ONE LAST THING. I love Maisel. He values creativity so much. That alone is worth the price of the book and the read.

[Mark Murdock · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the least beneficial self-help books I've read. The only merit is that the book champions the view that the meaning of life is to make meaning in (your) life (discrete from finding/discovering meaning in life).

The meaning behind the title is still as unclear to me after finishing as it was when I was started. Everyone hurts and has problems, not just smart people. If there's an inequality there, data was not provided. The argument felt like a bad sales pitch, I suspended my disbelief to hear the rest of the argument, then I reinstated my disbelief. What is this book a guide to, exactly? I can guess but I know others who read the book may have different answers because the thesis of the author's argument is unclear.

The author did not set definitions/boundaries for what "smart" means, and the narrative seems to mostly operate with the weak claim that "smart" = "manic/mentally racing". An annoyingly large amount of the first half of the book is dedicated to self-victimizing (assuming the author includes himself in the category of "smart people"). Super emo vibes about how society is oppressing thinking so "smart" people are marginalized. Ultra BS. An annoyingly large amount of the book is spent trying to convince the reader that there is no God and religion is incompatible with being "smart" (no data provided, haha). Also, Google says some of the author's books say "Eric Maisel", some say "Eric Maisel PhD", and some say "Eric Maisel Ph.D.", and the lack of uniformity irks me.

The message is ill defined and there's zero cited evidence to back up the author's claims or suggestions. The entire thing reads like a salty, pouty blog, and/or a sales pitch for "natural psychology", and it's no surprise the author's personal website has a ton of coaching courses for sale.

I feel like I need to read two good books to get the distaste of this book off my mind palate. Reading this was like spending a Saturday with your least favorite coworker, if your least favorite coworker was Eric Maisel and he spent the whole day reading his book "Why Smart People Hurt" to you.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly didn't finish this so it's very possible my review won't give credit to the second half of the book. I picked up the book because the title was compelling. I was frustrated by the assumptions and implications the book makes about what it means to be smart and what all "the bright, the sensitive, and the creative" people look like. The broad overgeneralizations bothered me. Still I decided to give it a chance.
Eric Maisel has some interesting points and parts of the natural psychology that he writes about were intriguing. The last section I got to before my time at the gym where I was reading the book ended was the section where he implies and essentially states that smart people can't believe in a higher power. He asserts that belief in a high power means that there is a requirement to ultimately know everything- leaving the world without mystery. "Your choice isn't between mysticism and nothingness. Rather it is a choice between mysticism and genuine mystery". Now I am reading this in the context of someone who does believe in a higher power. I study the Bible and will freely acknowledge that there are many things about God and the world that are a mystery. Genuine mystery doesn't disappear because of a belief in a higher power; I would assert it's enhanced.
As I said I was reading this at the gym and my cardio time ended. I've tried picking up the book since and just can't do it. There were a few tidbits I found insightful, but overall I see no reason to continue the book to its conclusion.

[Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an underwhelming discussion of the life challenges unique to the smartest 15% of the population.

First of all, it should be mentioned that intelligence is still not very well understood, much less precisely defined. IQ is nice, and gives a sense of someone's intelligence, but it's horribly biased in favor of certain minds and certain cultures. It also completely overlooks emotional awareness, which is more important. Setting up these categories and putting a few people into the "smart" category as this book does implicitly creates a kind of elitism. Sometimes this book is subtle about this, but usually it isn't. Am I one of these fancy pants smart people? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know, I don't care.

Especially when he starts talking about religion. It's a foregone conclusion in this book that "smart people" can see through the illusion of religion. They're above it. Translation: if you're smart, you must be an atheist. Otherwise, you're a moron. I'm an atheist, and I have my moments of elitism, but even I was annoyed at this pomposity.

What I did find interesting in this book was some of the issues an over-active mind tends to face. My mind races sometimes. It seems to do so abnormally, as most people I've met don't seem to relate. In particular, I'm extremely critical of myself, which this book aptly describes as "self-pestering." It's pretty ridiculous--there are memories from decades ago that I still pester myself about. I also related to the section about the "god-bug syndrome." One moment, I feel self-important, and imagine how limitless my potential is to do amazing things. Another moment, I feel so totally irrelevant and useless.

