Stumbling on Happiness
Daniel Gilbert
11 people recommended it in 7 threads, 2009–2022.
What people on Hacker News said
This was an interesting read and the different studies described in the book made me think how would I react in a similar situation and I realised funny things about how memory works and how does our brain imagine future events.
Both might not qualify as "great," but they both moved me and made me think, which few books accomplish.
Positive Psychology is a great example -- rather than reading one of the dozens of books written by non-experts, why not go with something like The How of Happiness or Stumbling on Happiness - by people who actually study and run experiments they write about.
It profoundly changed the way I look at the world, and how I make decisions about what to do.
The best insight here is - people are very good at rationalizing / being happy about bad results, when they result from a decision to do something (e.g. change job / move ...) - less so when they decide not to do something (stay in the current job etc.) Using this as a tie-breaker rule has been a great help.
It explores how the mind works in regards to happiness, and the biases in that.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why? 2017 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2016? 2016 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009? 2010 · 2 recommendations
- Reading list for those who love to learn 2009 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which books you have read till now that were worth investing time in? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2017? 2017 · 1 recommendation