though we probably do more dancing than average (also happiness-increasing).
Do you really think so? Dancing is a highly social activity for extroverts that people with any hint of autism spectrum rarely do, and the last thing I would imagine about the LW community is to be less autistic than the average. I would say some amount of it is almost a precondition for rationalism: there is at least a slight autism in thinking a belief is something you form yourself, individually, on the inside, based on evidence, not an inner echo simply reflecting the socially expected opinion. You need to shut yourself a little bit from social life to have that, to make your beliefs really individual and not social echo based.
I do spent a lot of time dancing but it produces little conversations that are influential for the beliefs I hold.
Dancing in a context with loud music doesn't really produce an environment that produces social expectations about beliefs you hold.
It's not time in which I about substantial new beliefs, but there's other time for that. It doesn't even have to be alone time. Conversations with other people who also care that their beliefs are based on evidence and who are well read is just as good for forming new beliefs as forming than alone on the internet.
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden see here
Did you know The surprising downsides of being clever? Is Happiness And Intelligence: Rare Combination? There are longitudinal studies which seem to imply this: Being Labeled as Gifted, Self-appraisal, and Psychological Well-being: A Life Span Developmental Perspective
I found these via slashdot.
As LessWrong is harbor to unusually high-IQ people (see section B in here). I wonder how happiness compares to the mean. What are your thoughts.