Watch this TED talk video on Happiness and then comment on it. What strikes you as interesting? Do you buy the whole "genuine" versus "synthetic" happiness? Offer and example of each.
When we are bounded, we are often more thoughtful to others. When we are unbounded, we lie, cheat, steal. I thought that part was interesting. Its kind of what I thought about expectations. When we have high expectations we are often disappointed. When we have low expectations we are often surprised.
I thought it was really interesting and funny when he said how when the group of Harvard students picked the photography class were they can change their choice of the two pictures, they are actually picking the class were they will be unhappy with their picture. I thought that was interesting. If the choice you make is irreversible, you will end up being happier. For the most part I believe what he is saying. The best example I can think of is the kids at my grandma's daycare. They are never happy with the toys they are playing with because they are always wanting to play with the other kid's toy. But if they are by themselves they are perfectly happy with the toy they are playing with. I think this reinforces that we do synthesize happiness.
It was interesting to me how when we have to choose between one thing and the other we will be happier with our decision and when we look back on it we will think the choice we didn't make is not as good and if we can choose both and change our minds we will never be truly satisfied. I think that this is true, if I have $1.59 left on my itunes giftcard but there is 2 songs I want to buy I will have to choose just one. The one I end up choosing I will end up being more satisfied with then if I bought both songs, that would be an example of synthetic happiness. I can make myself think I am happier with the one song I purchased. For me personally, I think a genuine happiness would be anytime I am with my family. They make me truly happy because they are an important part of my life and I am really close with them.
There are two things that stirke me as very intresting. I thinks its supre intresting and kind of unbelievable that after a year lottery winners are just as happy as parapyligics. That seems just absurd. The other thing thats super intresting and really makes you think, is the experiment done at harvard. Students at harvard take this photography class and our told to go around and take a bunch of pictures. Then they get to pick two too be blown up. They have to pick one of these pictures to then keep. Half of the students, the reversible group, are told that they can switch their pictures if they want to. The other half, the ireverable group, are told they can never switch and this choice is perminent. Then a few days later they did a survey, and most of the reversable group was extremely unhappy with their choice of picture, and the ireversable group was really happy with theirs. I think this is just crazy. The only reason the ireversable group is really happy with theirs is because they have to be. I dont buy the whole genuine verse synthtic happiness thing. Synthetic happiness is making the best of the sitiuation in which you dont get what you want. And Geuine happiness is getting what you want. I believe that people who are geuinely happy are happier than the people who have synthtic happiness. An example of synthetic happiness is loosing your legs in an accident but a year later you say that you are happier now that you were then. And genuine happiness is really wanting somthing like winning the lottery so you buy a lottery ticket and then win. If I had to choose one kind of happiness I would for sure choose genuine happiness.
What strikes me as interesting...well, i think the whole parapyligich and lottery winner thing about happiness is kinda shocking. Another thing that was interesting was that he made happiness into two different categories. I do believe and understand his definitions about synthetic and genuine happiness. I do believe that some of us use synthetic happiness in our day to day lives. There has been many of times were i've had to ask myself if i was really happy or just making myself be happy because i have no other choice. An example of synthetic happiness would be when i buy a shirt becuase i can't find anything else in the store and then i get home, put it in my closet and literally never wear it. Genuine happiness, is happiness that is undescribable. Genuine happiness is when you have something that makes you happy and you wouldn't change anything about that something. An example of genuine happiness is my dog. She makes me happy all the time and even though she pees on the floor sometimes i still love her and wouldn't change anything about her even if i could becuase she makes me happy. I also thought it was interesting how he said freedom is the enemy of synthetic happiness, and genuine happiness is a result from freedom, or the ability to change your mind, make choices and change those choices.
This guy knows his stuff. I'm totally on board with the synthetic happiness idea. I'd love to think that in my life I am going to be genuinely happy. But unfortunately, I'm a realist. I am going to want things in my life, and I will not get them. The only way to even attempt to be happy in life is to take the hand you are dealt, and make the most of it. Anyone who truely believes in genuine happiness is either ignorant or just plain stupid.
I agree with what he says about synthetic happiness. I think everybody tries to make the best of what they have and I think it’s a good thing. If I have a bad day, I tend to think about how much worse it could've been and it makes me feel a lot better and more grateful for what I do have. The thing about the lottery winner didn't really surprise me. Since I have never really had much, material things don't really make me happy. Or if they do it is very short term. The parapyligics being happier surprised me a little but everyone finds happiness in different things due to their own experiences. I think genuine happiness does happen but it is different for everyone and not everyone does experience it. For me it is when I am with my family because nothing else can top how I feel when all of us are together.
