Science Fictions Episode 88: Wellbeing
Oct 21, 2025
The quest for happiness takes center stage as the hosts delve into the midlife crisis theory and its contentious research. They unravel the U-shaped happiness curve and the cultural impact of this idea. Exploring the flaws in wellbeing studies, the conversation highlights key critiques of popular claims. The discussion also reveals conflicting results on midlife unhappiness across cultures. Finally, the hosts challenge traditional measures of wellbeing, prompting listeners to reconsider how happiness is defined and assessed.
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Midlife Crisis Narrative Is Under Scrutiny
- The common belief that middle age is the unhappiest (the U-shaped curve) is widely known and influences culture like the midlife crisis trope.
- The podcast challenges this idea and previews debate over whether that pattern is real or an artifact of methods.
Fredrickson Lozada Paper Debunked
- Nick Brown and Alan Sokal exposed major flaws in a celebrated positive-psychology paper using outsider scrutiny and math checking.
- The hosts highlight how prominent academics can publish persuasive but mistaken claims that later unravel.
Blanchflower's Large Study Made The U-Shape Famous
- David (Danny) Blanchflower's large-sample studies originally found an inverted U of depression across ages, appearing in many countries.
- That result is substantial in size and replicated in some datasets, making it influential despite debate.
