I don't think it follows from being "more rational and intellectually advanced" that you would be more accomplished and have higher status. This is especially true if you're surrounded by incompetents. For example, how would a rational person achieve high status if the majority of people making status judgments are irrational? To "run circles around them" by exploiting their foolishness would require such a high-level of understanding of human psychology that it far out strips merely being "more rational and intellectually advanced." It's quite possible (perhaps likely) that greater intelligence and rationality would be a huge detriment in a society of incompetents. This would be true until science progressed to the point that we had a complete enough understanding of psychology to exploit or reform them. There's nothing in rationality that makes a rational person automatically able to understand and exploit the irrational.
The kind of "rationality" we're talking about is the kind that lets you win. If I notice that there are people who have more money than me, are happier than me, have better friends and friendships than me, are more able to achieve their goals — who acquired all those things through virtue or behaving a particular way, and not by chance — and if I haven't bothered to determine what those virtues and behaviors are, and whether they tend to actually work, and how I can implement them myself — why, then, I'm not such a hotshot rationalist after all.
I...
Basically, I cannot stand people who will not bow to the Truth.
I always had this trait, but I noticed lately that it is becoming worse, and has consequences. Ironically, the main trigger seems to be the sequences. They gave me a confidence that sometimes frightens me. There are multiple manifestations:
The closest semi-famous embodiment of this character trait I can think of is Xah Lee. I like much of his writing, but he can be very blunt, sometimes to the point of insult.
Needless to say, I do not endorse all these changes. The problem is, while I know I should calm down, I just can't lose when I'm confident truth is on my side. I'm not even sure I should. (Note however that I'm rather good at losing to evidence.)
So, what do you think? What should I do? Thanks.