I thought this video was very interesting. He made a lot of thought provoking points, although a lot of it was hard to believe. I thought it was interesting that a lottery winner would be just as happy as a paraplegic. The whole idea that the majority of things that supposedly make us happy will actually have no impact on our happiness 3 months down the road blows my mind. It seems strange that the things we accomplish and the good thigns that happen don't go into some sort of "cumulitive life happiness" tally. I do think that we have both genuine and synthetic happiness, I just don't know that I can agree that synthetic is just as good. For an example, I would have been genuinely happy if I had gone to state this year for tennis, but I was forced to be synthetically happy that I had "made it so far and accomplished so much." I was happy about that because it was my only way to not be miserable, and still be able to find some sort of positive outcome, but I still believe it would have been better if I had actually gone to state. I thought the study with the Harvard students was very interesting, and it made a lot of sense to me. I am always happier with something that I have no ability to change, rather than something that I could. I am a person who will go back and forth constantly and torture myself with the question of if I made the right decision. Even though people think they will be happier if they have the opportunity to change their choices, I think we are better off when we have to stick to one. I feel like my college decision will be a great example of this, because I feel like even after I choose I will often wonder if I made the right decision.
Not gonna lie, right away I was not on board with this guy. Yet, as the video went on, I found myself agreeing with him more times then not. Most people will make do with what they have, and that itself will provide happiness. Thats what the point is, to be happy the most.
One thing I don't agree with is the impact bias. The bigger things that are more long term and are thought of as having a bigger "impact bias" can make you happy. But at the same time, I think little things that come and go can make you just as happy. Time spent on something and the happiness you feel from it aren't exactly in direct correlation in my mind.
"We synthesize happiness but we think happiness is a thing to be found." I thought this quote pin pointed exactly why American's aren't the happiest. We try so hard to create our happiness by achieving the American dream; making lots of money, having a beautiful family, being popular, having nice things, etc. but then we also try to blame our misfortune on bad luck and saying we can't control our happiness, saying outside forces do.
I really liked watching this video because he was really interesting! I completely agree with synthetic happiness, or at least what he says about it. In my own life I have started to pay attention to all the stuff I do have and should be thankful for. Items that will only last me for a little while used to make me happy (clothes, phones, music, ect.) But now as I have started to grow up I realize how happy and great I should be for everything I do have in my life. Seeing my dad is sometimes rare because our schedules are so different. He is in Washington a lot for work lately. But when he is home by the time I wake up in the morning he is gone at work and I don't come home until 6. By then he is usually working out and when he gets home from that I am already off doing something with my friends. I find the most happiness in trading a night out with friends for a night I can just sit and talk/watch tv with my dad.
At first it seemed like this guy was crazy and didnt really know what he was talking about but wen he brought up the deta with a really good expirrment to back it up my vew started to change. after i started think about it i can realte to very strongl where this comes from through expierence. a good example of this is when yo are split on buying a certain product. yole them both equally as well and you end up taking a week to decide. once you finally decide however the product you chose becomes so much more superiror to the one you didnt. this happens all the tim with me i always thoguht that jens were all the same but once i finally bought a diffeent brand all thesudden they seem so much better than the jeans i used to wear. this is just a gea vdeo on how we find happiness in things. the things we value make us much more happier therefore we should spend more time around the things we own tan th things we dont because our overalll life will be filled with more hapiness.
There are a few things that I found quite interesting in this video. I like his example of when he talks about winning the lottery and becoming paraplegic. He says that after one year, these two groups of people are equally happy with their lives. That is a crazy comparison to me because I never would have thought that those two things would make people feel the same way. Another thing I found quite interesting and funny is when he talks about the different between dating and marriage. On a date if they pick their nose, or else if your married and they pick their nose. Its a totally different thing. You find a way to be happy with whatever is happening. I’m not sure if I buy the whole synthetic versus genuine happiness thing or not. I would have to say that I think people are for sure happier when they experience genuine happiness. An example of genuine happiness in my life would be whenever I’m with my friends and family. That is a time that I am genuinely happy. An example of Synthetic happiness on the other hand would be like if I am shopping, and they don't have my size in something so I end up getting something that is too small or too big, then never end up wearing it.
