4 ms·

That's a necessary feature. The best translation of "happy" in different countries can have very different connotations.

euroderf 10mo ago
That's why the ladder idea seems good: relatively mistranslation-proof. For Finland, discussion seems to hinge on whether "happiness" is "close enough" to "contentedness".
- yencabulator 10mo ago
  I'm a Finn. I personally interpret that survey as Finland being the least unhappy place. There's a social safety net, health care is taken care of, you know your life won't get destroyed by the slightest misfortune, you get a good education for free, your surroundings are generally safe and well maintained, you feel safe & are fairly certain nothing bad will happen, there are people around you who share your values, life is good. Things that for example the article author's favorite USA does not have. But of course a Murkin' can't accept that. I fully expect him to gripe that somehow the Corruption Perceptions Index is also somehow unfair to his favorite country too, and just cannot be right. You had me at blaming "elites".
  - euroderf 10mo ago
    Kind of a "Minimax" interpretation. Whereas in the USA, when you hit bottom it's so low that you probably ain't comin' up again.
  - philipallstar 10mo ago
    [flagged]
    - euroderf 10mo ago
      > defence and medical advancement research These are America's choices. And it's America's choice whether to wield these in world-leading competitiveness or as ossified self-serving bureaucracy. Other countries make other choices about where to do world-leading R&D (that Americans can take advantage of as lower prices). Chinese solar, for example.
      - philipallstar 10mo ago
        > These are America's choices Yes, and now they're starting to choose differently. Which is a shame, because shaming a country for acting in the worlds self-interest is a very strange thing to do.
    - Giefo6ah 10mo ago
      You should probably check where Finland is in a map before talking about hard to defend borders…
      - yencabulator 10mo ago
        And maybe check what Finland is doing with its military and what happened around World War II before saying that USA pays "most of our defense". What's really rich is Americans deciding they no longer like their self-assigned World Police role, and managing to blame their supposed allies for that. Never underestimate the quality of Russian psyops, I guess.
        philipallstar 10mo ago
        What Finland had during WW2 is not relevant to the value the US has provided all Western countries by making shipping lanes safe for the last 75 years.

euroderf 10mo ago

That's why the ladder idea seems good: relatively mistranslation-proof. For Finland, discussion seems to hinge on whether "happiness" is "close enough" to "contentedness".

yencabulator 10mo ago
I'm a Finn. I personally interpret that survey as Finland being the least unhappy place. There's a social safety net, health care is taken care of, you know your life won't get destroyed by the slightest misfortune, you get a good education for free, your surroundings are generally safe and well maintained, you feel safe & are fairly certain nothing bad will happen, there are people around you who share your values, life is good. Things that for example the article author's favorite USA does not have. But of course a Murkin' can't accept that. I fully expect him to gripe that somehow the Corruption Perceptions Index is also somehow unfair to his favorite country too, and just cannot be right. You had me at blaming "elites".
- euroderf 10mo ago
  Kind of a "Minimax" interpretation. Whereas in the USA, when you hit bottom it's so low that you probably ain't comin' up again.
- philipallstar 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - euroderf 10mo ago
    > defence and medical advancement research These are America's choices. And it's America's choice whether to wield these in world-leading competitiveness or as ossified self-serving bureaucracy. Other countries make other choices about where to do world-leading R&D (that Americans can take advantage of as lower prices). Chinese solar, for example.
    - philipallstar 10mo ago
      > These are America's choices Yes, and now they're starting to choose differently. Which is a shame, because shaming a country for acting in the worlds self-interest is a very strange thing to do.
  - Giefo6ah 10mo ago
    You should probably check where Finland is in a map before talking about hard to defend borders…
    - yencabulator 10mo ago
      And maybe check what Finland is doing with its military and what happened around World War II before saying that USA pays "most of our defense". What's really rich is Americans deciding they no longer like their self-assigned World Police role, and managing to blame their supposed allies for that. Never underestimate the quality of Russian psyops, I guess.
      - philipallstar 10mo ago
        What Finland had during WW2 is not relevant to the value the US has provided all Western countries by making shipping lanes safe for the last 75 years.