Asklemmy

I'm neither a Rick nor a Morty, but I think you can look at the biographies of historical figures who've been considered "geniuses" and deduce that R&M isn't too far off base. It may be a sort of survivor bias: it may be that only genius and successful people have had difficulties; or, maybe idiots have just as much depression only they don't get famous. All we have are examples like DJT for the dumb-but-successful-and-not-struggling-with-depression category.

I really should have a statistic to back this up, but it seems common for "high IQ" people to have issues. My personnel theory is that we're all on the spectrum: that humans have a band in which we can function normally, socially, but the higher you climb on the "intelligence" scale, the more you edge into what we'd diagnose as autism and start to struggle with issues resulting from either being unable to integrate with society, or being persecuted by it.

I have absolutely no evidence for this theory, of course. It's just a theory formed after reading biographies of so many notable geniuses who've struggled with drug abuse and depression. Depression is the big one; it must get awfully tiresome being surrounded by (relative) idiots.

I don't take the theory very seriously; however, among my high school close friend group, the unquestioned smartest one, who went on to get a doctorate in math, checked himself out with a shotgun in his early 30's. He's the only suicide we've had, and I've often wondered how much his intelligence factored into it.

Finally, I'll end with this quote I one read, for which I can no longer find a source and which I have no reason for believing is based at all on any evidence; but which I've always found funny:

Philosophers look outside themselves for truth.
Mathematicians look inside themselves for truth.
Psychologists say philosophers tend to be more happy than mathematicians.