There is no rule that you can only socialize with people "on your level". This can turn into a self-fulfilling prophesy where people impose this view that a lac

There is no rule that you can only socialize with people "on your level". 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. 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's intellectual interests. But even intelligent people can be dismissive of intellectual pursuits, especially if they're outside their own set of interests. 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.