There is no rule that you can only socialize with people &quot;on your level&quot;. This can turn into a self-fulfilling prophesy where people impose this view that a lack of intelligent peers is problematic, and they feel and become isolated as a result.<p>It can be a problem if the population adopts an anti-intellectual strain of thought, which I think persists in America to some degree. It is important to have people who are supportive of other people&#x27;s intellectual interests. But even intelligent people can be dismissive of intellectual pursuits, especially if they&#x27;re outside their own set of interests.<p>It is possible to have a good social life with people who have had less education, or are not as intelligent. There are ways to lead a satisfying intellectual life without having access to the Stanford CS department happy hour, and this is more true now thanks to the Internet.