Review of Daniel Gilbert’s section of the book Stumbling on Happiness
One paragraph, briefly describing the context of the chapter, other paragraphs giving the opinion on the matter. Creative writing and critical thinking. Text provided.

asked whether they would prefer to know or not know which of the

simulated students had written each of the glowing reports in the

online chat-room study, 100 percent chose to know. In both cases,

students chose certainty over uncertainty and clarity over mystery

-despite the fact that in both cases clarity and certainty had been

The W1 sum shown to happiness. The poet John lfeats noted that whereas

A fludanvaommunm gunk, Mum great authors are capable pf being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts,

V3313 :3 without any imtable reaching after fact and reason, the rest of us are

4-7′ = W M ‘0 mm incapable of remaining content with half-knowledge.39 Our relentless

desire to lain eve that ha ns ma well distin ish us from

1* °’ M ° ° fruit flies,ebiI.:t it can ariysohliclilii our huge Y Su
Have a nice day!
Onward

The eye and the brain are conspirators, and like most conspiracies,

This is for on] theirs is negotiated behind closed doors, in the back room, outside of

1 €“ our awareness. Because we do not realize that we have generated a

positive view of our current experience, we do not realize that we will

W W? do so again in the future. Not only does our naiveté cause us to

3 The sum: scam overestimate the intensity and duration of our distress in the face of

A bludeni/Community snub: Nlianu future adversity, but it also leads us to take actions that may undermine

b Ao mm? the conspiracy. We are more lihely to generate a positive and credible

5 M Ao W, in ,0 P,.,,,.,,., view of an action than an inaction, of a painful experience than of an

p,,.4..,-. M, of gmgnmg annoying experience, of an unpleasant situation that we cannot escape

3 than of one we can. And yet, we rarely choose action over inaction, pain

49:» Have a nice (131! over annoyance, and commitment over freedom. The processes by

which we generate positive views are many: We pay more attention to

favorable information, we surround ourselves with those who provide

pi it, and we accept it uncritically. These tendencies make it easy for us to
9 explain unpleasant experiences in ways that exonerate us and make us
Uncertainty can preserve and prolong our happiness, thus we might feel 13631313 The Price We P8)’ fol 001€² irrepressible 9XP13n81°l’Y T89 is
expect people to cherish it. In fact, the opposite is generally the case. that We 0393 SPo 0111€² D1051 P1985831 3XP91€²i¢D¢85 bl’ making 8ood

When a new group of students was asked which of the two cards shown 561158 Of them-
in figure 20 would make them happier, 75 percent chose the one with Our tour of imagination has covered a lot of ground-from realism to
the meaningless explanation. Similarly, when a group of students was