The Christmas special of the economist had a very interesting read on happiness. I am so happy I am subscribed. The elaboration about what are fallible memories of pleasure and pain is very insightful. I will think more about it.

Excerpt:Â

Happiness and economics | Economics discovers its feelings | Economist.com

Mr Kahneman, who is not shy of extrapolation, thinks people often choose to repeat experiences that seem better in retrospect than they did at the time. Contrary to Bentham, the “sovereign masters that determine what people will do are not pleasure and pain, but fallible memories of pleasure and pain.” […]

It is easier to forget yourself in some functions than in others, of course. […] This happy state, which Mr Csikszentmihalyi calls “flow”, arises most often in work that stretches a person without defeating him; work that provides “clear goals”, “unambiguous feedback” and a “sense of control”.