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How To Be Happy Anywhere

fastcompany.com

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Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#61

Post by AznHisoka »

llambda wrote: post #15

While I generally find myself agreeing with the sentiments of this article, let's not forget: the plural of anecdote is not evidence. Apply this axiom to OP's observations. So he goes to some rural regions of the world, sees some kids being kids and concludes that because he doesn't see that same behavior in a modern region of China it must therefore be because of modernity or technology or whatever that these people…

It's hard to come up with a scientific, fool-proof study to prove his point. And honestly, that's not his job, and not the purpose of the article anyway.

Positing a theory based on anecdotes is important because it forces us to re-analyze our lives and our values. It makes us ask the tough questions, and come up with our own conclusions

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#62

Post by dharmach »

spodek wrote: post #28

Information and emotion are orthogonal. If you want to connect them you can, but you don't have to. In other words, you can use more or less information to make yourself happier or unhappier. The ability to manage your emotions is different than the ability to process information, but it can be learned just as well, they just don't teach it in school.

provided all the connections are consciously made

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#63

Post by robfig »

I think that much rich world unhappiness stems from spending a lot of time watching TV or playing video games. If you spend your time playing (e.g. hanging out with friends, playing sports) or working (e.g. accomplishing something), then I think happiness is more likely.

The last sentence in particular resonated with me: “Happiness is not measured by the number of days you live but, rather, by the number of days you remember.” Every day I've spent consuming media is a day I can not remember.

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#64

Post by zyeljanee »

spodek wrote: post #28

Information and emotion are orthogonal. If you want to connect them you can, but you don't have to. In other words, you can use more or less information to make yourself happier or unhappier. The ability to manage your emotions is different than the ability to process information, but it can be learned just as well, they just don't teach it in school.

Well There is less to be tought on emotions, it all depends with how we react on different issues in life that brings about emotional reactions.

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#65

Post by gwern »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #57

I find it easy to find counter-examples to these anecdotes. There are a lot of people very aware of how rich other people are without it affecting them one bit. I think it boils down to this: very rarely will you receive just plain vanilla information, if such a thing exists. Almost always the information will be wrapped in some kind of value system. As you absorb the information, you end up taking in the value syste…

> Let's use TV as an example. So yep, if you spend your time on one of those cable channels where you watch rich people all the time, pretty soon it's not that you'll understand how rich people live, it's that pretty soon you'll start believing that it is better to live like they do.

In Brazil and India, rich people on soap operas don't have many kids; sure enough, when you correlate the opening of TV stations with birth rates... http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/10/fertility-fall-still-p...

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#66

Post by Jun8 »

Although true in a practical sense (NYT cited a study on older people where in which more introspective types were less happy) I reject the option of extra happiness brought about by lack of knowledge, e.g.

  To each his sufferings: all are men,    
  Condemned alike to groan;    
  The tender for another's pain,    
  The unfeeling for his own.    
  Yet ah! why should they know their fate?    
  Since sorrow never comes too late,    
  And happiness too swiftly flies.    
  Thought would destroy their paradise.    
  No more; where ignorance is bliss,    
  'Tis folly to be wise.
(Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College", this is the origin of the term "Ignorance is bliss". The notes on this stanza are worth a read: http://www.thomasgray.org/cgi-bin/comment.cgi?text=odec&...).

Would you rather be Cypher happily eating his steak in a fictional world or the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar living in a real but wretched world? I would choose the latter but this is by no means an easy question.

Re: How To Be Happy Anywhere

#70

Post by victorhn »

In my opinion it is ultimately up to you, to decide wheter you are happy or not, information certainly can give us certain truths that are "ugly" or unpleasant, but in the end you can control how you feel about it.
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