Where the book falls flat again is in what it suggests I do about these things. The second half of the book generate a lot of smoke. Stuff about "natural psychology" and "meaning opportunities" and "meaning challenges." It says a lot of words without saying much of anything useful. It also tends to be way too specific, which makes it very hard to relate to. Here's a typical example of how this book reads:

It turns out that everything you do produces consequences. You ditch a test and end up changing majors. You meet a boy or a girl and end up in Bolivia. You have children early. You are completely embedded in reality, harboring dreams and feeling surprising distress, and no unseen friendly sprite exempts you from life. You have bills to pay. You need glasses. And throughout these years, a certain powerful self-interrogation commences: Have I done the right thing? Why doesn't this feel more meaningful? What do I really believe? Is this all there is? How could I have been so stupid? What am I missing? And so on.

What the hell? Bolivia? Glasses? Who is he talking about? And what does this paragraph even mean? Shit happens, but we still have to get things done, so we wonder what life is all about? Good job, Confucius. You just told me what everyone figures out before they graduate from high school, and you spend hundreds of pages doing it.

[Sarah Hyatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a promising and infuriatingly disappointing book.

Maisel takes a concept worth exploring - the gifted person's intensity of feeling and near-constant existential crisis - and proceeds to gloss over it in a variety of ways while crafting his commercial for "natural psychology" (a term he never fully explains) and his fundamentalist, Jim Bob Duggar-esque brand of atheism. The writing is poor and undeveloped, and the author's views are rarely supported with anything other than his naive assumption that everyone already agrees with him and/or knows what he is talking about without an explanation.

The entire book reads like the report of a high school student who heard one lecture on a topic while passing notes with their friends in the back of a classroom. There is just enough information that resonates to create the appearance of actual content, yet when read more closely the book really doesn't say anything new at all, and what it does say skims lightly over the surface without ever really demonstrating significant engagement with the topic. In doing so, Maisel manages to be yet another voice undermining true intelligence - the very thing he halfheartedly rails against in this promotional brochure for "natural psychology."

The book also makes numerous suspicious comparisons between "smartness" (not giftedness... this should have been a red flag from the start) and mental illness. They are not the same. Both are real, and this book manages to trivialize both.

[Meckell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life-changing. I'd recommend this book to anyone that may at times feel burdened by the way their brain works (applying logic to EVERYTHING, overanalysis of the world around you, intellectual burnout, overwhelm by racing thoughts, etc ). This is more of a workbook and includes several questions to ask yourself in order to gain insight to your own personal experiences. Please know that the author takes a natural psychology approach to this message so it may not be for everyone. I highly recommend it though!

[Lynne Spreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't have to be smart to benefit from (and LOVE) this book! Each chapter explains in simple, often humorous words why people feel unhappy or uncomfortable with their lives or each other. Eric Maisel SEES us. He understands why humans are the way we are, and he has a gentle and compassionate way of explaining us to ourselves, and giving us easy tips for making life easier and happier. I've bought copies for my young adult friends. This is like a guidebook for navigating adulthood! What a joy.

[Josefin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, this one started off interesting and quickly fell into a gigantic propagating mess that I really really hated.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire point of this book is to provide an objective philosophy that is meant to reinvigorate creativity and inquisitiveness. I picked it up to help me better understand Maisel's philosophy after I listened to a podcast about creativity that he featured in. The episode centered on writer's block. I found his philosophy intriguing and then went through this whole book in a few days.

For those who are unfamiliar with Maisel's work, he is a psychologist who works in therapy with creative professionals such as actors and writers, and has written over 60 books himself. This book is advertised to 'smart people', but it's really for anyone who feels spiritually, creatively, or intellectually stifled by the lives they are living.

It begins with a lot of exposition on how our social systems can force people into boxes. If you start the book with your hackles up about how Maisel can possibly define who is smart, remember that his definition is very broad and encompasses all people with philosophical problems.

The thesis of the book is essentially this: the problems he is defining are rooted in the search for meaning. If you are caught up in the 'search for meaning' - that is, if your life feels meaningless, or if you are restlessly looking among religions and philosophies for a reason to do ANYTHING at all - you are confused about what 'meaning' actually is.

According to Maisel, 'meaning' is a state of being akin to anger or sadness, that can be conjured by placing oneself in settings that are likely to arouse a state of meaning. So, if a person is philosophically stuck, they should deliberately put themselves in situations that invoke meaning for them: then life will be more bearable. First, you must examine your values to glean what is meaningful to you, then create meaning in your life until your creative intelligence is revitalized.