When we are bounded, we are often more thoughtful to others. When we are unbounded, we lie, cheat, steal. I thought that part was interesting. Its kind of what I thought about expectations. When we have high expectations we are often disappointed. When we have low expectations we are often surprised.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting and funny when he said how when the group of Harvard students picked the photography class were they can change their choice of the two pictures, they are actually picking the class were they will be unhappy with their picture. I thought that was interesting. If the choice you make is irreversible, you will end up being happier. For the most part I believe what he is saying. The best example I can think of is the kids at my grandma's daycare. They are never happy with the toys they are playing with because they are always wanting to play with the other kid's toy. But if they are by themselves they are perfectly happy with the toy they are playing with. I think this reinforces that we do synthesize happiness.
ReplyDelete-Ben
It was interesting to me how when we have to choose between one thing and the other we will be happier with our decision and when we look back on it we will think the choice we didn't make is not as good and if we can choose both and change our minds we will never be truly satisfied. I think that this is true, if I have $1.59 left on my itunes giftcard but there is 2 songs I want to buy I will have to choose just one. The one I end up choosing I will end up being more satisfied with then if I bought both songs, that would be an example of synthetic happiness. I can make myself think I am happier with the one song I purchased. For me personally, I think a genuine happiness would be anytime I am with my family. They make me truly happy because they are an important part of my life and I am really close with them.
ReplyDelete-Em
There are two things that stirke me as very intresting. I thinks its supre intresting and kind of unbelievable that after a year lottery winners are just as happy as parapyligics. That seems just absurd. The other thing thats super intresting and really makes you think, is the experiment done at harvard. Students at harvard take this photography class and our told to go around and take a bunch of pictures. Then they get to pick two too be blown up. They have to pick one of these pictures to then keep. Half of the students, the reversible group, are told that they can switch their pictures if they want to. The other half, the ireverable group, are told they can never switch and this choice is perminent. Then a few days later they did a survey, and most of the reversable group was extremely unhappy with their choice of picture, and the ireversable group was really happy with theirs. I think this is just crazy. The only reason the ireversable group is really happy with theirs is because they have to be. I dont buy the whole genuine verse synthtic happiness thing. Synthetic happiness is making the best of the sitiuation in which you dont get what you want. And Geuine happiness is getting what you want. I believe that people who are geuinely happy are happier than the people who have synthtic happiness. An example of synthetic happiness is loosing your legs in an accident but a year later you say that you are happier now that you were then. And genuine happiness is really wanting somthing like winning the lottery so you buy a lottery ticket and then win. If I had to choose one kind of happiness I would for sure choose genuine happiness.
ReplyDeleteWhat strikes me as interesting...well, i think the whole parapyligich and lottery winner thing about happiness is kinda shocking. Another thing that was interesting was that he made happiness into two different categories. I do believe and understand his definitions about synthetic and genuine happiness. I do believe that some of us use synthetic happiness in our day to day lives. There has been many of times were i've had to ask myself if i was really happy or just making myself be happy because i have no other choice. An example of synthetic happiness would be when i buy a shirt becuase i can't find anything else in the store and then i get home, put it in my closet and literally never wear it. Genuine happiness, is happiness that is undescribable. Genuine happiness is when you have something that makes you happy and you wouldn't change anything about that something. An example of genuine happiness is my dog. She makes me happy all the time and even though she pees on the floor sometimes i still love her and wouldn't change anything about her even if i could becuase she makes me happy. I also thought it was interesting how he said freedom is the enemy of synthetic happiness, and genuine happiness is a result from freedom, or the ability to change your mind, make choices and change those choices.
