Need to take it a few steps further. Happiness isn't about passion. Or interest. Or possessing something. Or accomplishing stuff. Happiness is by definition a

Need to take it a few steps further. Happiness isn't about passion. Or interest. Or possessing something. Or accomplishing stuff. Happiness is by definition a subjective state of mind. It can be easily manipulated. Consider for instance someone riding on a bus on a normal day who gets a phone call telling her that she has won a $70 million dollar lottery. This individual proceeds to become ecstatically happy, even though nothing has been gained or lost in that moment. 5 minutes later she finds out that this is just a crank call, now her level of happiness will be lower than it was before she got the fake news. Even though nothing has changed objectively. In the real world people generally accept that a rockstar, with many things going for him socioeconomically, can be depressed to the point of committing suicide. But don't seem to take seriously the notion that there are people who are incredibly happy but don't really have a lot going for them in socio-economic terms. On the balance, the meme that there is some sort of objective circumstance that can lead to satisfaction and happiness is required for civilization to progress. The article itself is poorly written, but links to a very good Ted talk on the issue... http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.h...