Am I content to die alone?
Humans are unique in the way that they can simulate and predict what will make them happy on a conscious level.
For example, even with out actually trying it we know that Steak and ice-cream will not taste nice together. This is the brains experience simulator at work.
The problem is that the simulator has a critical flaw called the "impact bias".
If I asked you if you would be happier if you:
A) lost both legs in a accident
B) won £10,000,000
you would probably chose "B". However you would be wrong!
There is a lot of data collected on groups like this and when they are asked how happy they are, after their big cash win or loss of both legs, both groups a equally happy with their lives!
This is the "Impact bias": the tendency for people to vastly over estimate the intensity and duration with which any event will impact upon them.
This effect occurs in relationships, jobs, illness, winning competitions or elections etc etc. In fact, it occurs in almost everything that can effect us.
A study in 2004 concluded that any major injury, with a few exceptions, has no impact on overall happiness with in 4 weeks. Even loss of limbs.
This is because happiness can be synthesized. It's a kind of psychological immune system and everyone has it. You can see examples of this everywhere.
For example:
A few years ago a 78 year old man was released from prison after being found innocent of the crime he had been locked away in his 20s.
Whilst in prison all his former friends and family from his youth had died, or where in old persons homes. Upon release he was interviewed by members of the press. When asked how his experience had been, her replied "I don't regret anything about my life, it was a glorious experiance."
Another example is Harry.S.Langerman. In 1949 Harry saw one of the first ever burger stands in NewYork. He thought it was a fantastic idea and wanted to buy the buisness. He asked his brother, who worked in a bank, for a loan and his brother said "No! no one will eat burgers you idiot!". Someone else bought the business and went on to become the richest man in America. When asked how he felt, Harry replied "I believe it turned out for the best".
There are millions of people just like that who are happy. We can learn the secret of happiness from them.
The secret to a happy life is to lose your chance to become a millionaire and spend all your life in prison.
Now you are all probably saying "YER RIGHT!"
and rolling your eyes . This is because when people synthesize happiness other people say "YER RIGHT!
you never really wanted the job" or "YER RIGHT!
you didn't really like her". People think that synthetic happiness is of a lower quality than natural happiness. Natural happiness is when we get what we want; synthetic happiness is what we make when we don't get what we want. Everyone thinks that the happiness from getting what you want is bigger, but as studies show; that's not true.
So why do we think synthetic happiness is inferior? The answer is simple: if people knew that they could be just as happy if they didn't get what they want, the economy would break down. A supermarket full of Buddhist monks would never sell anything because they would not want things enough.
The fact is that synthetic happiness is just as real and just as enduring as natural happiness and this can be proves scientifically. One proof is the "free choice parodime":
6 objects are brought in and the subject ranks them according to how much they like them.
They are then given a choice of two that they don't like to take home.
After 6 weeks they are shown all 6 objects and asked to rank them again.
In every case they rank the item they own higher than they did before. This is because they have synthesized happiness about that item.
Now you might say "YER RIGHT!
" that's just a case of sour grapes, they don't really like the objects more". However the experiment was repeated with patients that had Anterograde Amnesia i.e. they could not make new memories. They could not remember that they did not get the painting they wanted and they cant remember which painting they own, but the results where still the same! They still like the painting that the don't know they own and they don't know they chose more! They are synthasising happiness and "YER RIGHT!
" is not the right response.
That 78 year old man who was near death after a lifetime of wrongful imprisonment was genuinely happy. "YER RIGHT!
" is not the right response.
Some people synthesize happiness more than others, but all of us can. We all make happiness our selves. Without trying we make the one thing that most of us spend all our lives chasing.
So, Am I content to die alone?
Yes! it may sound bad now, but that's just the "impact bias" at work, but when it comes to it comes down to the moment almost all people would be just as content dieing alone.
Sorry about length!