Intelligence

So the other day a friend and I were discussing. And the topic of our futures comes up, as it so often does with teenagers. Now, this particular friend has had a very..."special" past. A particular event which, when I heard of, it took me a few days to really process. He presented evidence after evidence and showed more and more signs until I had to believe him. Which I do. Now, as sketchy as this sounds, I'm not too sure about the legality of the situation so I won't really specify. However, he came out of it as the incredibly intelligent person he is today.
This friend has explained concept after concept, tutored me several times, thinks of the unimaginable, gets the best grades and is the top of his class. Which is the top class at his school. Which is the top school in the country. Not only that, but he can easily detect other's emotions before even they can describe it and knows how to solve what feels like everything. He can predict diseases, disorders, downfalls--in the few months I've known him, I've seen that he truly is a prodigy.
And he hates it.
Not only is he the most gifted and talented person I've ever met, but he is also the most gloomiest and depressed. He desperately tries to keep his emotions out of conversation, and for the most part he's successful. But every once in a while something awful happens and he can't hold it in or we're just playing a simple game and he answers with blunt honesty. Every time it slips, it's always the worst thing to hear and I can't even describe the pain radiating off him anytime he opens up, even just a little.
So this particular time, we were talking, and he asked why I didn't put more effort into school. I answered honestly. I do put forth effort. I spend at least two days a week studying during school session, complete all homework, and I pass all my classes with at least a 90% overall average. If you were to ask me, I'd say I'm a pretty good student.
Then he flipped it. Clearly, I show effort for other people. I manage my grades and keep my record clean. But how much knowledge do I retain? Why don't I try to genuinely learn more?
Well, because I don't see the point. If something interests me, I will remember it and go into detail with it. However, if I'm struggling to understand something that seems boring to me and isn't language/literature related, I simply learn what I need to to pass and don't bother myself. I'll adhere to the rules and pass my classes, but my internal storage is selective. I don't need to know everything.

The conversation continues, but the main takeaway is that: we, as a human, species don't need to know it all. We shouldn't know it all. Not because basic knowledge is bad, but because there is a line. If we continue to grow our minds, with the goal to understand it all, the brain will be so complex it'll understand concepts that have no meaning. And understanding something that you honestly cannot not only drives people insane, but saddens them.
Face it, smart people don't have it as good as we believe. They get bullied in school and though they may grow up and make millions, they may end up rich and alone. People who understand more than the average human don't enjoy the simple things as much. It takes more effort. It's like growing up believing that gold was the best thing they could possibly find, but once they have it, they're now attempting to appreciate plastic. Obviously those who got plastic or bronze from the start will enjoy it more and thus stick together. Leaving the golden alone. However, there are occasions when smart people have much simpler aspirations and are able to achieve simple happiness despite they swirling minds. Sometimes even, these people become famous and successful, but who's to really say they're happy off-camera? There definitely are many intelligent people who I truly believe had/have good lives, but that just isn't the case a majority of the time.

The world is plastic. The wisest are gold.