It sounds related to a question/answer I was reading yesterday in a magazine/booklet about the 75 greatest questions of science. One of the questions was "Will we ever find the secret to happiness?" The answer suggested that happy people, content with their lives, are not the kind of people who change the world, and the people who affect the world are the people who are stressed by the current state of affairs. I don't know if I agree with the answer entirely, but it's an interesting thought. Is it better to be simple and happy, or to concern oneself with bigger questions and advance the human race toward some larger end? On the larger scale it seems like we would want to be going somewhere, but on the personal level, that can be stressful. My disagreement, however, is that I think being productive and having an effect can make a person very happy even if it was triggered by some dissatisfaction with the world. And then back to your related question, I definitely think intelligence is a good thing for the world as a whole. Maybe people just have to get over feelings of helplessness? Not to get religious, but think of the intent of the serenity prayer:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
