Finding Joy in Rare Experiences

Are we using technology to make ourselves numb? What’s the downside of air conditioning? And was Angela the most annoying person in her college classes?

• SOURCES:
  • Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.
  • Ed Diener, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois.
  • Michael Easter, author.
  • Alex Hutchinson, journalist.
  • Shigehiro Oishi, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
  • Taylor Swift, singer-songwriter.

• RESOURCES:
  • "World Happiness Report," (Gallup, 2024).
  • "How Painful Should Your Workout Be?" by Alex Hutchinson (The New York Times, 2022).
  • "Taylor Swift’s NYU Commencement Speech: Read the Full Transcript," by Hannah Dailey (Billboard, 2022).
  • The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self, by Michael Easter (2021).
  • The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning, by Paul Bloom (2021).
  • "Residents of Poor Nations Have a Greater Sense of Meaning in Life Than Residents of Wealthy Nations," by Shigehiro Oishi and Ed Diener (Psychological Science, 2014).
  • "Confusion Can Be Beneficial for Learning," by Sidney D’Mello, Blair Lehman, Reinhard Pekrun, and Art Graesser (Learning and Instruction, 2014).
  • "Stranger Situations: Examining a Self-Regulatory Model of Socially Awkward Encounters," by Joshua Clegg (Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Should You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?" by No Stupid Questions (2024).