The Science of Happiness: What Your Mother Didn’t Tell You
Join us for the second annual Carl Hungerford Lecture Series event, with Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.
Everyone has a theory about happiness—about what it is and where it can be found. But in the last 20 years, psychologists, economists, and neuroscientists have discovered that many of these theories are wrong: Some of the things that we all work so hard to get don’t actually make us happy, and some of the things we forget to work hard for actually do. What are the objective facts about human happiness, and what are the myths? Professor Gilbert will explain what scientists know about our often misguided quest for happiness.
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A presentation of the Carl Hungerford Lecture Series
Carl Hungerford was intellectually engaged by a wide array of challenges to our social fabric. The Carl Hungerford Lecture Series honors Carl’s memory with presenting notable speakers who have thoughtful ideas about global current affairs and the stewardship of our planet.
Questions? email info@maringarden.org or call 415-455-5260
Speaker
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Daniel GilbertEdgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard UniversityDaniel Gilbert is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. In 2008 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2018 he won the William James Award for “a lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology.” His 2007 book, Stumbling on Happiness, spent 6 months on the New York Times bestseller list, has sold more than a million copies worldwide, has been translated into more than 35 languages, and was awarded the Royal Society’s General Book Prize for best science book of the year. In 2010, he hosted and co-wrote the award-winning NOVA television series This Emotional Life which was seen by more than 10 million viewers in its first airing.
In 2013, he teamed up with Prudential to do a series of television commercials meant to help Americans overcome the psychological obstacles to saving for retirement. This advertising campaign has been one of the most successful in the history of the financial services industry. He is a contributor to Time, The New York Times, and NPR’s All Things Considered, and has been a guest on numerous television shows including The Today Show, Charlie Rose, 20/20, The Colbert Report, and The Late Show. In 2014, Science magazine named him one of the world’s 50 mostfollowed scientists on social media, and in 2017, he was ranked as one of
the 50 Most Influential Psychologists in the World. Dan’s TED talks have been viewed more than 30 million times, and his first TED talk remains one of the 15 most popular of all time.
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