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• 2 people find this helpful

  • Regular dosage recommended!

  • Excellent synthesis of the research and findings on what makes people happy. Mind you, this is not a rosy, tacky self-help book. Better yet, the author lays out how the wiring of our brain produces flawed memories and flawed predictions even though it is extremely effective at keeping us alive.

    ... Continue

    Excellent synthesis of the research and findings on what makes people happy. Mind you, this is not a rosy, tacky self-help book. Better yet, the author lays out how the wiring of our brain produces flawed memories and flawed predictions even though it is extremely effective at keeping us alive.

    I have always loved to read about clever yet straightforward tests used by psychologists to uncover human instincts, and there are plenty of the best ones quoted in this book. Although the author at times glide over complex logic a bit too effortlessly (I'd attribute it mostly to my slow comprehension though), on the whole this book is highly entertaining and enlightening.

    I'll probably read it every few years to remind myself how to avoid making myself unhappy. For the price of a book, I think I have saved myself tons of potential fees for therapy!

    

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• ― s tsui said on Jul 27, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • It is not an easy book to read - it requires a lot of thinking and interpreting, definitely not something you read at bedtime. What bothered me most was put best by the author himself:
    "My friends tell me that I have a tendency to point out problems without offering solutions...", which preci ... Continue

    It is not an easy book to read - it requires a lot of thinking and interpreting, definitely not something you read at bedtime. What bothered me most was put best by the author himself:
    "My friends tell me that I have a tendency to point out problems without offering solutions...", which precisely the weakness of this book. I am not at all suggesting that any human being will be able to find a brilliant solution that helps with the quest for happiness, but I would expect at least some unique theory/opinion if you were going to author a book based on the subject.

    

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• ― Dora Tsang said on Mar 9, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Finale un po' deludente, forse un po' disorganizzate le informazioni, ma complessivamente interessante.

    

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• ― Caterina :) said on Dec 25, 2008 about the Hardcover edition| Add your feedback

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  • A fascinating book. Happiness is our goal in life, and we put so much effort into it. So why are we so bad at it? Well, this book will show you a whole bunch of shortcomings of your own brain that you didn't even know about. Very interesting cognitive psychology backed up by experimental findings, G ... Continue

    A fascinating book. Happiness is our goal in life, and we put so much effort into it. So why are we so bad at it? Well, this book will show you a whole bunch of shortcomings of your own brain that you didn't even know about. Very interesting cognitive psychology backed up by experimental findings, Gilbert has written a gem.

    

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• ― eel3 (eel3) said on Aug 15, 2008 | Add your feedback

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  • 其實作者在序度已經講得好清楚，依本書唔係教你點樣快樂既，佢頂籠 解釋到比你知，點解快樂會篇尋不穫。

    就好似封面打翻了一碗車厘子一樣。

    簡單ｄ來講，我地成日都錯估自己對目標達成後既反應，We are terribly lousy in predicting the future and our response!

    P. 247 onward:

    Imagination has three shortcomings:

    1. Its tendency to fill in and leave out without telling us. N ... Continue

    其實作者在序度已經講得好清楚，依本書唔係教你點樣快樂既，佢頂 籠解釋到比你知，點解快樂會篇尋不穫。

    就好似封面打翻了一碗車厘子一樣。

    簡單ｄ來講，我地成日都錯估自己對目標達成後既反應，We are terribly lousy in predicting the future and our response!

    P. 247 onward:

    Imagination has three shortcomings:

    1. Its tendency to fill in and leave out without telling us. No one can imagine every feature and consequence of a future event, hence, we must consider some and fail to consider others. The problem is that the features and consequences we failed to consider are often quite important.

    2. Its tendency to project present onto the future. When imagination paints a picture of the future, many of the details are necessarily missing, and imagination solves this problem by filling in the gaps with details that it borrows from the present. e.g., you cannot imagine hunger when you are full.

    3. Imagination fails to recognize that things will look different once they happen - in particular, that bad things will look a whole lot better. Our psychological immune system will be triggered when disasters fall on us.

    

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• ― Samsara (samsarablog) said on Sep 14, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • I listened to this book, read by the author. Very nice insight into my thoughts and decision making processes.

    

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• ― Toothcentral said on Jul 27, 2007 about the Audio CD edition| Add your feedback

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 patients remember long medical procedures as being less painful than short ones? Why do home sellers demand prices they wouldn’t dream of paying if they were home buyers? Why are shoppers happier when they can’t get refunds? 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, witty, and accessible 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. Vividly bringing to life the latest scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, Gilbert 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. 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.

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Psychology & Psychiatry / 心理學 & 精神醫學 (296)

• happinesscognitive sciencesciencenonfictionTakeoverpsychologyPsychology/PsychiatryAcademicnon-fictionread
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