Lamenting your loneliness? Forget taking advice from Dale Carnegie’s How to win friends and influence people, and carry on listening to Eric Carmen’s All by Myself. Because, according to British psychologists, your solitude might just be a sign of intellectual brilliance!
 
Last month, the British Journal of Psychology published a study looking into evolutionary perspectives on happiness and intelligence. Researchers found that the lifestyles of our ancient ancestors could hold the key to what makes us happy today.
 
It turns out the human brain is actually evolutionarily hardwired for the demands of ancient nomadic life on the great plains of Africa.
 
The savanna theory of happiness holds that based on the lifestyles of our Palaeolithic ancestors, human happiness is negatively associated with population density, but positively associated with frequent get-togethers with friends (cyber interactions probably don’t count).
 
Archaeological remains from the Upper Palaeolithic age (around 50,000 years ago) are the earliest pieces of evidence of organized human settlements. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived within small tight-knit groups of around 150 people. Maintaining close contact with friends and allies in that ancient setting was essential for the survival and reproduction of the human species.
 
Despite 50 millennia having passed, researchers speculate that perhaps human brains still haven’t caught up to the rapidly changing world around us.
 
Our brains are literally stuck in the Stone Age.
 
However, the picture is a little different for the Einsteins among us.
 
The researchers posit that smarter people might be better equipped for dealing with the challenges of modern life. An ability to adapt quickly and square evolutionary traits with fast-paced 21st century life may lessen the negative effects associated with population density.
 
But, apparently super intelligent people tend to be focused on longer-term objectives, which might shrink the positive benefits of socialising with friends. Like a writer with their eye on the Pulitzer Prize, putting effort into social interactions might detract from the pursuit of long-term goals.
 
Of course, the size of a person’s friendship circle is probably not the most reliable measure of an individual’s intellect. Such binary classifications are rarely infallible.
 
Sure, that you have few friends might be because you’re selflessly committed to curing cancer.
 
Then again, it could just be a sign that you’re a bit of a know-it-all.