The Surprising Science of Happiness

                                                       

It has been always known that happiness is achieved differently depending on what pleases people. However, professor Dan Gilbert provides a deep analysis of true happiness in his Ted Talk, “Surprise Science of Happiness”. Upon research, he was able to discover that humans can test things out in the brain before actually doing it. This evolutionary adaptation has influenced us majorly.

As Gilbert continued speaking about how if we were told about a made-up flavor like if Ben and Jerry’s were to make a “liver and onion” ice cream, we would have the ability to test in our brain and automatically know that it will be disgusting. Nevertheless, it is not as simple as this. It is actually furthermore complex. Whereupon we might believe that something would bring us great happiness over another thing, which might not be the real case. As Gilbert further inquired, “tell me which one you think you might prefer. One of them is winning the lottery. This is about 314 million dollars. And the other is becoming paraplegic” (02:11-18). When being asked this question, the first answer we have is of course the lottery ticket and we start to question and wonder who wants to become paraplegic. However, according to data, Gilbert concluded that after a year of winning the money and a year after losing the usage of their legs, both people were equally happy. Hence, it is evident that our ability to test out how things would turn out to be is not always an advantage, since we can have bad events happening to us, yet when time is given, happiness is found. And this, according to Gilbert, is synthesizing happiness.

                                                    

Synthetic happiness is a very real type of happiness, as real as the kind we stumble upon when we get something we want. Synthesizing happiness is when we find the positives and work our best to find joy in what we got, rather than dwelling over what we didn't get. It allows us to understand the values in life. We look for these small things to appreciate since it is irreversible and we can’t go on with our lives living in complete misery. Gilbert gives a great example of the process of synthesizing happiness, when he said, “This is the difference between dating and marriage. You go out on a date with a guy, and he picks his nose; you don't go out on another date. You're married to a guy and he picks his nose? He has a heart of gold. Don't touch the fruitcake! You find a way to be happy with what's happened” (14:41-57). Synthetic happiness is about accepting what has happened and finding a way to make the best thing that has ever happened.

                                         

As I watched Gilbert talk about how to find the little happiness in everything, I started to think when was the moment that I synthesized happiness in it. I couldn’t find it, or maybe because I am thinking too hard about it. Yet, what I keep remembering is that every time something bad happened to me, I would get sad, and then I would simply just accept it. However, had I found a little happiness in every bad thing that happened, maybe my life now would have overflowing happiness in it. Thus, I believe that Gilbert’s words were a wake-up call to remind us to search for those small things that bring happiness because, without it, we would wither away.