Olivia Bloom

Professor Debra Jizi

UWRT 1102
22 February 2016
Double Entry Journal
Citation: The Surprising Science of Happiness-Dan Gilbert TED Talks
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)

Responses

It turns out the pre-frontal cortex does lots

I do this all the time, whether it is something

of things, but one of the most important

silly or something serious. I am always

things it does is an experience simulator

simulating the way something can happen in

Human beings have this marvelous

my head. I find it so interesting that we can do

adaptation that they can actually have

that.

experiences in their heads before they try

them out in real life. (min. 1:06)
Because the fact is that a year after losing

I think this is very true. Both of these people

the use of their legs, and a year after

had 2 life changing things happen to them,

winning the lotto, lottery winners and

the lottery winner was probably very happy at

paraplegics are equally happy with their

first and the paraplegic was probably very

lives. (min. 2:47)

sad. After they got used to and went on with

their lives they went back to that set point in
life and they were equally happy.

has revealed something really quite

I think this is very startling, because it shows

startling to us, something we call the "impact us we do see things worse than they actually
bias," which is the tendency for the

are. Or maybe even better. Then it will take

simulator to work badly. For the simulator to

us even longer to get back to that set point.

make you believe that different outcomes

are more different than in fact they really
are. (min. 3:04)
, passing or not passing a college test, on Im glad someone else sees that not passing
and on, have far less impact, less intensity

a college test isnt as bad as it really is. Even

and much less duration than people expect

though in reality it really hurts your grade in

them to have. (min. 3:31)

the class which can then hurt your GPA,

which then it hurt your opportunity of getting
into a program you need to get in.

We smirk because we believe that synthetic I like this quote because it is very true, we
happiness is not of the same quality as what

think the two kinds of happiness arent the

we might call "natural happiness Natural

same quality of happiness. If we dont get

happiness is what we get when we get what

what we want we have to move on and still be

we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what

happy it should be the same level of

we make when we don't get what we

happiness as it is when we do get what we

wanted. And in our society, we have a

want.

strong belief that synthetic happiness is of

an inferior kind. (min. 8:04-8:36)
It turns out that freedom -- the ability to

This is true because if you can change your

make up your mind and change your mind --

mind to choose something that would make

is the friend of natural happiness, because it

you happy, something you decide, would be

allows you to choose among all those

natural happiness. That freedom to choose is

delicious futures and find the one that you

the enemy to synthetic happiness because if

would most enjoy. But freedom to choose, to you change your mind and end up disliking
change and make up your mind, is the

something you chose you have to be happy

enemy of synthetic happiness. (min. 13:43)

because you chose it and its your fault.

You go out on a date with a guy, and he

I just like this analogy he used here. It makes

picks his nose; you don't go out on another

everything make sense. I dont understand

date. You're married to a guy and he picks

the fruitcake example, but other than that it

his nose? He has a heart of gold. Don't

makes you understand you have the freedom

touch the fruitcake! You find a way to be

to make yourself happy.

happy with what's happened. (min. 14:56)

When our ambition is bounded, it leads us

I think this is true just because if we think we

to work joyfully. When our ambition is

can get away with something we will do

unbounded, it leads us to lie, to cheat, to

anything to do it, but if we know there is no

steal, to hurt others, to sacrifice things of

other way then we do it because we want to

real value. (min. 20:12)

an wont complain. We think if we can get

happiness as fast as possible we wont lose
anything but we actually do, we lose the
experience it took to get there.