Basically, this book tells you to look at 'meaning' not as a religious or spiritual experience that can only be obtained through some hidden quest or pious virtues, but as a completely objective mental state you can superimpose over anything. He blatantly shies away from placing meaning solutions with religious faiths, so if you are a religious person, you might be annoyed at the offerings found within this book.

I can personally tell you that reframing my idea of meaning using Maisel's philosophy dramatically improved my life as an artist and writer. I noted my values, began to put myself in situations that would make me feel I was doing something 'meaningful', and my artist's block slowly vanished. My depression over my stifled creativity basically shifted and now I spend my days much happier. If you are a person who identifies as a 'creative', this will probably be a good read for you. The audiobook version is available for free on Spotify, by the way.

[Shane Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book. The content was very interesting! I could relate to some of it, but, was lost with the over promotion of "Natural Psychology". I lost interest 1/3 into the book, but forced myself to finish it. There was a significant amount of repetition and the narrator was monotone. Overall, I wouldn't recommended this book to the average reader, perhaps a student of psychology.

[Danine · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a bright, sensitive and creative person I can say that trying to read this book really hurt. I really do want my money back. Guy goes on and on and on about being around smart people then writes a book about it.

[Amy Finley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I didn’t love it. However I appreciated a few nuggets that I think were pretty powerful for me.

[Andy]

DNF. Not for me. This book starts off with the premise that smart people are miserable. I get that this is a commmon trope from Sartre (Noire lumière de la lucidité) to the Simpsons (Homer with a crayon up his nose). But if you're going to use it as the basis for a psychology book, you need to present some evidence to back this up. Otherwise, it just sounds like a new variety of humble-brag: "All of my problems are because of how incredibly smart I am."

In any case, a search for meaning is nothing new and does not require a whole new branch of psychology.

Alternatives:
Man’s Search for Meaning
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
Managing Your Mind: The Mental Fitness Guide
A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living

[Cigdem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book slowly, thinking after each chapter quite a bit. It triggered a search for meaning, self-reflection, helped me to realign myself to my values. I found it therefore very helpful and enjoyable.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not as advertised, though the elitist title is apt (the subtitle is the misleading part). The author's pompous, wordy writing can be condescendingly "trying-to-sound-smarter-than-it-is", such as:

"[...]not drinking alcoholically" Page 79 (aka, do not drink alcohol)

"We are neither gods nor bugs but members of a species that has evolved exactly as it has evolved and that is built to allow each member who cares to stand up to matter exactly as much as a human being can matter." Page 227 (aka, humans are human)

"If your particular smart problem is that, being smart, you see reality a little too clearly and get chronically sad, you make a meaning investment in not adopting the customary label of depression but rather investigating your own case of sadness and what you intend to do to relieve that distress--say, by deciding that you will have meaning trump mood in your life and that you will pester yourself less about your mood and spend your days mattering." Page 227 (aka, if you're depressed, focus on being happier)

The author coined the term "Natural Psychology" without explanation, and web searches for a definition all circulate to his writing; from what I gathered from the book, natural psychology is defined as finding and pursuing meaning in ones life. He invalidates mental illness and writes negatively about diagnoses, medication-taking, and talk therapy. His Nature vs Nurture anecdotes are semi-readable, but goes too far with the ideal of "updating" one's personality. The coping strategies in this book I have learned personally through talk therapy, CBT, and DBT methods but the book reads as if these are mind blowing learnings of "smarter people".

Long story short, it reads literally like a Boomer telling younger generations to get over themselves and "update" their personalities accordingly.

[Meredith Ball · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is basically an exultation of natural psychology as the answer to everything. Though natural psychology does seem like an insightful field, it’s just that. . .an insightful field, *not* the gospel. The author was derisive of faith traditions in the healing of hurts. I’m fine with him writing from a non-faith perspective; I just don’t think he had intellectual integrity in speaking with such generality & hostility. Some takeaways were quite good: smart people often hurt over their need for anything & everything to be meaningful. . .through self-awareness & mindfulness, the smart person can give himself permission to take a break from meaning-making & rest from the mental taxation. Some chapters were actually quite brilliant; I just think the book is mis-billed.

