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researching happiness for 72 years and what do they find?

submitted by NeuralNoise

1 decade 4 years 11 months 2 weeks ago

from boing boing:
The June issue of The Atlantic has an article about a 72-year-long study at Harvard about how different experiences affect the health and happiness of people. Video above, full text of article here.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/happiness

Is there a formula—some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation—for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this question, following 268 men who entered college in the late 1930s through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age. Here, for the first time, a journalist gains access to the archive of one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history. Its contents, as much literature as science, offer profound insight into the human condition—and into the brilliant, complex mind of the study’s longtime director, George Vaillant.

10 Comments

This is fantastic. *promote.

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 3:07pm PDT - promote requested by arvana.

Researching wealthy happiness for 72 years.

All this presupposes that you have enough Money to 'pursue your passion' and 'follow your dreams' and 'carpe diem' and 'be yourself' and 'the world is your oyster' and all this noble self determination stuff with a happy ending.

Pity the old men who are not so fortunate to have been born into wealthy Harvard families.

These lersser lights end up in documentaries like Bum Fights.

Being wealthy has no bearing on happiness. This video proves that.

He mentioned one person who was left alone for 30 years and was almost suicidal. Rich or not, that doesn't sound happy to me.

Happiness comes from seeing the positive impact you have on people. It's not just given to you. You have to work at it.

That is just too profound. Happy to give the 10th vote.

I love the idea that when you make it about you, it's not about happiness anymore. Fascinating.

Great post.

Simple_Man says...

3:29 is fantastic. I won't spoil it for people who haven't seen the video.

I really found this video reassuring, especially as I'm coming into my own in the world. It's nice to know that things generally do pan out, no matter how confusing and scary things are now.

It wouldn't play for me.

A 72-year study to research happiness? A simple Wenn diagram would've sufficed.

I love the way he says "your life sucks".

I'd like to see a full length documentary on this study and the people involved.

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