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Yale's online class on “The Science of Well-Being”
- krat0sprakhar 8y agoThe class starts today if anyone is interested in enrolling: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being
- educationdata 8y agoWhy does the teacher put "Well-Being" in the course title, instead of "Happiness", even when the course is totally about happiness? Does this mean happiness is the same as well-being? I highly doubt it.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- sonnyblarney 8y agoHappiness might be well associated with a specific mental state or emotion while well-being is really one's overall health. Someone who is in a very good position, and general state of well being will have bouts of every emotion, and surely won't be 'happy' in every moment. Though surely one could make the case that 'general happiness' and 'general well being' are the same thing if they wanted to.
- ne01 8y agoJust my 2.5 cents for myself. Happiness is not a good thing. It is the other side of the same coin that brings me sadness and pain. What I'm looking for is peace. Being in peace is the ultimate form of being -- the only form of being. If I'm not in peace it means I'm chasing something else. When I stop looking for anything (including peace itself) then I am... I am.
- vincentmarle 8y agoPeople who are in peace generally don't have to think much about happiness, so in that sense peace = happiness.
- ne01 8y agoBeing in peace brings me joy but no happiness. Happiness takes one's ego up and what goes up will always come down. But words are words, my joy could be your happiness.
- pkghost 8y agoWhat's wrong with chasing? The buddha didn't check out after enlightenment, he spent the rest of his life chasing the same thing for others
- ne01 8y ago> What's wrong with chasing? Absolutely nothing. In fact chasing what I truly want to chase will eventually bring me closer to myself. > Buddha didn't check out after enlightenment Buddha is not enlightened until we all are. I used to think he was a different person and I still do, only sometimes :)
- HNLurker2 8y ago>Buddha is not enlightened until we all are. I used to think he was a different person and I still do, only sometimes This gives me a Mahayana bad taste in my mouth. (THERAVADA PERSPECTIVE)
- ajawee 8y agoIf I have goals, then I will chase something. Does it mean I am not in peace.
- ne01 8y ago> Does it mean I am not in peace. No. You already have peace! Being in peace is the natural form -- the only way of being. Everything else is like a dream, created by our mind... imagined. > If I have goals, then I will chase something True, I think. Now I'm thinking... if pain is imagined... can I chase without imagining pain? I think so. I/You can do anything.
- sridca 8y agoHappiness has become a dirty word. People fail at happiness; and then start devaluating happiness itself probably to rationalize their unhappiness and also justify the consequent resorting to socially inculcated meanings. Mr. Jordan Peterson even enabled a cult following around this odd psychic adumbration. And, by the way, it goes without saying that cynicism and weariness precludes happiness.
- sridca 8y agoI thought I'd join, but the more I read the more spiritual and mumbo-jumbo the course appears. From the course overview: Week 1. Signature Strengths Week 2. Savoring & Gratitude Journal Week 3. Kindness & Social Connection Week 4. Exercise & Sleep Week 5. Meditation & Gratitude Visit Week 6. (It's a SURPRISE!) Week 7. Rewirement Challenge Part 1 Week 8. Rewirement Challenge Part 2 Week 9. Rewirement Challenge Part 3 Week 10. Rewirement Challenge Part 4 Just for starters, what's the deal with "gratitude"? Isn't that a spiritual concept? Why not go straight to the root and dislodge the root cause of resentment itself? Gratitude treats the symptoms -- it counters resentment -- but does not eliminate it. As an intelligent HNer we should not fall for these superficial traps. EDIT: So a group of people have taken to downvoting my comments, instead of intelligently addressing them. Apparently I made a blasphemy, attacking a religious concept (gratitude). LOL.
- jdavis703 8y agoI think gratitude is part of mindfulness. It means appreciating the smell of fresh air, the taste of your go to breakfast beverage, the sounds of the birds chirping or the smell of your partner. These are things we can get used to day after day, and so it’s useful to take a moment or two to appreciate them. That’s at least how I interpret it...
