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>You can buy a bigger and bigger house car tv stereo whatever, but it will not make you happy. Well that seems like an assumption! Plenty of people are happier

>You can buy a bigger and bigger house car tv stereo whatever, but it will not make you happy. Well that seems like an assumption! Plenty of people are happier with nicer things. I don't think we need to tell people what should make them happy.

incanus77 9mo ago
Sure, but wisdom can be shared about what is less likely to make you happy.
dorfsmay 9mo ago
But commercialism keeps telling people that only nicer things can make them happy.
joquarky 9mo ago
That happy feeling only lasts about six weeks. Happiness is unsustainable. However, contentment is an attainable goal.
- artdigital 9mo ago
  I bought a bigger nicer TV (the biggest I ever bought) about 4 years ago and it still brings me joy to this day every time I use it So no, not only 6 weeks
  - globular-toast 9mo ago
    My 14" portable CRT I had when I was a teenager gave me joy every time I used it. My first car cost me less than 2k and gave me joy for 5 years. You are now unable to get joy from a TV smaller than the largest one you've ever bought. Many people are unable to get joy from a car costing under 10k, let alone 2k. The things you own end up owning you.
    - nl 9mo ago
      You are putting words in their mouth there. You seem very sure about what does and doesn't make other people happy!
  - throw0101a 9mo ago
    > I bought a bigger nicer TV (the biggest I ever bought) about 4 years ago and it still brings me joy to this day every time I use it n=1. For the general population: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
toomanyrichies 9mo ago
> Plenty of people are happier with nicer things. Are they truly happier, in the sense of being more content? Or are they just deriving more temporary pleasure from the hedonic treadmill they're on? You can probably tell which one it is, by how long their happiness with their house / car / TV / fill-in-the-blank lasts, before they start thinking about trading up to an even nicer fill-in-the-blank. Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard wrote a great book on happiness, here's an excerpt I enjoy which talks about the difference between pleasure and happiness, in two parts. [1] [2] 1. https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the-great-mix-up-part-1/ https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the... 2. https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the-great-mix-up-part-2/ https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the...
- pm90 9mo ago
  This is a deeply personal decision and I categorically reject any kind of moralization around frugality.
  - toomanyrichies 9mo ago
    Fair enough on the personal decision part. I'm less interested in telling people what to do and more interested in whether the premise ('nicer things = happier') actually tracks with how human satisfaction works. The research suggests it often doesn't, which seems worth knowing regardless of what you choose to do with that information. [1] 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/690806/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/690806/
  - simgt 9mo ago
    It's a bit more than just a personal decision. Overconsumption is ruining our environment, which we collectively have to share.
  - throw0101a 9mo ago
    > This is a deeply personal decision and I categorically reject any kind of moralization around frugality. It's not a bout moralizing but recognizing how the reward centres of the human brain work: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill I would recommend the recently published book The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel, or check out the interviews he's done in recent months on it: * https://collabfund.com/blog/my-new-book-the-art-of-spending-money/ https://collabfund.com/blog/my-new-book-the-art-of-spending-... It's not about being frugal or cheap or spendy, but on recognizing human psychology and what actually brings most people happiness. See also the 85-year Harvard study on the topic: * https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11575524/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11575524/ * https://the-good-life-book.com https://the-good-life-book.com * https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-8...
jdhsgsvsbzbd 9mo ago
[flagged]
AngryData 9mo ago
Yeah but what is meaningfully "nicer" becomes and exponentially more expensive and ends up being mostly wasted value. And by time someone has to start actually worrying about such questions they have enough free capital to spend that they can have a high quality version of almost anything anyone would want to possess or use other than pure displays of wealth. Maybe if the basic needs on the average person were taken care of then random displays of extravagant wealth would be acceptable. But when something as simple as getting a rotten tooth extracted or a filling on a front tooth is too much "luxury" for many working class citizens, it is a complete misallocation of society's resources.
tjwebbnorfolk 9mo ago
I'm happy right after I eat ice cream too. Doesn't make it a good lifestyle. Before you go on about how saying it's "good" or "not good" is a value judgement that I'm not entitled to make -- you're damn right it is, and I'll do what I want.
throw0101a 9mo ago
> Plenty of people are happier with nicer things. I don't think we need to tell people what should make them happy. They are happier… for a limited time and then want 'more': * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill 'Upgrading' things can lead down a road where problems arise: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diderot_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diderot_effect

incanus77 9mo ago

Sure, but wisdom can be shared about what is less likely to make you happy.

