4 ms·
If you get degenerative chronic illness are you eventually just as happy as you were before it? No, we figured this out in the 70s. Why is "Hedonic Treadmill"
by cantSpellSober 4y ago
If you get degenerative chronic illness are you eventually just as happy as you were before it? No, we figured this out in the 70s.
Why is "Hedonic Treadmill" forced into blogspam titles like these? Was there a TED Talk recently?
> Variators are little modulations that keep experiences fresh
So...variety? Mind blown.
- niek_pas 4y ago> If you get degenerative chronic illness are you eventually just as happy as you were before it? No, we figured this out in the 70s. No, but that's also not what the HT hypothesis says. The treadmill pushes you back, not forward.
- cantSpellSober 4y agoFalse, it's a tendency to return to a stable level of happiness despite positive or negative events. This doesn't happen if you get degenerative chronic illness (and it was debunked 50 years ago).
- hinkley 4y agoHedonic treadmill had been in a couple of threads last week. I suspect a mix of people being primed and noticing other articles on it and posting them here, with a dash of karma farming. And to the extent that such clusters are real or imagined, possibly a but of observer bias on my part. If the latter, then just a coincidence.
- human_person 4y agoMy understanding is happiness will revert to the baseline if you have a set loss such as going blind or losing a limb. But a degenerative illness implies continued increasing loss in which case you would not have a chance to get used to it and revert because things will just keep getting worse. I’m curious what are you saying we figured out in the 70s?
- cantSpellSober 4y agoYes they called this a "set point," like a thermostat's; also debunked. > what are you saying we figured out the Treadmill essay was wrong