Price of Happiness: It's Relatively Affordable

Can money really buy you happiness?

More and more research has concluded that the answer to that age old question is actually "no".

But, if there had to be a number put to it, there is a figure that the majority of folks have in mind when it comes to being happy and, interestingly enough, it's lower than you may expect. It's not one million dollars, and it's not 250 thousand dollars, the apparent price of happiness is actually right at $75,000.

Apparently anything less than $75,000 annually and folks are over-consumed with worry about debt and meeting "ends meet". Anything above $75,000 and it's not really happiness, just a compensation for a lack of happiness brought on by the problems that come with having more money.

"If survival is the primary human goal, happiness comes in at a close second," said Kip Parent, Chief Executive Office of Keirsey Research. "It's such a multifaceted emotion that is empacted by numerous variable, from personality type to age to parenting status. We wanted to learn more about who is happy and why."

According to the study, which used Keirsey's In-FlowTM "river" methodology, the happiest Americans are extroverts with an annual household income of $75,000 or slightly more. The least happy Americans are unemployed , closely followed by those who are separated by not divorced.

Source: keirseyresearch.com

Galaxiki: A Collaboration of Galactic Proportions

This is pretty cool. For all of you who enjoy the creative ventures of writing, design and/or science this might just be right up your alley. At Galaxiki.org, every star, every planet, every moon is represented by a wiki page that can be edited by members of this community. The users can make changes to star systems, they can add to planets giving them an elaborate ecosystem complete with lifeforms and write stories to give more detail. One of the main goals of the site seems to be collaboration, the idea being to require users to rely on each other to make sure their solar system histories and physical characteristics are compatible and can coexistent.

There are also growing social networking features including star system ratings, comment options, bookmarks, user awards and status updates for users.

The site requires a membership signup but this is free. However, for those out there that want to create their own solar system that can't be tampered with (though that seems to be in defiance of what they are trying to create) there is an option to get your own personal system by making a donation to the site. The very idea of the site is to reply on everyone to create these fictional worlds.

I haven't really used the site myself just yet. I haven't had the time to sit down and actually give it a try., but I am very interested in doing so. I might do an update sometime in the future if I actually get involved.

link: galaxiki.org

Oh, Canada: Get Your Vowels Straight

This post will be more of a situational blog about a moment I had this morning.

I stopped into a Panera Bread this morning and heard a funny exchange between an employee and a customer. I was in line to get some coffee and a bagel, cinnamon crunch if you were wondering, and a customer stepped up to the counter and asked for a bag. He didn't stand in line to make his request which was understandable because he just needed a bag and no one seemed to mind. But his request took a little longer than he expected. I'll transcribe the conversation that took place to the best of my memory.


Customer: Hi. Can I get a bag?

Employee: A bagel?

Customer: No, a bag.

Employee: Sorry, a baid?

Customer: ...a bag. You know a bag. (holds up an imaginary bag)

Employee: Sorry, I don't know what a baid is.

Customer: No not a bai-d. A bag. (points to one that was just given to another customer)

Employee: Oh, a bag.

Customer: Yeah, a bag.

Employee: What a funny way to say "bag". Where are you from? (hands him a bag)

This was the point in which I did a mental face-palm.

Customer: Thanks. Canada. (smiles politely and walks away)


Now aside from this exchange taking more than 5 seconds the funny part was that the customer had a particular Canadian accent which made the word bag sound more like baig. If you live in the northern states or are even just aware of Canada in general you would have known what the guy was asking for from the moment he spoke. Many of our own states in the north even share the same accent. But this is the south. If you don't speak like a southerner or mid-westerner, you're a foreigner.

I won't support the stereotype that these states, down here, are all just full of ignorant rednecks complete with the accent but this was definitely a scenario that supports that stereotype. It was obvious that the Canadian had patience for this sort of misunderstanding. But I suppose you have to when you are in a region that isn't native to your accent or pronunciation... yes, the employee's southern accent was as thick as it gets. (I am so glad I dodged that bullet living down here) I thought it was a humorous situation but it made me think on the way to my next destination. Are people down here bottled so air-tight that they aren't even familiar with the accent of our great white northern neighbor? I am a proponent for people broadening their world view and Canada seems like a good place to start for the US since it's only a border away.

I was definitely embarrassed for the employee even though she didn't seem to be embarrassed herself. Misunderstandings are... well, understandable. But this was quiet a display. It makes me wonder if some Canadians would have just as hard a time understanding someone with a southern accent.

Altruism: Feel Like Being Singled Out?

This won't be like the posts I have done so far but perhaps I will have more like it in the future; I have a tendency to obsess about topics of current interest and writing about them helps me think them through.

