Fatally flawed methodology and metrics. What is "happiness"? Did the survey define it or attempt to measure it, or just rely on subjective attestations? Is hap

Fatally flawed methodology and metrics. What is "happiness"? Did the survey define it or attempt to measure it, or just rely on subjective attestations? Is happiness really a goal of marriage? I mean, "happily married" is certainly a common phrase, and at least someone who's "happily married" isn't party to abuse, neglect, infidelity, we hope. But is "happiness" the goal? What about enjoyment of companionship (joy and pleasure are less based in emotion than concrete experience, and less subjective) and what about stability, security, and indeed the other things mentioned there, such as wealth, longevity, and good children -- are those a recipe for the elusive "happiness"? Our Constitution guarantees the right to the "pursuit of happiness", yet can't guarantee happiness itself. Is the pursuit easier, more enjoyable, more fulfilling than happiness itself? Happiness can be a fleeting emotion. I'd prefer joy and contentment, freedom from suffering, a secure future, instead of the nebulous "happiness", and I'd rather attest to those in a survey than say, I guess I'm happy for now. Furthermore, how shall we measure the impact of marriage on happiness? We can't exactly do A/B tests with the same subjects. You can't be married and not married at the same time and place. So did marriage increase their happiness, or was it due to aging, experience, childbearing, home ownership? Can science isolate marriage and measure its effects in a vacuum? Can science dissect a marriage to find out how a good one works? Should science work to develop something better than marriage, that's guaranteed to increase happiness or double your money back?