Randi-Michelle

Period: 6

I. The author of this work is Eric Weiner.

II. The title of this work is Happiness is a Number.
The significance of this title is that it shows how happiness can be measured by numbers when
collecting data from the brain and the levels of euphoric feelings one might have.
III. This work was written in what I assume to be around the late 2000s era.
The important background of this work is that it shows how much the study of happiness and
how serious people are taking it now compared to 50 years ago.
IV. The intended audience for this work might have been towards someone who is interested in
learning more about the science of happiness and how exactly it came to be the highly talked
about topic that it is today.
V. Summary: In the article Happiness is a Number, written by Eric Weiner, Weiner talks about his
interests in Ruut Veenhoven, the god father of research for happiness, particularly in his idealism
of what makes us happy and which places in the world are the happiest. He then goes on to tell
of Veenhovens early years of study when he was still in college, and how Veenhoven questioned
why we must judge a society based off their system of living instead of judging the the results of
living in such a way. If the people were happy, wouldnt that be all that truly mattered? Wouldnt
that be what we as people should learn from to benefit our own society? Veenhoven also knew
that things like religion, culture, etc. could impact ones thoughts of happiness, and that though
all might help open and enlighten the mind, its not the true science behind happiness. Thus,
begins the explanation of how scientists have learned how to measure happiness levels in the
brain, our stress hormones, cardiac activity, and facial coding to determine what exactly puts
us in a good mood and what puts us in a bad mood. Weiner then goes on to explain how different
people define and feel happiness in different ways, making it harder for some people to be happy
than others. He also states how different countries and cultures all value happiness differently,
and questions where people find the most happiness and why. Veenhoven shows him how the
happiest places in the world, like Denmark and Iceland, are home to a diverse and homogeneous
culture, where inequalities arent used as a source for big business and wealth is distributed
equally amongst citizens. And yet, in some of these countries, there is the contradiction of high
suicide rates, etc. He comes to conclusion that though America might be the richest and most
powerful country in the world, many countries have been proven to be much happier than we are.
(327 words)
VI. The point of this article is to show how happiness is valued differently not only amongst
different countries, but amongst the mind sets of each individual as well. To some it is easier to
choose happiness in life than it is for others, leaving certain people wallowing and stuck in their
own negative energy and sadness from being dissatisfied about the amount of happiness they
have let be a part of their lives. (73 words)
VII. My overall assessment of this work is that I really like the point Veenhoven makes about
how we shouldnt judge a societys system of obtaining happiness as long as its not effecting
anyone in a negative way, and instead we should look at the results and learn from them as
human beings to grow and improve our own lifestyles.