Why do you think that some of our most influential and intelligent people commit suicide? - Help.com

because there is a vast difference between emotional intelligence and logic based intelligence.

they are academically suited to success in life, and so they cant take failure. their mindset of rationality and logic forces them to shut out all irrational feelings- basically they dont get emotion, so they ignore it, and then when they have issues that they cant reason themselves out of, they dont know how to deal with it.

emotional intelligence is a difficult thing to describe but in my view there are basically 3 types on intelligence: cognitive, perception and emotional. So for example people with aspergers syndrome sometimes have amazing cognitive skills (for example in the world maths championships there is usually a much higher proportion of aspergers sufferers in comparison to the general population)but there emotional intelligence is incredibly low. Aspergers sufferers often are unable to correctly percieve,use, understand and manage emotions making it almost impossible to cope with social situations.

What I am trying to say is that your cognitive and emotional abilities are completely seperate intelligences and just because your cognitive iq maybe of the charts that doesnt make you an intelligent person. did that make sense?

mills wrote:

fcell04 wrote:
emotional intelligence is a difficult thing to describe but in my view there are basically 3 types on intelligence: cognitive, perception and emotional. So for example people with aspergers syndrome sometimes have amazing cognitive skills (for example in the world maths championships there is usually a much higher proportion of aspergers sufferers in comparison to the general population)but there emotional intelligence is incredibly low. Aspergers sufferers often are unable to correctly percieve,use, understand and manage emotions making it almost impossible to cope with social situations.

What I am trying to say is that your cognitive and emotional abilities are completely seperate intelligences and just because your cognitive iq maybe of the charts that doesnt make you an intelligent person. did that make sense?

To be absolutely honest with you it was quite confusing for me to comprehend. But I will not ask you to elaborate anymore unless you feel it to be necessary.

hehe thats no problem my english is terrible.

My basic argument is that intelligence is split into 3 parts; being fantastic in one part i.e. cognition will earn you fame and accolades but doesnt mean your emotionally stable. I was just using aspergers syndrome as an example of someone whose cognitive abilities were amazing but their emotional abilities were severely retarded. I hope this clears things up a little bit.

Because it sucks here.

There are a myriad of greatly intelligent people who have taken their own life in history, and surely there are an equal amount of reasons; albeit some reasons may be extremely similar. To speculate on these reasons would most likely be fruitless in that we have no direct information from these suicidal savants.

I can’t imagine that there would be a strong correlating reason among them either. For the logic in staying alive, particularly if your exceptionally intelligent, is very strong. Not only that, intelligence does quite often improve willpower and confidence; ones drive to persevere through life’s hardships. So, as stated by others, emotional instability would likely be one of the more common traits among the suicides.

Though all the greatly intelligent people aren’t just born, they must nurture their talents to reach exceptional status and become influential. And in doing so, they have probably pushed through many hardships in life, or have been pushed to become so exceptional. Often they overwork themselves, and psychological studies show that workhaulism causes great stress and depression. Greatly influential have a tendency to sacrifice many of their other values in the hope of accomplishing something greater. It’s very conceivable that if one were to spend all their time on an exceptionally difficult goal and find they’ve failed or it seems impossible, they may not wish to continue life, since they’ve already given up on their other interests.

And then of course, there is the hopelessness that is change in human nature. The greatly intelligent people can envision our flaws far beyond that of ordinary men. They can see the outcome of wars with greater clarity, and how deep these flaws run. I feel confident that many of those suicidal savants, like many of us ordinary men, no longer want to be a part of that.

The way the question is worded, it almost seems to imply that intelligent people commit suicide at a higher rate than people of lesser intelligence. If that is the premise of the question, I reject it outright until a study showing a positive relationship between IQ and suicide.

New American Atheist wrote:
The way the question is worded, it almost seems to imply that intelligent people commit suicide at a higher rate than people of lesser intelligence. If that is the premise of the question, I reject it outright until a study showing a positive relationship between IQ and suicide.

I don’t believe the question implied a higher suicide rate in intelligence. I think it was questioning the irony of intelligent people committing suicide.

Name the 5 most influential and intelligent people who have committed suicide, then I’ll agree or disagree with the premise of the post… I think the ultimate power, power over GOD, is to decide yourself when you will die.

Huh - good question. I didn’t read the post, cause its long and who are we kidding, but good question.

I thank you for the exceptional compliment mills, yet after re-reading my response I see so many things that need re-iteration…Perhaps that is another of the reasons; with great intelligence the room for improvement in almost everything, could be overwhelming. Despite the imperfect nature of our world, why a great mind would entirely give up on it, may be a bit out of my reach.

Perhaps it has something to do with them being selfish and determined…

mills wrote:
I never suggested nor implied that intellectuals who commit suicide are prevalent. It just doesn’t seem sound for them to exterminate themselves, considering the benefits they bring to this world.

