The Dolphin Theory

Picture two people. Person 'A' is a successful business owner in a nice town, with a nice car, a nice house and a nice-looking wife. Person 'A' works long, hard hours keeping his employees happy, keeping the business going and then goes home to his wife and spends awhile making up for working long hours. He is a busy person, both with business affairs and playing golf, taking vacations with his wife and maybe having kids.

Person 'B' is living in a cramped apartment and works around 20 hours a week for a company that pays little over minimum wage. He is single, never takes vacations, and has no one but himself to answer to. He plays video games with people very much like himself, orders pizzas on a daily basis and never works out.

Which one is the better person? The goal-oriented, driven man? Or the lazy, going-nowhere man? You could say that you'd rather be person 'A' because that is more socially acceptable. People should be 'going somewhere' or to borrow a phrase from some random idiot I know, you shouldn't 'become stagnant'. But let's add a few things: Person 'A' ends up becoming so stressed out from lack of sleep and nagging from the wife that he kills his entire staff, his wife and himself in a fit of rage. Person 'B', however, is happy with who he is and doesn't need pretty surroundings, such as a green, landscaped lawn, to make other people like him. Maybe he meets someone who loves him for who he is and not what he can give her, or maybe not. He might never achieve financial prosperity, but he makes enough to support his video game habit. His lifestyle is so low-maintenance that he doesn't realize that he rarely ever spends more than half of his meager paycheck, and so will have a comfortable retirement.

Which one is better now? The one who makes more money and has 'things' or the happy one? Douglas Adams theorized that dolphins were the second smartest beings on Earth, coming in behind mice. Man has thought the same thing since the idea of intelligence was thought up by man - Man has achieved so much: large cities, the internet, fast-food restaurants, so aren't they the smartest? What have dolphins done? They swim around in the ocean, doing flips and generally have a good time. Who's smarter here? Humans, who have achieved so much or dolphins, who have way more fun?

If achieving 'success' means having things such as a new car every year, or a house so large you can fit other houses inside it, or lavish vacations every summer, or a job that requires you to work all the time (including during sleep) then that is what you should do. But if being happy is more important than the 'things' then go find it.

Dolphins haven't achieved much in the way of technology. They don't have a five day work schedule. They do flips and catch fish and are the only non-humans who have sex for pleasure. So who's smarter? Person 'A' or person 'B'? Or should we all wish we were dolphins?