July 13, 2011
Daniel Gilbert’s “Reporting Live from Tomorrow”
Section 1
1. What does Gilbert think is wrong or misleading about the reply “Que sera, sera”? Why does he use it at the beginning of the article?
Gilbert doesn’t think the teacher’s response was wise or helpful. He mentions that the child did the right think of asking for the teacher’s advice. This is one of our benefits of being social and linguistic we can ask others for their experiences, rather then figuring it out for ourselves. I think Gilbert starts the chapter with this so the reader can connect right away. Most people have been in the situation where we ask some one for advice or help and expected them to give us advice, that’s is more useful then a “Que sera, sera” responds.
2. Why does Gilbert suggest that we ask others for information to inform our decisions?
Gilbert believes that other people’s experiences and options can inform us better about or own decisions. Our ability to communicate with others should help us solve or doubts, but we don’t take advantage of it. Gilbert compares humanity to a “living library of information about what it feels like to do just about anything that can be done. “ But we Americans are still making bad decision. Gilbert proves his point with this information, “average Americans moves more then six times, changes jobs more than ten times and marries more then once.” We need to take advantage of our library cards and communicate with each other more. (Gilbert pg6)
3. What two reasons does Gilbert give for why we still make bad decisions?
There are two possibilities of why we make bad decisions in our lives. One of them is that when we ask for advice its either wrong and we listen, or good advice and we completely ignore it. Most of us probably ignore both advices. I believe our American society is all about ignoring, especially when it comes from older people who have experienced a similar situation, we close or minds to their opinions and think that our situations are totally different. We can’t imagine some one was in our situation.
Section 2: Super-replicators
4. What is a super-replicator gene? How does Gilbert use this biological concept to illustrate the transmission of beliefs in our culture?
A super replicator gene is the strong dominated gene that passes on and as it replicates it gains more power. The gene replicating processes’ is very similar in how beliefs became strong and quickly spread. Beliefs work very efficiently because once you have a belief; you want everyone to think like you. This belief processes quickly becomes a cycle that involves every one around it. .
5. Why can false beliefs be replicated just as easily as accurate beliefs?
Wrong or right beliefs are part of the same transmission process. When you belief something that doesn’t mean it is real or false you are just convinced. The same process happens beliefs are passed down from person to person and eventually forms its own “means of transmission”. As more people support a belief the more that join it and think its true.
6. Why is money a false super-replicator belief, according to Gilbert’s research?
Gilbert thinks that money is not going to make people happy, he agrees with this belief and gives many examples to prove it. His researched concluded that money only makes humans happy when they live in very poor conditions and are put into the middle class. However, Americans who live in the middle upper class are not much happier then those how live in the upper class. Gilbert explains that after you have reached a point “the rest of you money is an increasingly useless piles of paper”. (Gilbert pg8)
Declining marginal utility
7. Do you think gilberts claim about money and children is true? Is it well supported by evidence?
I believe that both money and children can make me happy. I know I’m going to spend many hours on both but the rewards are satisfactory. When you balance you time and work there is no need why to think they wont bring happiness. I agree that society has indoctrinated us to think that money is success. I feel that there is more propaganda about birth controls that prompts couples to wait and think twice before starting a family. I don’t think we compare family with happiness as much as we used to. Gilbert did provided evidence for all of the points he mentions. His studies show that married couples are happier with our children. And money only makes very poor people happy when they are move in to the middle class.
Finding the solution
8. What is surrogate? Why does Gilbert think we should use them more?
Surrogators in this chapter are people who predict things according to previous experiences. Gilbert thinks we are better off predicting based on some ones experience, instead of imaging things for our own. He doesn’t think we can predict or emotions correctly.





9. What are the 3 problems with imagination?
There are there 3 shortcomings of why our imagination is not reliable. “We fill in leave out without telling us.” When we are in hot situations we fail to imagine or predict the real consequence of or actions that we would normally. Our Second imagination problem is our tendency to “project the present onto the future”. When we imagine our self in the future we tend to miss out many thing but we fill in the gaps with thing from the present. The third imagination problem is that we fail to recognize that things will look a lot different after they happen. When we think something bad is going to happen we exaggerate and imagine the worst. A good example for this is when a loving one dies, we think we will never get over it but its really not that bad time heels everything.
10. Why is surrogate better than our own imaginations?
I think our imaginations are similar to dreams, not very realistic and when we are making important decisions it’s better to understand other people’s points of views. Predicting the out come of something after you have heard people’s experience makes your predictions more realistic. We should learn from others, this will saves us time.
Rejecting the solution
11. Why don’t we like the idea of using surrogate to inform our decisions?
We know the solution to our imagination/prediction problem but our biggest mistake is that we think we are to unique! We can’t accept that other people have gone through the same problems and are similar to us. We need to learn to take peoples advice and listen. I don’t think we all have the same emotional response, but I do believe its better to predict things after you have heard other results.
12. What are the 3 reasons why we think we’re all special?
First, according to Gilbert we are special because we only know ourselves very well. Second we enjoy thinking of ourselves and thirdly we overestimate are uniqueness. We think we are better then average people and super different from one another. This is depressing because you will never want to talk or take advice of the “average people” because you feel more dominate. There are so many things we are missing out by putting up “uniqueness boundaries”.

Onward
13. Why do cultural ideas present themselves as [false] prescription of happiness?
We are puppets of society they eventually make us to believe what they want. But when things are presented as happiness, beliefs are transmitted faster to every one regarding if they are real or false.

14. What do you think we should do with the information Gilbert presents? What we can learn from it?
I think he wants us to reflect and realize that we are being manipulated by society and media. Most of American work to became successful and happy but media has leaded us to think that money is success we want. Through out the chapter I think Gilbert is encouraging us to get out or everyday work cycles, that are not make us very happy, and meet people. Learn about their experiences success, failures and hopefully learn knew thing that can help us predict our future and happiness, better.

Precis


July 12, 2011
In the article, “Everybody Have Fun” (2010), experienced writer Elizabeth Kolbert informs what we should do with happiness research. The author supports her claim by analyzing “The Politics of Happiness: What Government can Learn from the New Research on Well Being”, “Happiness Around the World: The Paradox of Happiness and Miserable Millionaires” and “Stumbling on Happiness”. As a result of reading this text, the author wants readers to reflect and understand that. “Happiness is a good thing just; it’s just not the only thing” The author creates an informative relationship with educated readers of The New Yorker Magazine.

In the article, “Dear Graduates: Money is Means”(2006) writer Daniel Akst asserts that money will buy you a better life. The author support this assertion by exampling the personal benefits; good relationships, better educations and good health. As a result of reading this text, the author wants readers to acknowledge the benefits of money but it’s our natural disposition to be happy or not. The author creates a reflective relationship with readers of The New York Times.