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

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Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that well be miserable if we dont get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things dont go as planned.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at


Channel: Science & Technology
Uploaded: January 16, 2007 at 10:17 am
Author: TEDtalksDirector

Length: 00:22:01
Rating: 4.91
Views: 67201

Tags: "Dan Gilbert" TED TEDTalks Talks "Stumbling on Happiness" "psychological immune system" psychology neuroscience

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Video Comments:
Animalll2003lll (December 4, 2008 at 1:48 am)
synthetic hapiness still not as good as natural happiness. we do things to get the high. maybe after a while natural happiness falls back to normal and reaches synthetic hapiness level, but we still like the short burst/high. so, interesting talk, but it's a bit misleading because it doesn't talk enough about the burst/high we get. I buy a new computer, I'll be happy for at least a month. a new shirt, I'll be happy when I wear it, less and less though. so yeah. natural happiness still drives us.
scoggles (December 3, 2008 at 1:49 pm)
I wonder if this guy has read "Escape from Freedom" by Erich Fromm.
Meajaneille (December 2, 2008 at 7:55 am)
now, that keep me thinking
akulol (November 28, 2008 at 6:16 pm)
This is the best of the ted talks ive seen so far. Very interesting!
somor98 (November 22, 2008 at 10:31 am)
Really good!!
trickmastermonkey (November 18, 2008 at 4:53 pm)
Stumbling on Happiness is one of my favorite psych books of all time. and it makes me very happy to own it.

Read it and you will find out why most conventional widom is wrong and why Daniel Gilbert is da man.
blackkat888 (November 10, 2008 at 1:34 pm)
for the students with no choice of getting the other picture - it implies an ignorance towards what the other option might have brought to them.

but still they seem to be happy according tho the results..so it implies ignorant people are happier than people who over-analise their choices( they sometimes over analyse sometimes becasue their do not have comprehensive imformation to make the right decesion)
blackkat888 (November 10, 2008 at 1:23 pm)
this is why arranged marriage and being in a conservative society is better than where people fuck around and hurt their partners becvasue of selfishness and wanting to explore ither potential options, leading to divorces.
everything about indian philosphy and way of life is great. unlike the west where 99% of them has an undeserving attitude in the way in which the talk and act - which is the only thing that is noticed if u happen to be there.
kubikmaster (November 29, 2008 at 5:23 am)
and yet, all the indians I know behave as classless asholes when they come to the west
vixenscars (November 3, 2008 at 2:47 pm)
I liked this video, it was revealing.