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Intelligence Equals Isolation: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:reading-
{{quote|''"Being the smartest kid in class is like being the ''only'' kid in class."''|'''Dr. Spencer Reid''', "Elephant's Memory", ''[[Criminal Minds]]''}}
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When this intelligence is combined with a talent for manipulation, and possibly some good looks, you get an explosive mixture: add some [[Applied Phlebotinum]] or an [[Artifact of Doom]] and you might get a [[Magnificent Bastard]], with the potential to be a very interesting X-tagonist. If, in addition to that, they are benevolent and feel compelled by their intelligence to improve the world, you might get a very effective [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who thinks [[Utopia Justifies the Means]], and who might become a [[Knight Templar]]. If, instead, they are a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]], beware: high intelligence leads to questioning, and, in Morals, when you find out there aren't any readily made answers, you might settle for "there aren't any answers at all, so just do what you want"... With enough [[Motive Decay]], can become an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] and a [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]].
Note that this is not just about popularity with others, although that's certainly part of it. There are examples of [[The Ace|smart people who are popular with others]] but [[Broken Ace|still feel that their intelligence isolates them]]. It's pretty difficult to find common ground when your thoughts are too complicated to explain to others,<ref>not as in "they cannot comprehend" but as in "they won't sit through the explanation, it'll bore them, etc." and "they can't possibly imagine why that would interest you"</ref>
A form of [[Blessed with Suck]]. Compare [[Eating Lunch Alone]] and [[Broken Ace]]. May or may not include elements of [[Loners Are Freaks]]. Often used as a justification for why [[Dumb Is Good]]: dumb people may be made fun of, but they won't be hassled and harassed for it. Contrast with [[Gentleman and a Scholar]], when a smart guy is well-liked and lacks none of the social graces.
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** Well, [[Reclusive Artist|the writer]] certainly states that he "did well at school" and that he doesn't "leave [his] house very much" in How To Read 13.
* Ren Hiyama of ''[[Lost Brain]]''. His sidekick Haruhide Shitara too.
* Sasuke Uchiha of ''[[Naruto]]'' could have been described as this even before his family was murdered. Which obviously only exacerbates the effects of what he goes through as he had apparently the barest of social interactions for years afterwards and had nowhere to direct his pain but towards his training and revenge. Which arguably led to even more
** Except he's never actually been terribly smart. Focused, and brighter than ''Naruto'', but if you ranked genin team 7 in terms of smarts he'd clock in at third, and if you ranked the rookie nine by them he'd probably come in fourth. He's a 'genius' because he's good at learning ninjutsu, not because he's ''smart''.
*** Kakashi and Itachi were also geniuses on these terms, although they appear to have been prodigies in terms of their reasoning faculties as well. Orochimaru had brains ''and'' talent.
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** Also, Hiroko Kaizuka. Then she became the victim of ''very'' cruel bullies...
* Towards the end of ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'', it turns out that Minamoto was like that when he was a kid, due to being a Child Genius... he just wanted to go to a normal class and have normal friends, but his obvious superiority 'bothered' people, so he was put into a Special Education Program. This revelation puts a whole new significance to the lengths he went to to give The Children a chance to go to school like normal children.... basically, he gave them the childhood that was denied him.
* The human lead in ''[[Gash Bell]]''
* Tamami in ''[[Mahoraba]]''.
* Sakurako Amamiya has been the textbook brainy loner ever since she's been drawn into the madness of ''[[Psyren]]'', shutting herself from everyone so as not to let anyone else be damaged by it. We know she hasn't always been like this because, just as she is introduced, Ageha remembers a time when, as a child, she was much more joyful and open to the world.
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* Averted by Miyabi "Professor" Oomichi of ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' . As her nickname means, she is much more knowledgeable in art theory than an arts-stream high school student and is also highly talented, but she has her share of friends.
** She herself also [[Defied Trope|defied]] this trope in in the chapter about typography accreditation. She is likely to get higher a higher level of typography qualification (Class C or even B, compared to her classmates' D), but decided to just get a Class D instead ''because'' she still wants to be with her friends.
