empirical

This article tells us: In layman’s terms, the secret to happiness is = baseline average mood + what you can settle for + what you’ll get on average if you gamble + the difference between that and what you actually get! The formula was developed by University College London with support from the Wellcome Trust and Max Planck Society, and is based upon a card game. Longer term, the project leader, Dr Rutledge hopes the formula will provide a basic picture of how mood is determined by life events and circumstances, which could then be used to treat disorders such as depression. With rural dwellers often having higher satisfaction ratings compared to their urban counterparts, I wonder if there would be any urban/rural split if the happiness experiment were carried out geographically?