- shittyadmin 8y agoI mean the whole idea of "mindfulness" and "meditation" are the sort of pseudoscientific bullshit that just plain don't belong in a scientific class. Sure, they may have some benefits, but they're essentially just placebo effect. There has to be more interesting science on the topic than that...
- phkahler 8y agoI'd happily take an effective placebo. Remember, placebo effect is real and apparently the reasons for it are psychological.
- kristofferR 8y ago
- themodelplumber 8y ago> Spending less money on things that aren’t long-lasting, like extravagant gadgets and more bedsheets that I actually need. My gadgets seem like they will outlast me at this point...which is exactly what makes it hard to continue spending money on them :D (I don't buy bedsheets, is this some kind of hobby?) I do personally count ham radio as one of those "experiences plus gadgets" hobbies though; it's been a lot of fun in that way. It gives me more reasons to get out and exercise (radio play), make little trips (club breakfasts and event volunteering), and reach goals (stuff to talk about with friends). I feel like the friendships I make through the hobby are about 10x more resilient than other friendships. There is a "spin the dial" philosophy in ham radio that I have taken into other friendships. There will always be someone else to talk to, so stop hanging around as if you're stuck with your current conversation partner. If things aren't going well, give the frequency dial a spin and see who else is around.
- keyle 8y agoSadly, the article read more like "teenager discovers the things her parents failed to teach her". Sorry I'm too old for this. Maybe the class is great, but the article was uninspiring.
- tnegoshi 8y agoHmm, I agree the article was uninspiring. I looked into the course a bit more though and one of the first lectures addresses this preconception people seem to go into the course with in what the professor calls the "GI Joe Fallacy." She refers to it as "this mistaken idea that knowing is half the battle." There will undoubtedly be behavioral practices or studies in positive psychology you may have come across before, but there is a difference in knowing those things vs. putting them to use through conscious, habitual effort. I can't speak to how good the course is on that type of learned discipline, but it might be worth another go if you were interested enough to read the article.
- rchaud 8y ago> Sadly, the article read more like "teenager discovers the things her parents failed to teach her". Sorry I'm too old for this. When you were 18, how concrete was your definition of well-being? Remember, this is a class being taught at Yale, whose incoming students are likely already high achievers. On top of that, a 10% admissions rate tells incoming students that they will simply have to keep climbing the ladder of GPAs, internships, varsity sports etc. for the next 4 years, and after that, for the rest of their lives. I haven't taken this particular class, but I went through 4 years of college feeling like a failure if any one of the above "todos" didn't pan out, because it made me feel like I was closer to the bottom of the pile than the top. At that age, all you can see are the trees, not the forest Looking back, it would've been nice to have had some perspective on what it's all for. Before you know it, you've graduated, and you can't go back and try to do things differently.
- NicoJuicy 8y agoI posted it here because the summary on the course seemed likeable. Eg. - Money doesn't create happiness ( and what they don't mention: being short on money makes unhappy, my 2 cents) - never ever forget exercise, it makes you feel better and healthier - make time for friends and family, not every relationship needs to have a meaning future-wise And that related to me. Not "mumbo-jumbo" and spirituality like some comments below mention. Or my TLDR; have enough of money, you don't need plenty. Have plenty of time, you never have enough.
- dorchadas 8y ago> - Money doesn't create happiness ( and what they don't mention: being short on money makes unhappy, my 2 cents) I had this exact conversation with my uncle and dad the other day. It was basically along the lines of, "Those who say money doesn't make you happy have never been low on money trying to meet bills." Perhaps we're really cynical, but I feel this is a good point that many things don't address (though I am aware of the studies that show money does increase happiness, up to a point, around $75k USD if I remember). That said, "Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy the things that make me happy."
- logicx24 8y agoI agree with you. Money can't create happiness on its own, but as a reasonably happy person, I'd much prefer to have more money than less.
