{"id":15411,"date":"2011-01-16T12:35:13","date_gmt":"2011-01-16T10:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=15411"},"modified":"2011-01-16T12:35:13","modified_gmt":"2011-01-16T10:35:13","slug":"happiness-the-opiate-of-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=15411","title":{"rendered":"Happiness: The Opiate of the People?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><object id=\"flashObj\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" classid=\"clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0\"><param   name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/c.brightcove.com\/services\/viewer\/federated_f9?isVid=1&#038;isUI=1\" \/><param name=\"bgcolor\" value=\"#FFFFFF\" \/><param name=\"flashVars\" value=\"videoId=717837196001&#038;playerID=651017566001&#038;playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAGuNzXFE~,qu1BWJRU7c26MMkbB19ukwmFB5ysvYz5&#038;domain=embed&#038;dynamicStreaming=true\"   \/><param name=\"base\" value=\"http:\/\/admin.brightcove.com\" \/><param name=\"seamlesstabbing\" value=\"false\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"swLiveConnect\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowScriptAccess\" value=\"always\" \/><\/object><br \/>\nSure happiness is great, but what about groundbreaking yet tortured artists and unhappy but principled workaholic reformers? And is the theory of positive psychology fodder for governments to make citizens responsible for their own happiness despite material deficiencies? Tal Ben Shahar, author of Happier, takes on these arguments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sure happiness is great, but what about groundbreaking yet tortured artists and unhappy but principled workaholic reformers? And is the theory of positive psychology fodder for governments to make citizens responsible for their own happiness despite material deficiencies? Tal Ben Shahar, author of Happier, takes on these arguments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presentations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":140733,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=140733","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":0},"title":"Stop Trying to Be Nice All the Time","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"30\/03\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/-TxzW4eklEU Nearly all of us wish to be known as 'nice' people. Yet our happiness may depend on a willingness to be \u2014 at points \u2014 strategically selfish.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-trying-to-be-nice-all-the-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-trying-to-be-nice-all-the-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-trying-to-be-nice-all-the-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-trying-to-be-nice-all-the-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/stop-trying-to-be-nice-all-the-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133608,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=133608","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":1},"title":"What is Happiness?","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"07\/09\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5f0ilA4tjJ0 via","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-happiness.jpg?fit=480%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11563,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=11563","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":2},"title":"The Happy Planet Index","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"31\/08\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Statistician Nic Marks asks :why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people??? A very interesting TED TALK","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22557,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=22557","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":3},"title":"7 rules for making more happiness","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"18\/06\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Using simple, delightful illustrations, designer Stefan Sagmeister shares his latest thinking on happiness -- both the conscious and unconscious kind. His seven rules for life and design happiness can (with some customizations) apply to everyone seeking more joy.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43395,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=43395","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":4},"title":"Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we share","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"03\/01\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment.\" In a talk equal parts eloquent and devastating, writer Andrew Solomon takes you to the darkest corners of his mind during the years he battled depression. That\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54348,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=54348","url_meta":{"origin":15411,"position":5},"title":"Oliver Burkeman: The Negative Path to Happiness and Success","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"15\/10\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Oliver Burkeman: The Negative Path to Happiness and Success from 99U on Vimeo. \"Get motivated!\" and \"stay positive!\" are common bits of self-help advice. But have we gone too far in our penchant for positivity? Leaning on research (including a story about Mount Everest climbers), reporter and author Oliver Burkeman\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}