Stumbling on happiness
by Daniel T. Gilbert · first published 2006
73% recommend23% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, witty tour of the psychology of happiness showing how badly people predict what will make them happy, with lessons on perception, memory and biases; suits readers wanting research without dense papers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we're so lousy at predicting what will make us happy -- and what we can do about it.Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in tim
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2022The how of happiness
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 84 recommend · 8 mention4 recommend · 84 recommend
2021–2022Self-help
Samuel Smiles
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2010–2021Getting Unstuck
Pema Chödrön
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2021–2024Opening the heart of compassion
Martin Lowenthal
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2010–2022How we know what isn't so
Thomas Gilovich
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2010–2020The human animal
Desmond Morris
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
This research immediately reminded my of Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling On Happiness, which is a wonderful read. The book details many of the myriad ways in which we fail at predicting the affective result of various outcomes. For example, people will predict that they'll feel just awful…
on “The Economics of Happiness” ↗…written on it, you'll actually walk slower without realizing it [1]. Lots of words have these subconscious impacts and you simply cannot accurately poll your own brain to determine how you feel. [1] See "Stumbling on Happiness" for a great overview of this study: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400077427/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...
on “Do Social News Sites Deteriorate? (Analysis of 1.8M HN Comments)” ↗The War of Art - Steven Pressfield (unsure how I felt about this one, but it's short so worth a read) Deep Work - Cal Newport (recommended) Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert (recommended) Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals - Heidi Grant-Halvorson (lots of great stuff in here, highly recommended) The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Alex Haley (I really like…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗The book 'Stumbling on Happiness' by Dan Gilbert is great on this topic. People are very bad at predicting what will make them happy. Much better to see what people who are happy now actually did, rather than imagine what will make…
on “Nobody optimizes happiness” ↗…as well, isn't something I'm willing to do for anything save things that are important to me, like books. And the literature on this issue in fairly vast—see, for example, Daniel Gilbert's <i>Stumbling on Happiness</i>, Dan Ariely's <i>Predictably Irrational</i>, and Tim Harford's <i>The Logic of Life</i>. Together, those might help explain some of the social issues with…
on “Why Mass Customization Isn’t Mainstream” ↗<i>There are lots of unhappy people in the First World.</i> Yeah. They should read Daniel Gilbert's book _Stumbling on Happiness_.
on “Technology reduces the value of old people” ↗…over again, but that's probably okay. I actually wrote about the topic here: http://jseliger.com/2009/12/27/the-years-best-in-reading-not... . Of the books on the list, I'd say that Daniel Gilbert's _Stumbling on Happiness_ and Lev Grossman's _The Magicians_ were my favorite. Both might not qualify as "great," but they both moved me and made me think, which few books accomplish.
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗…Evolution of Human Nature</em> by Geoffrey Miller 4. <em>Hackers & Painters</em> by Paul Graham 5. <em>Man's Search for Meaning</em> by Viktor Frankl 6. <em>Stumbling on Happiness</em> by Daniel Gilbert In all cases, I think these books profoundly shaped how not only I think, but I think others can learn to think too. All suddenly revealed new connections and ideas about…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗…making more money and happiness. The main take-away is that it probably requires a lot less than you think. For this and many other interesting musings on the nature of happiness I strongly recommend "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert. It's fascinating.
on “Life lessons learned in travelling the world for 8 years straight” ↗This is explored to a degree in a pop psychology book by Daniel Gilbert called "Stumbling on Happiness". There are certainly better sources, such as the papers Gilbert uses as his primary sources, but the book is an accessible way to learn about the high degree to which our happiness depends on subjective…
on “What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty” ↗…Lyubomirsky (a Ph.D. researcher in the field of study) http://thehowofhappiness.com -- this book shares the specific advice you share in your comment. A lot of great books I can recommend as well, e.g. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt.
on “Show HN: Three Things Daily – Make gratitude a daily habit” ↗…direction of inquiry about what makes people happy (above baseline). One gem from the field: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right [0]. Great books from the field: Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert [1] and The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky [2] [0] https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/danielgilbert/files/if-mon... [1] https://www.amazon.com/Stumbling-Happiness-Daniel-Gilbert/dp...…
on “Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?” ↗…Finally, on the topic of happiness, read up on Positive Psychology to learn how to extract more enjoyment / eudaemonia out of life. Start by reading books by Ph.D. researchers (e.g. The How of Happiness, Stumbling on Happiness, etc).
on “Tell HN: I have the perfect job, why is it not enough?” ↗If you're smart and unhappy, it seems like the best next step is to read some books on the topic of Positive Psychology written by researchers that study it. Two great starts: The How of Happiness and Stumbling on Happiness but there are many more. ps - 4DWW (Four Day Work Week) would be an amazing improvement to happiness to anyone who gets it. Let's all work on making it the norm!
on “If you’re so smart, how come you’re not happy?” ↗…with your choice. Our brains "make" happiness with the life we have if we can't choose an alternative. Daniel Gilbert has a great book on this aspect of humans ability to alter their own happiness - "Stumbling on Happiness" Here is his TED talk on the matter which has a lot of the same material as the book - http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy The following is from my memory and might not be 100%:…
on “Do Men Suck At Friendship?” ↗