The Oil Drum | TED: Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?

TED: Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?

Posted by Prof. Goose on July 8, 2008 - 8:30pm
Topic: Sociology/Psychology
Tags: dan gilbert, happiness, happy [list all tags]

Apropos of Nate's post on "Status and Curiosity - On the Origins of Oil Addiction" earlier this week, and Stuart's post "Happiness, economic growth, and oil prices", here's Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, who challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.

61 comments on TED: Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

| Show with comments | PDF version

Search The Oil Drum with Google

Support The Oil Drum

Click the button to learn about supporting The Oil Drum with a secure donation.

Peak Oil Primers

Beware email scams!

Beware email scams claiming to be from this site. We do not have any job openings. If anyone contacts you about a job at The Oil Drum, do not reply to them, and definitely do not give them any personal information or send them money. Read more here.

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.”

—Richard Feynman