Lets consider this:

That is a fact they choose to ignore - maybe they don’t really care what benefits they bring to the world - it does not concern them. That’s not what they’re doing it for. Maybe, its just a completely self indulgent act of sheer curiosity.

You know - Why not?

It’s a possibility, one that I’ve considered myself. But we have the rest of time to learn what happens during death, we only have, at most, a hundred years, with amazing medical research 150. Compared to, oh a 100 trillion years left in the universe, I think we can manage the wait….

In the past the curiosity of death may have been greater, as their was much more belief in the spiritual realm. Yet, to my knowledge, religions forbid suicide. So one must be able to disbelieve the current religious regime to rationally commit suicide.

Or they could just justify it as something else.

Never underestimate peoples ability to justify their actions.

My father was incredibly intelligent and wealthy and a real doctor, he didn’t just play one on the web. Less than a year after my mother died of a heart attack he started the car in the garage and did the dirty deed leaving a note that said he wanted to be with his wife… they were married over 50 years and my mom was one of a kind. She could light up a room with her smile and personality, sang at weddings and church, and was an angel sent from heaven…

I sometimes believe my grandfather did something similar when his wife passed away. Except he did the deed on the road instead of the garage. He was a pilot, so I guess he wanted to feel the adrenaline…

We did our best to make him feel loved and wanted, yet sometimes there can be no replacing the empty space in ones heart of their partner.

I say they’re brave and lovable souls…despite their abandonment.

Yeah if I kill myself I’ll do it on the road too. Often thought the best thing you could do for your children is buy a multi-million dollar life insurance policy in each of their names and somehow get run over by a semi when you’re 70+ and just tired of living…

mills wrote:
I guess when your heart is truly determined on a cause, then there is no amount of dissuasion that can stop you.

That’s why I think you it’s not possible to save people from themselves.

i know i’ve come to this a little late, but i strongly agree with the difference between emotional intelligence and other types of intelligence (aspergers i suppose being a handy example of the extremes of this difference). i also think that the more intelligent someone is the more they see the world for what it is, and the more they understand it. that being the case it is inevitable that they will see how difficult it is to change things, and how majoritively the human experience is a bad one. ignorance is bliss, which implies intelligence is a curse.

isaac.smit wrote:
they are academically suited to success in life, and so they cant take failure. their mindset of rationality and logic forces them to shut out all irrational feelings- basically they dont get emotion, so they ignore it, and then when they have issues that they cant reason themselves out of, they dont know how to deal with it.

Succinctly put, that was me in a nut shell a few years back.

Dr. Ralph wrote:
Name the 5 most influential and intelligent people who have committed suicide, then I’ll agree or disagree with the premise of the post… I think the ultimate power, power over GOD, is to decide yourself when you will die.

As scary is this once sounded, I’m coming to see it that way. I don’t believe in god, and a can comprehend deciding the time of my death. Not for a very long time yet, but I’ve seen a few die, and those that realised it was coming, got their affairs in order, and had already lived a full life - they had a good death.

I think emotional intelligence is just extending your area of expertise to include yourself.

chunkymove wrote:
I think emotional intelligence is just extending your area of expertise to include yourself.

said like a true follower of logic :P

Jubilee wrote:

chunkymove wrote:
I think emotional intelligence is just extending your area of expertise to include yourself.

said like a true follower of logic :P

thankyou :-)

Knowing yourself includes realising that you need to stop thinking ever now and then and just *be*, give your brain a chance to recover and lets the rest of the mind, the illogical part, to stretch it’s legs.
I was deemed smart as I was good a narrow branch of maths and spacial reasoning. Was a burden, as I missed out on appreciating all the other types of smrt till way latter. Another broader delineation is logical-mathermatical,verbal-linguistic, spacial-mechanical, musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal. I sucked at five out of seven.

i wouldn’t say i was unusually smart, i’ve always felt like i’m just smart enough to know things, but not smart enough to work out their solution. i very rarely manage to just *be*, so although i may not be the smartest person in the world i at least feel like i understand the problem

Because they are like me.

Perhaps they aren’t able to see their gifts.

Anonymous wrote:
Because they are like me.

why are you still alive ?

I see that intellergence can take you from A to B, but doesn’t create the desire to do so, that comes from a completely different circuit of the brain.

Ignorance is bliss they say.

Or intelligence is bliss.

I’m not convinced there’s any correlation between intelligence and the desire to commit suicide. And if there is, it would be against committing suicide.

Here is a list of suicides by renowned individuals, and believed to be suicides in the 100-170 years. George Washington is among the believed to be suicide section, if you were unaware…I’m Canadian, so I have an excuse :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_…