Did you actually read the article? The starting premise behind it was that intelligent people ending up not using their life to showcase their intelligence was a problem worthy of study.

The downsides of being talented at sports are well known: most don't make it and many of those that do have a marginal income which lasts until they're in their mid-30s at best. Apart from the confidence that comes with having being respected for your sporting prowess as a young age (and possibly a free degree if you're an elite kid in the US), there aren't many fringe benefits that come from being [known as] an almost sportsperson, and physical faculties decline faster and are less versatile than mental ones. Which is part of the reason why they're actually frequently told they should stop devoting so much time to sport and make sure they pass their exams...

In my experience, it's not ordinary people who look for the downside to intelligence, but above average intelligence people who don't want to believe that there are people who are beyond them.

On HN, people who are hard working, above average intelligence, and well rounded with good social skills, don't want to accept that a "rock star" kid out of college should earn much more than them.

I say this as someone who never worked very hard (although by the end of my PhD I had learned to be focussed and work consistently), never reached the point where the people around me were smarter than me (even though I went to a top school and then a top tech company). I feel a sense of gloating and smugness when people say "you won't be able to rely on your intelligence forever" or "when you get to X (company/university) you'll be shocked that you're not the smartest person around". Why can't people let very smart people enjoy their intelligence?

I believe it is partly influenced by culture and partly from game theoretical competition.

In Asia, smart people are usually admired. Smart kids are quite popular in many schools, or at least admired by their peers. There is sometimes a certain amount of jealousy too but generally they are well accepted and act as tutor for their friends and leaders in group projects.

In office and colleges where competition among peers is intense and zero-sum, jealousy overtakes admiration. In other situations, the culture of collaboration and a certain amount of plagiarism (which is probably more prevalent in Asia than the US) lead to quite a bit of respect from peers to smart kids/people.

> Why don't we see people talk about the downsides of being talented( in sports)..

I think we often do talk about the downsides of being talented in sports and the arts (specifically American acting and music).

Early stardom often leads to a disappointing career. Heisman winners that rarely succeed in the NFL, NBA and NFL stars that often go bankrupt as soon as their career ends, child actors with drug problems.

Many times, this athletic ability or experience being a truly competitive athlete makes it very hard to play a more recreational version of their sport.