It seems the smarter one is, the less one has the need to impress others. The quest for fame is mostly due to the ego's dominance.
Indeed.
Furthermore, the truly novel material and ideas are made accessible/ acceptable in reciprocal relationship to the level of ego dominance over one's awareness. The world is a small place to a narrow mind and the more set we are in our beliefs about who we are and what the world is (the stronger the ego becomes), the narrower our minds become.
Enter LSD :) No wonder why the government suppresses it...