[Jess Michaels · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is one long infomercial for "Natural Psychology", the school of psychology that Maisel subscribes to. The first couple of chapters were really good but then it just became a commercial with very little value as far as strategies to overcome the problems outlined in the book. It was incredibly frustrating to read and difficult to get through.

[Stephen Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books which is half a sense of irritation and "you're wrong and/or going about this the wrong way" and half "WOW" - in the end, ten times as wonderful as a mediocre to good book you don't really disagree with. a must-read for anyone who hasn't developed ironclad planning and execution skills or come to terms with their own anxiety, inner personality, etc.

[Daniil]

A fascinating new perspective on Obsessions, Compulsions, Mania, Depression, and other mental ailments that pester otherwise smart people.

[Kriti | Armed with A Book]

Why Smart People Hurt is an interesting book rooted in natural psychology. It is based on the premise that we are born with an innate personality ‘original personality’ that changes due to environmental factors ‘formed personality’. Smart people have an available personality’. They know that they can change their environment and make life better.

This book was way longer than it needed to be. 10+ chapters on the special challenges that smart people face were quite repetitive. I am not exactly sure about the definition of smart people that the author was going for and I do think that the challenges apply to all of us as humans and are not limited to the smart ones.

The questions at the end of each chapter were interesting to think about and offered good opportunities for reflection. I found some good ideas but overall, this was not a very impactful read.

The main thing the author wants to get across is the importance of making meaning in our lives. I had expected more chapters around this concept. Some of the chapters towards the end addressed this but not in a very thorough manner.

More thorough books I would recommend over this one are: Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky, How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Emilie Wapnick and Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.



- Kriti, Armed with A Book | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

[Beth Gea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me siento un poco entre dos aguas con este libro.

Por una parte, me ha gustado mucho cómo presenta y despatologiza muchos de los desafíos que las personas "listas", como él las llama, tenemos por el hecho de que nuestro cerebro funciona como funciona.

También hay cosas de la psicología natural (término que no conocía) que me han parecido razonables, como el hecho de que somos nosotras las que creamos nuestro propio sentido en la vida y que no tenemos que ir a buscarlo o sentarnos a esperarlo porque no está fuera de nosotras.

Sin embargo, hay varios momentos en el libro en el que me he sentido como en un anuncio de teletienda en el que me estaban intentando vender la noción de la psicología natural como el único camino que alguien "listo" puede seguir.

Así que, como con todo, me quedo con lo que tiene sentido para mi.

[danielle; ▵ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Self help that plays to the ego by masquerading normal human experiences as the unique experiences of “smart" people to sell natural psychology as a lifestyle.

But perhaps more than that:

This book is an awkward one to have read and an awkward one to like, and perhaps I rated it a 3 rather than a 4 or a 5 to discount the fact that, by picking up this book, I am essentially saying, "I think I am smart and I think there are certain problems I have because I am smart." (Though I do not think the book deserves a 5 for reasons other than a defense of my definition of self; maybe a 3.5, all told.)

It is uncouth to refer to oneself as "smart" and doing so often results in a tongue-lashing on the different forms intelligence can take and the shortcomings and biases of IQ as a measure of intelligence. Of course intelligence takes different forms, and it is very difficult to measure in any useful way, but even so, some people are able to apply reasoning and creativity in more ways than others (considering "intelligence" as a volume and so with more than one dimension, some people just take up more space).

But culture (and American culture in particular) has such a strange relationship with education, that we cannot simply say one person is "smarter" than another. It seems as if so many people are perceived to be traumatized by standardized tests and the unevenness of the educational system that the only refrain that can be given by society is "all people are smart," even though, by doing so, we are obviating the need for such an adjective.

So here is the problem: I, for example, was told my entire childhood that I was smart, and I used this adjective to form an understanding of myself, and I based decisions on it; I decided to study chemical engineering because it was a "difficult" major, and I leaned on my interest in numbers while minimizing my interest in language and the humanities; but now, I am older and out of school, and it is no longer as appropriate to view myself as "smart," especially in comparison with others; well, that sure is a rug pulled out from under me, and I suppose the adjectives I am left with include "short(er than average)," "blue-eyed," "American," and any other term that is objective in an empirically measurable way or not necessarily able to be placed along an ordinal scale.

In other news, natural psychology seems v. interesting (but I am sure, without having looked into it at any depth, that it is mostly discredited in the field as New Age-y pseudo-science and will be revisited in some decades), and although I have not heard the term previously, it seems to match the view I have formed.