Archive for July, 2008
Happiness is…?, Part Two
July 24th, 2008(This post is part two of a two-part series on the book “Gross National Happiness” by Arthur Brooks and, therefore, an analysis of what kind of people are happy and why. Part one mostly presented the data and objections to that data. Part two will suggest what to do, given the data and possible responses to the material. Reading part one is essential to understanding this post, so if you haven’t, I strongly recommend doing so first.)
The most important thing to remember while reading this post is the last paragraph from the end of the introduction to …
Happiness is…?, Part One
July 17th, 2008(This week’s post is the first in a two-part series on what makes people happy, why, and what to do about it. The first part, as usual, is an explanation and summary of the relevant data. The second part will suggest ways, in light of these data, to be happier.)
Happiness is a big deal to me. I’ve read a couple of books on the topic already, and both were quite enlightening. The first, “Stumbling on Happiness” (Daniel Gilbert), was about how bad we were at predicting how happy things will make us. The second, “The …
Stimulating Conversation
July 10th, 2008Unless you live under a rock (or outside the US) you’ve probably heard about the “Economic Stimulus Act of 2008″. If you made at least a little money (but not too much) last year and paid some taxes, you’re entitled to between 300 and 1,200 dollars, depending on how many children you have and such. Apparently the last checks go out tomorrow, unless the early start on stimulus checks has affected those dates. You can figure out how much you’re supposed to get here.
If you’re up on your taxes, student loans, and child support, that is …
War is Hell
July 4th, 2008Recently my twin brother (and Ed-itor) Ed turned me on to an excellent book called “What Every Person Should Know About War”, by Chris Hedges. Hedges is a long-time foreign correspondent for the New York Times, and his goal was to write an unglamorous, no-nonsense, meticulously researched book on the facts of war. (He’s covered many wars in the past, and was even captured for a week in Iraq.) The book is quite short at 120 pages (I’m not including the extensive notes), terse, and has “very few adjectives”. If you’re looking for the latest spy …