Are Smart People Actually Happier? - Adam Mastroianni - #585

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the show. My guest today is Adam Mastroianni. He's a post-doctoral research scholar at Columbia Business School and a writer whose research focuses on how people perceive and misperceive their social worlds. Does being smart make you happy? Does being dumb make you miserable? Why did the guy who created Eugenics also get published in Nature for a revolutionary way to cut a cake? Adam is one of my favorite writers, so today I get to ask him all of these things. Expect to learn why super smart people can be so stupid, Adam's issue with the productivity approach of eating frogs, whether you can learn arithmetic by smell, why humans misjudge what other people want to talk about, why we forget so many of the things we've learned, how come it's trendy to call the general public stupid, and much more. Don't forget, if you are listening, you should have also got a copy of the Modern Wisdom reading list. It is 100 of my favorite, most interesting and impactful books that will change your life as well. And you can get a list of them for free right now by going to chriswillx.com. It will also add you to my 3-minute Monday newsletter, which is where those little blue squares that keep on angering everybody on Instagram come from. So you can get to see them before everyone else and you get the free reading list chriswillx.com. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Surfshark. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. If you use a public Wi-Fi network like a library or a cafe or university grounds, you are letting the university admin or the internet admin of that place see everything that you're browsing and you do not want that. You also don't want websites to be split testing you on prices for products that you're already buying or your internet service provider to be selling your data to companies that can target you with ads. Oh no, you do not want that. Also you want to have access to the entire world's Netflix library by being able to change your territory to any other country and immediately access what they've got going on over there. All of this is available with Surfshark VPN across unlimited devices. So your laptop, your phone, your iPad and even your smart TV has access to all of this plus secures your browsing. And there's an 83% discount, three months free and a 30 day money back guarantee. So go to surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom. That's surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. If you have been thinking about getting started with Athletic Greens now is the time to do it because from today up until the end of February, they have a special offer of 10 free travel packs with your first box. It is the most comprehensive nutritional insurance powder that I have ever found. You're not eating enough fruit and vegetables and you know it and this is going to help. One scoop of Athletic Greens contains 75 vitamins, minerals and whole food sourced ingredients including a multivitamin, multimineral, pre and probiotic, green superfood blend and more that all work together to fill the nutritional gaps in your diet. It increases energy and focus, aids with digestion and supports a healthy immune system all without the need to take multiple products. I'd always wondered why Tim Ferriss and Andrew Huberman and Dr David Sinclair and Rogan and Lex Friedman were all big fans of it and it does make sense. It is the most complete and comprehensive green drink that I've ever found. Also there is a 90-day money back guarantee so you can buy it and try it for 89 days and if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Head to athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom for a year's free supply of vitamin D, 10 free travel packs and that 90-day money back guarantee that's athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom.
And in final news, this episode is brought to you by House Of Macadamias. House Of Macadamias have partnered with 94 independent farmers, forming the single largest producer in the world, which gets them the first pick of the highest quality macadamia nuts in the region to make their one-of-a-kind snacks like their vegan, paleo and keto friendly chocolate dipped macadamias. They took two years of taste testing to get these right and there are salty, sweet and spicy ones. These straight up salted ones are ridiculously good. They're kind of like crack and Zack has eaten all of them from the most recent delivery, which was only a couple of days ago, which means I need to get more sent out. If you are a nut lover or if somebody that you know is, you absolutely have to try this out. Also, they are the only nut rich in Omega 7s. They're very low in carbohydrates. They've got great Omega 3 to 6 ratio. They're healthy for you and they taste fantastic. Plus, you can get 20% off your first purchase if you go to houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and the code MW20 at checkout. That's houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and MW20 at checkout. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Adam Mastroianni.