Happiness · Nonfiction · Psychology
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
2006310 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas★ 3.9 (12)
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What is Stumbling on Happiness about?
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 time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was. Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn't gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off?Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.From the Hardcover edition.
A glimpse inside
The Illusion of Foresight
Gilbert argues that humans are uniquely obsessed with imagining their futures, but our predictions about what will make us happy are consistently flawed. This is due to the way our brains simulate future experiences—often filling in gaps with assumptions, biases, and projections from our present state. As a result, we overestimate the impact of future events, both positive and negative, on our long-term happiness.
The Limits of Imagination
Our minds struggle to accurately imagine how we’ll feel in unfamiliar situations. We tend to rely on our current emotions and circumstances, which leads to 'presentism'—the tendency to project our present feelings onto the future. This explains why people often misjudge how happy or unhappy they’ll be after major life changes, such as a new job, relationship, or move.
Ratings at a glance
Open Library
★ 3.9 / 5
12 ratings
✦
Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1The Illusion of Foresight
- 2The Limits of Imagination
- 3Memory’s Deceptive Nature
- 4The Impact Bias
- 5The Surprising Adaptability of Happiness
Popular quotes from Stumbling on Happiness
“The human being is the only animal that thinks about the future.”
“We treat our future selves as though they were our children, spending most of our lives constructing tomorrows that we hope will make them happy.”
Frequently asked
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 psychol