Justin Wolfers gets under the hood to analyze the correlation between intelligence and happiness. Is ignorance really bliss?

Maybe I simplify things a bit too much - but here's my (current) take on happiness.  There are a few foundational things that every human being needs in order to have the possibility of being happy. The threshold for each person will obviously vary, but the primary components are safety/security, nourishment, and human contact.  If you constantly fear being bombed, shot or beat up - if you don't have a safe place to sleep every night - if you don't have enough to eat or drink - or if you don't have sufficient contact with other humans - it seems to me that happiness may be out of reach. At a minimum, you will be at a significant disadvantage compared to those who have all of these foundational needs fulfilled. 

Once a person has a sufficient fulfillment of each of these foundational needs, the playing field is somewhat level.  At this point, there are an infinite number of ways to find happiness. I'm not going to pretend to know the ultimate formula - or even one sure-fire path - but I'm positive there are many ways to get there.