Comment by thatwasunusual

You assume that what smart people _do_ is the same as what humanity _ought to do_.

Even if every genius on Earth spent their days trying to get rich, that would show something about incentives, institutions, fear, status, and survival. It would not automatically prove that wealth is mankind's highest purpose.

Rats also optimize for calories when the maze is built that way. That does not make cheese (or whatever rats prefer) the meaning of life.

Modern capitalism often acts like the scoreboard is the game. That confusion is one of civilization's recurring clown acts.