ReplyDeleteThis guy knows his stuff. I'm totally on board with the synthetic happiness idea. I'd love to think that in my life I am going to be genuinely happy. But unfortunately, I'm a realist. I am going to want things in my life, and I will not get them. The only way to even attempt to be happy in life is to take the hand you are dealt, and make the most of it. Anyone who truely believes in genuine happiness is either ignorant or just plain stupid.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what he says about synthetic happiness. I think everybody tries to make the best of what they have and I think it’s a good thing. If I have a bad day, I tend to think about how much worse it could've been and it makes me feel a lot better and more grateful for what I do have. The thing about the lottery winner didn't really surprise me. Since I have never really had much, material things don't really make me happy. Or if they do it is very short term. The parapyligics being happier surprised me a little but everyone finds happiness in different things due to their own experiences. I think genuine happiness does happen but it is different for everyone and not everyone does experience it. For me it is when I am with my family because nothing else can top how I feel when all of us are together.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very interesting. He made a lot of thought provoking points, although a lot of it was hard to believe. I thought it was interesting that a lottery winner would be just as happy as a paraplegic. The whole idea that the majority of things that supposedly make us happy will actually have no impact on our happiness 3 months down the road blows my mind. It seems strange that the things we accomplish and the good thigns that happen don't go into some sort of "cumulitive life happiness" tally. I do think that we have both genuine and synthetic happiness, I just don't know that I can agree that synthetic is just as good. For an example, I would have been genuinely happy if I had gone to state this year for tennis, but I was forced to be synthetically happy that I had "made it so far and accomplished so much." I was happy about that because it was my only way to not be miserable, and still be able to find some sort of positive outcome, but I still believe it would have been better if I had actually gone to state. I thought the study with the Harvard students was very interesting, and it made a lot of sense to me. I am always happier with something that I have no ability to change, rather than something that I could. I am a person who will go back and forth constantly and torture myself with the question of if I made the right decision. Even though people think they will be happier if they have the opportunity to change their choices, I think we are better off when we have to stick to one. I feel like my college decision will be a great example of this, because I feel like even after I choose I will often wonder if I made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteNot gonna lie, right away I was not on board with this guy. Yet, as the video went on, I found myself agreeing with him more times then not. Most people will make do with what they have, and that itself will provide happiness. Thats what the point is, to be happy the most.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't agree with is the impact bias. The bigger things that are more long term and are thought of as having a bigger "impact bias" can make you happy. But at the same time, I think little things that come and go can make you just as happy. Time spent on something and the happiness you feel from it aren't exactly in direct correlation in my mind.
ReplyDelete"We synthesize happiness but we think happiness is a thing to be found." I thought this quote pin pointed exactly why American's aren't the happiest. We try so hard to create our happiness by achieving the American dream; making lots of money, having a beautiful family, being popular, having nice things, etc. but then we also try to blame our misfortune on bad luck and saying we can't control our happiness, saying outside forces do.
I really liked watching this video because he was really interesting! I completely agree with synthetic happiness, or at least what he says about it. In my own life I have started to pay attention to all the stuff I do have and should be thankful for. Items that will only last me for a little while used to make me happy (clothes, phones, music, ect.) But now as I have started to grow up I realize how happy and great I should be for everything I do have in my life. Seeing my dad is sometimes rare because our schedules are so different. He is in Washington a lot for work lately. But when he is home by the time I wake up in the morning he is gone at work and I don't come home until 6. By then he is usually working out and when he gets home from that I am already off doing something with my friends. I find the most happiness in trading a night out with friends for a night I can just sit and talk/watch tv with my dad.
ReplyDeleteAt first it seemed like this guy was crazy and didnt really know what he was talking about but wen he brought up the deta with a really good expirrment to back it up my vew started to change. after i started think about it i can realte to very strongl where this comes from through expierence. a good example of this is when yo are split on buying a certain product. yole them both equally as well and you end up taking a week to decide. once you finally decide however the product you chose becomes so much more superiror to the one you didnt. this happens all the tim with me i always thoguht that jens were all the same but once i finally bought a diffeent brand all thesudden they seem so much better than the jeans i used to wear. this is just a gea vdeo on how we find happiness in things. the things we value make us much more happier therefore we should spend more time around the things we own tan th things we dont because our overalll life will be filled with more hapiness.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things that I found quite interesting in this video. I like his example of when he talks about winning the lottery and becoming paraplegic. He says that after one year, these two groups of people are equally happy with their lives. That is a crazy comparison to me because I never would have thought that those two things would make people feel the same way. Another thing I found quite interesting and funny is when he talks about the different between dating and marriage. On a date if they pick their nose, or else if your married and they pick their nose. Its a totally different thing. You find a way to be happy with whatever is happening.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if I buy the whole synthetic versus genuine happiness thing or not. I would have to say that I think people are for sure happier when they experience genuine happiness. An example of genuine happiness in my life would be whenever I’m with my friends and family. That is a time that I am genuinely happy. An example of Synthetic happiness on the other hand would be like if I am shopping, and they don't have my size in something so I end up getting something that is too small or too big, then never end up wearing it.