🌎 Why we can’t be happier
Our nature sets us up to fail, author Jason Crawford explains.
Hello Freethinkers,
Can money buy happiness? Studies on this age-old question consistently suggest the answer is yes: Happiness tends to increase with income — even after you hit a “comfortable” level.
But what does that imply for measuring human progress? Is happiness even the most important metric? In the latest chapter of Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Jason Crawford argues that “happiness” is too relative and too ephemeral for measuring human progress and well-being. Instead, he offers a fresh way to gauge “the good life.”
Also on deck this week: T-Minus brings you 10 space startups to watch, Future Explored covers the master plan to end EV “range anxiety,” and we dive into the ongoing arms race between hackers and cyber defenders.
Onward,
Stephen
FREETHINK VOICES
Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being
by Jason Crawford // @jasoncrawford
Any concept of well-being should be a guide, both for living our personal lives and for evaluating our society. It should point to how to build a better life over time. Counterintuitively, happiness is not a good metric of human well-being: it is too subjective, too relative to recent events, and too limited in scope. Our happiness tends to reset back to a baseline even after the best and worst of changes in our lives. So how can we understand what makes a good life, and how can we know if our society is enabling people to reach one?
Jason Crawford is the Founder of Roots of Progress and a philosopher of technological advancement. His 11 part series will be released exclusively on Freethink.com. Read Jason’s philosophy of progress and follow along every week.
T-MINUS
T-Minus: 10 space startups to watch
Space is no longer just for governments and giant corporations. Thanks to plummeting launch costs and new technology, a wave of startups is poised to reshape the future of space exploration. Companies like Astranis are working to close the digital divide, while AstroForge is trying to mine asteroids for precious metals. Axiom Space is developing a private space station, and Firefly Aerospace is offering end-to-end space transportation. With each startup pushing boundaries, the next SpaceX could be just around the corner.
IN THE KNOW
Meta unveils Orion, an AI-enabled AR glasses prototype
by @TheHumanoidHub on X
Meta's new Orion smart glasses, which the company describes as its first "True Augmented Reality Glasses," overlay 2D and 3D digital content onto the real world, enabling you to snap photos, take videos, and talk to an AI assistant. But nonhumans might find the big black frames useful, too. As The Humanoid Hub notes, first-person videos of humans performing everyday tasks would be an "excellent tool" for training humanoid robots to navigate our world.
MORE ON THIS STORY
FUTURE EXPLORED
The masterplan to end EV “range anxiety” forever
Electric vehicles today are bigger, cheaper, and more reliable than ever. But as good as batteries have become, they can’t (yet) beat gasoline on being able to travel far, refuel fast, and do it easily almost anywhere. Here’s how that could change, from chargers that power up in minutes and batteries with enormous range to simple approaches like building more charging stations and exotic solutions like solar-powered cars.
FREETHINK FEATURES
Will AI supercharge hacking — if it hasn’t already?
Major cybersecurity breaches have almost become routine, but earlier this year, a hacker came very close to installing a backdoor into every server in the world running Linux. This global attack was thwarted at the last second by an engineer who noticed something a little off with an update. As AI supercharges our digital productivity, it’s worth asking whether AI will tip the balance in the cybersecurity arms race — if it hasn’t already.
WORTH SHARING
By Jonny Thomson
Our village had a fête in August. It was a lovely day out — the kind of twee imitation of Hobbiton you’d imagine British village life to be like. As the sun was setting on a good day out, and as I sat around a table with a group of friends, Colin came over.
“So, did you see what Keir Starmer said yesterday? Can you believe anyone will vote for that fool?”
Colin is a nice guy. He makes children laugh and usually has a good story to hand. But when he’s had a beer, he’s an intransigent, belligerent arse. He’s looking for an argument, and an upcoming UK General Election makes it too easy.
The problem with Colin is that he’s not seeking a debate. He’s not there to swap ideas and unpack political philosophy. He’s pawing the ground and huffing the air like a bull in sight of a red rag (red being the color of the British Labour party).
If you have a Colin in your life, you might want to forward them this week’s Everyday Philosophy column.
Stephen Johnson is the managing editor at Big Think and a writer at Freethink.
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