- NicoJuicy 8y agoOr it can buy experiences, it doesn't make you appreciate the little things that make it awesome though ;) In the same reasoning, most of my friends have no "lack of money", in the sense that they are'nt filthy rich. But they earn good money. I have noticed that almost none of them are jealous of each other. Which are truly the best friends to have. Don't get me started about people who complain all the time, but just want to talk the talk, without doing the walk. They won't bring joy, ever. Some people are a lot richer, so what. I would also never went to trade places with someone who is a millionaire suddenly and have all their friends change because of that single thing. Appreciating what you have is not such a rare thing ( outside of IT). But it's almost never mentioned here, everyone wants to start the next unicorn, while forgetting that a solid business/job keeps you more sane.
- EnderViaAnsible 8y agoI'm glad to hear of this class. I think I'll take it in order to see if I can learn some things I didn't know. That said, the article is very poorly written. The author appears to not have a good understanding of what constitutes standards of proof in the social sciences, and in what way studies in social sciences ought to be spoken about. (For example, they refer to a landmark Princeton study that "proved" money doesn't equal happiness, then states that some later studies with a different demographic "disproved" this. But the first study did not prove anything by most meanings of the word, nor did the second disprove it. They provided evidence, suggested conclusions, invited interpretation...etc. You can't prove lasting things about changing statistical aggregates, nor prove things about individuals based on group statistics. That is not how statistics works.) Then there is the cheesy bit where they show themselves "scoring points" on a professor who "concedes" that a car could be an experience, if you can focus on the experience of driving it...but frankly she's gently correcting them, not conceding a point. (Note that these scare quotes are my interpretation; they are not said in the article.) I do think in general that I don't like this folksy let's-pretend-the-journo-knows-nothing-because-some-readers-won't style. Perhaps it's an imperfection of mine rather than the author's. I'd rather they just tell me what they know or found out, or quote the authority, because I don't find the fact that they had a conversation with the authority human-interesting. (That is, I think they're angling for a human interest style in this sort of piece, but there is nothing of human interest in showing me you had a conversation with a person.)
- User23 8y agoThis is why I’m religious. Christianity, in accordance with scripture and tradition, is a path to mental and spiritual well-being that was tested by my ancestors for millennia. Sadly, as scripture tells us, many (most) people who claim to be Christians are wolves in sheep’s clothing. But there are plenty of wolves hiding in the guise of the other paths too. Caveat emptor.
- notfromhere 8y agoUntil very recently, your ancestors didn't have too much of a choice.
- User23 8y agoEvery single one of my ancestors, back to the first, had a choice.
- HNLurker2 8y agoAlso the dark ages, but now N(ietzs +che) predicted the down fall of Christianity a century ago which was tested by all atheist ancestors.
- User23 8y agoWestern Atheism is just another gnostic Christian heresy, because it claims direct knowledge (gnosis) of God. It's nothing new and it always fails relatively quickly.
- HNLurker2 8y agoSo was Plato and Aristotle, most respectable people who walked upon this earth?!
- User23 8y agoYou're confusing agnosticism with atheism. Atheism claims direct knowledge of God, namely that He does not exist. Agnosticism on the other hand is the position that the question cannot be answered. Plato and Aristotle's position was one of agnosticism, not gnostic atheism. By the way I consider the agnostic position to be entirely intellectually honest and defensible. I happen to believe otherwise, but a reasonable person can reach the agnostic position.
- lucas_membrane 8y agoI was part of a group that took the free on-line class together a while back. It is not well-named, being not about 'well-being', rather entirely focused on 'happiness.' In addition, as the course is given at Yale, a college community enclave, the viewpoints of the participants are somewhat peculiar to young people who are still preparing to live in a society that is not all about them. Those two, three or four times the age of the college kids will find it hard to identify.
- circlefavshape 8y ago"Subjective well-being", as far as I can tell, is psychologists' code-word for plain old happiness