dorfsmay 9mo ago

But commercialism keeps telling people that only nicer things can make them happy.

joquarky 9mo ago

That happy feeling only lasts about six weeks. Happiness is unsustainable. However, contentment is an attainable goal.

artdigital 9mo ago
I bought a bigger nicer TV (the biggest I ever bought) about 4 years ago and it still brings me joy to this day every time I use it So no, not only 6 weeks
- globular-toast 9mo ago
  My 14" portable CRT I had when I was a teenager gave me joy every time I used it. My first car cost me less than 2k and gave me joy for 5 years. You are now unable to get joy from a TV smaller than the largest one you've ever bought. Many people are unable to get joy from a car costing under 10k, let alone 2k. The things you own end up owning you.
  - nl 9mo ago
    You are putting words in their mouth there. You seem very sure about what does and doesn't make other people happy!
- throw0101a 9mo ago
  > I bought a bigger nicer TV (the biggest I ever bought) about 4 years ago and it still brings me joy to this day every time I use it n=1. For the general population: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill

toomanyrichies 9mo ago

> Plenty of people are happier with nicer things. Are they truly happier, in the sense of being more content? Or are they just deriving more temporary pleasure from the hedonic treadmill they're on? You can probably tell which one it is, by how long their happiness with their house / car / TV / fill-in-the-blank lasts, before they start thinking about trading up to an even nicer fill-in-the-blank. Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard wrote a great book on happiness, here's an excerpt I enjoy which talks about the difference between pleasure and happiness, in two parts. [1] [2] 1. https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the-great-mix-up-part-1/ https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the... 2. https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the-great-mix-up-part-2/ https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/pleasure-and-happiness-the...

pm90 9mo ago
This is a deeply personal decision and I categorically reject any kind of moralization around frugality.
- toomanyrichies 9mo ago
  Fair enough on the personal decision part. I'm less interested in telling people what to do and more interested in whether the premise ('nicer things = happier') actually tracks with how human satisfaction works. The research suggests it often doesn't, which seems worth knowing regardless of what you choose to do with that information. [1] 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/690806/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/690806/
- simgt 9mo ago
  It's a bit more than just a personal decision. Overconsumption is ruining our environment, which we collectively have to share.
- throw0101a 9mo ago
  > This is a deeply personal decision and I categorically reject any kind of moralization around frugality. It's not a bout moralizing but recognizing how the reward centres of the human brain work: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill I would recommend the recently published book The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel, or check out the interviews he's done in recent months on it: * https://collabfund.com/blog/my-new-book-the-art-of-spending-money/ https://collabfund.com/blog/my-new-book-the-art-of-spending-... It's not about being frugal or cheap or spendy, but on recognizing human psychology and what actually brings most people happiness. See also the 85-year Harvard study on the topic: * https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11575524/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11575524/ * https://the-good-life-book.com https://the-good-life-book.com * https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-8...

jdhsgsvsbzbd 9mo ago

[flagged]

AngryData 9mo ago

Yeah but what is meaningfully "nicer" becomes and exponentially more expensive and ends up being mostly wasted value. And by time someone has to start actually worrying about such questions they have enough free capital to spend that they can have a high quality version of almost anything anyone would want to possess or use other than pure displays of wealth. Maybe if the basic needs on the average person were taken care of then random displays of extravagant wealth would be acceptable. But when something as simple as getting a rotten tooth extracted or a filling on a front tooth is too much "luxury" for many working class citizens, it is a complete misallocation of society's resources.

tjwebbnorfolk 9mo ago

I'm happy right after I eat ice cream too. Doesn't make it a good lifestyle. Before you go on about how saying it's "good" or "not good" is a value judgement that I'm not entitled to make -- you're damn right it is, and I'll do what I want.

throw0101a 9mo ago

> Plenty of people are happier with nicer things. I don't think we need to tell people what should make them happy. They are happier… for a limited time and then want 'more': * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill 'Upgrading' things can lead down a road where problems arise: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diderot_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diderot_effect