The topic that has been on my mind lately is the ideology of altruism. If you aren't aware of what it is or of its application I'll summarize. The most accepted definition of altruism is the principle or practice of unselfish concern or devotion to the welfare of others (link: dictionary.com). In other words it's placing another person's needs before yourself. Now, I have no dispute with this definition. It is not wrong. But it is a bit like saying the ocean is a body of water. Sure the ocean is a body of water but that is a really simple definition. The ocean is obviously so much more than just a body of water; there is much more to it. The same goes for this accepted definition of altruism. There is so much more to it than just the practice of selflessness.

I should make the point to say that altruism, at its root, is not a bad concept. What could be wrong with being selfless and thinking of others? Well, nothing. But the problem isn't with the act but with its full application. Altruism actually requires more than just a single act of kindness. The moment you revert back to selfish behavior you are no longer an altruist you are simply someone who performed a good deed, but I suppose if you wanted to argue that you committed an altruistic act I couldn't argue in turn. But that doesn't mean that you are an altruist. The concept is an absolute that, as I stated, requires complete dispensation to its requirements by definition.

As I have read more on the subject I have seen many comment debates on the matter. Many seem to think that altruism is the foundation for a moral code; that if you are completely selfless you are ultimately right and that there could be no argument against you. I don't claim to be some great philosopher but I can definitely say that pure selflessness is a flawed idea and I would go even further to say that it is evil at its root.

Let's say that you are driving down a street and see a house on fire. You hear someone say that there is a child in the house. So you rush into the burning house knowing that you could be giving your life for the sake of this child's life. But you end up coming out unharmed and with the child. Two weeks later you see another house on fire (Its a bad month for electrical fires). This time you hear someone say that there is a fireman that went inside but hasn't come out. What would you do? More than likely most people wouldn't go in after the fireman unless they were one themselves. Why? Because there is value in that this individual in the burning house is a professional fire fighter. The child from two weeks before had no such value. And this, in my opinion, is one of two issues that make altruism impossible and ultimately "evil". Altruism requires that an individual place common value on everyone accept one's own self. An altruist considers one's self expendable for the sake of others or the greater good. But how can we do this when we all have specific individual values within a society? It seems wrong to say it but some people have greater value than others and I don't mean the value of their life but the value of what they have to offer. A doctor is going to have more value than a cook if you are injured. But a cook will have more value than a doctor if you are hungry. If you have absolutely no interest in art then an artist isn't going to be worth much to you. I would argue that these individual values are part of what makes a community grow and diversify. It's the product of a healthy society, not to be confused with the sub-topic of social equality.

Where the real evil of altruism rests is in the devaluing of one's self for the sake of a community. Self-sacrifice is truly a compassionate act but when it's expected, or even demanded, it somehow seems to lose its appeal. Altruism expects self-sacrifice. (Que the cheesy music for a family-sitcom's lesson thesis) If we devalue ourselves how can we expect to understand true value? And this is ultimately where, I believe, the evil rests. Altruism requires that everyone be personally "devalued". Rational selfishness is necessary for a community to prosper and grow and that is why I believe altruism is ultimately, not only impossible, but evil.

Top Five: Books I'd Like To Write

I have often thought about writing a book. I have so many ideas in my head for stories. I am a big fan of fantasy, if it is done well, and I also enjoy historical fiction and biographical memoirs. Most of the stories/ideas I have in my head are loosely based on my own life experiences. So, if I were to write a book, which book would I write? That's the question: What are the top five books I would write?

I also realize I have very few, if any, people reading this blog so far but feel free to comment and respond the question yourself.

1.) The Lemon in the Grass - This would be an observation about people who are considered useless or defective by others or themselves. The image of a lemon, fallen from the tree, and in the grass is indicative of a person who is beyond redemption. As long as a useless person is still attached to the tree they have potential.

2.) Avant: The First Born - I have had this idea for some time (almost a decade). The genre rests somewhere between Tolkien and Lewis. The story is about a young boy growing up with expectations of his potential and position. He would be the one to join two nations together that had been at odds with one another for centuries.

3.) Common Sense for Dummies - This is pretty self explanatory. There are a lot of people out there that could benefit from a book that teaches them how to identify common sense. But then again, maybe its not something that can be taught. That's a sad thought.

4.) Roanoke - A work of fiction on the historical mystery of the disappearance of an entire settlement. I have always been interested in the mystery of their disappearance and have many ideas as to what could have happened based on the evidence that we have.

5.) Font - I love design and my favorite design tool to work with is type. Art and information achieve their greatest potential when they work in tandem with one another. But most people don't realize that what they are reading is art or the art they are admiring has information or a message within it. I would love to write a book about the value of type (font) in our modern culture. I'd also like to take a chapter to discuss how text-speak is damaging to this art and information.

Here are a few writing resources I have used if you get the urge to do some writing yourself.

www.bookwritinghelp.com

www.bookcatcher.com

www.thesaurus.com