* Hiroki Sawada from ''[[Detective Conan]]'' [[Non-Serial Movie]] ''Phantom of Baker Street''. Either his school system couldn't quite deal with the child who would be studying grad school in MIT at ''[[Improbable Age|ten]]'', or he was given a highly accelerated homeschooling. Either way, he is friendless against his
** Shinichi, before being shrunk, was a milder case. While he wasn't ''openly'' shunned by his peers, it's mentioned sometimes that teachers and classmates found him arrogant and hard to approach, and sometimes are ''amazed'' that Ran ever managed to befriend him. I.e., his former teacher Akiko Yonezawa remembers Shinichi as being unnaturally snarky and full of himself while in elementary school, Ran refers to him as "that mystery [[Otaku]]" when she's very upset with him, and Sonoko openly wonders "[[What Does She See in Him?]]" in regards to Ran herself.
* Mikael from ''[[Tenshi ni Narumon]]'' is a textbook example of an intelligent loner - in the first season, he is mostly seen alone with his Book of Chaos and only occasionally talking to Noelle. {{spoiler|In the second season, it's slightly subverted, but only because Raphael makes him go out more and actually interact with people (well, in this case, just Noelle's family]. Still, his favourite pastime seems to be... studying. His isolation doesn't do him much good, as evident later in the series}}
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* Malcolm from ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' makes this the focus for the first few seasons, before getting past it.
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''. And not just the title character either.
* [[Child Prodigy|T.J. Henderson]] from the show ''[[Smart Guy (TV series)|Smart Guy]]'' was too young to fit in with his fellow high-schoolers and could only relate to kids his own age around basketball and other non-intellectual activities (which usually resulted in disaster of some sort). Other smart kids were out of the question too because they were nowhere near as sociable or well-adjusted as T.J., tending to be dipped fully in
* Toby and President Bartlet on ''[[The West Wing]]''.
** C.J. tells Toby, "No one likes people who know everything," to which Toby responds "So I've discovered in my life."
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** Although in Jade's case it's a bit more complicated, since it's implied he was something of a violent sociopath when he was younger and only mellowed out because of the influence of his teacher.
* It's not really overt, but in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', the [[Crisis Core]] prequel, Sephiroth feels isolated because of a combination of his superior intelligence and power. The only ones he feels at all close to are Angeal, Genesis, and possibly Zack, who went through similar experiments, and are still nowhere near his level.
** There are probably people just as smart as he is around, although most of them aren't very powerful and ''nobody'' can kick as much ass as he can, but neither of those are the root of the problem. The problem is that everyone
*** The idea of not being human still freaks him out, mind. That he isn't, entirely, ultimately does not help things.
* Inverted in ''[[Persona 3]]'' and ''[[Persona 4]]'': doing well on your exams improves your school Social Links accordingly.
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== Western Animation ==
* Lisa on ''[[The Simpsons]],'' depending on the mood of the writer. In earlier seasons Lisa had a best friend called Janey and had quite a lot of friends, but [[What Happened to the Mouse?|they got pushed aside and forgotten.]] The latest episodes show some of those friends, Janey included, but they tend to push Lisa away whenever she shows her smarts.
** One episode has Homer's I.Q raised to slightly above average levels, and suffers from this, although it allows him to bond with Lisa. He ends up choosing blissful ignorance over the social stigma he'd
** This trope is played straight to the point that Lisa flat-out made a graph stating the negative correlation between happiness and intelligence.
*** And [[Broken Aesop|broken]] by the fact that Homer never made an effort to put his high IQ to good use: he isolated everyone by virtue of spoiling movie endings, disillusioning people of hard-held beliefs and basically being a [[Jerkass]] with a high IQ.
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[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Anti-Intellectualism]]
[[Category:Sour Grapes Tropes]]
[[Category:Intelligence Tropes]]
[[Category:Intelligence Equals Isolation]]
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