If your IQ sets you apart by making you waaaaay less interested in mundane topics than most folks, that can be tremendously isolating.
Or if the intensity with which you engage outshines/outpaces/outdoes that of others, that can be isolating, too…
But probably the most isolating side-effect of big brainz is your potential. Living with more excitement about their potential than about who they inherently are… stops many guys from ever reaching their potential.
Sarcasm as Medicine
There’s a way in which sarcasm is medicine: it can engage the active mind while hiding how painful or embarrassing the topic is. The pain isn’t too real or exposed. It’s great levity. It’s great for finding people with the same peeves. Wanna hear some common ones?
- “What are the odds of any random person having the capacity/capability to care about the same things I do?”
- “I’m looking for connection… where’s the complete list of hoops I have to jump through to get it?”
- “Every time I meet someone, the perfunctory stuff feels like a mandatory tutorial delaying our playing. WHY!?”
- “Do I have to work my way through the levels to get to where it’s finally challenging and rewarding in a fun way?”
- “What are the odds that I’ll ever find out whether I’ve found the person I’m looking for?“
But there’s a way it isn’t medicine, just like any substance, if over-used to the point we can’t live without its augmentation.
Bear with me here: would you be willing to re-read the most familiar of the above “questions” and argue that it’s a sincere question?
As long as they’re funny and not painful, they’re only masquerading as questions, right?
Sincere Sarcasm
Sincere sarcasm is invaluable, in my opinion. It’s a type of “question” that immediately tells us where it hurts, without poking or prodding or exacerbating the hurt.
It stands to reason that sarcasm is ideal for side-stepping infuriating/inflamed areas we have no other way to soothe. It’s a great emergency precaution, excellent for triage. Deferring care works IF we ever arrive at a place and time where we finally have the TLC to remove the bandage and really get better.
Screw “time heals all wounds” — if it’s a festering wound, it needs stuff that isn’t randomly available.
What if sarcasm is not only a form of sincerity, but a serious request for quality time with your frustrations?
What if sarcasm is hopelessness… giving up strategizing, needing “love already, please?”