A 1978 study of 22 winners suggested a big jackpot didn't make people happier. But in 2020, economists followed over 3,000 Swedish lottery winners: 5 to 22 years later, big winners were lastingly more satisfied with their lives. Their day-to-day mood, however, changed little. Money lifts how you rate your life more than how you feel each day.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.