Daniel Gilbert ,Stumbling on Happiness

Stumbling on Happiness

Daniel Gilbert

Knopf, May 2006, $24.00

ISBN: 1400042666

Children predict what occupation will make them happy when they grow up. That forecasting rarely holds up, because humans have a poor track record of envisaging what will make a person happy. That is the premise behind Harvard psychologist Dr. Daniel Gilbert's treatise STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS. His concept is finding happiness can be sort of like finding a needle in a haystack, as most people do not know where to start because the eye and brain do not always agree. He uses other amusing anecdotal and statistical evidence to make his case that individuals make errors when it come to deciding what will make them happy. Dr. Gilbert also employs thought provoking questions and puzzles as part of a survey to collect information and to get people to think what it is they desire. For instance, If Bergman stayed with Bogart at the end of Casablanca, would they have been happy together? Is the letter O or the number 0 easier to find in a haystack of other numbers and letters? Finally he provides steps to achieve personal happiness rather than stumble around like a drunk. Well written and easy to follow, this is a thought provoking look at how to attain happiness.