a book

Stumbling on Happiness

Name: Stumbling on Happiness
Rating: 5 (15 reviews)
Author: Daniel Todd Gilbert
ISBN: 9781400077427

Daniel Todd Gilbert · 2007 · 336 pages

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Bringing to life scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, this witty, accessible book reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there.

• Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink?

• Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to regain their sight?

• Why do dining companions insist on ordering different meals instead of getting what they really want?

• Why do pigeons seem to have such excellent aim; why can’t we remember one song while listening to another; and why does the line at the grocery store always slow down the moment we join it?

In this brilliant book, renowned Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert describes the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight that cause each of us to misconceive our tomorrows and misestimate our satisfactions. With penetrating insight and sparkling prose, Gilbert explains why we seem to know so little about the hearts and minds of the people we are about to become.

recommended by 15 people

sourced from public statements

Sam Harris
“There’s a lot to be said for having kids and that really is not a rejoinder to the research that suggests that people are made, for a very long time, reliably less happy as parents. You can find this in Daniel Gilbert’s work on effective forecasting, which he summarised in a book “Stumbling upon happiness,” which is also a good book which I recommend.”↗
Malcolm Gladwell
Tim Ferriss
Ev Williams
James Clear
Derek Sivers
Maria Popova
Mark Manson
Andrew Wilkinson
Roman Krznaric
Nicholas Epley
Lisa Feldman Barrett
Brendon Burchard
Darya Rose
Matthew Taylor