[borroka]

This is a misleading article that, with its mundane look at the world, tries to provide a "gotcha" that does not seem to exist except in the minds of someone who tries to find "gotchas" everywhere, as the author does.

Do you want a new and better car? Actually, you don't want a Ferrari, you want dopamine. Do you feel attracted to someone younger, better looking, funnier, more interesting than your current partner? This is a trap. Well, I would love to have a Ferrari and I would love to be in the company of the best partner I can find. Call me a dopamine addict if you want.

Although my experience is not necessarily generalizable, it may offer the perspective of someone who, through working in the tech industry, has gone from having little to having more. Having better things makes life more interesting, bigger, and reduces the likelihood of having annoying problems. On average, mind you, and that is how we should look at people's behavior (we should also look at variance, but that would require a longer commentary).

We have all experienced the Gatsby syndrome, either personally or through other people. Having everything we want except one thing we obsessively desire, perhaps a woman or a man, a full head of hair, a few inches, the genuine appreciation of others, fewer years on our shoulders. It is the limiting factor of a chemical reaction. Does this make the possession of things irrelevant? No, it just tells us that they are bottlenecks, limiting factors, that can keep us from enjoying the material or the easy. But if you get rid of the obsession, you will find, as I did, that a 5-star hotel is better than a 2-star hotel, natural fabrics better than polyester, first class better than knees touching ears in economy, a Ferrari better than a 25-year-old Ford. Just lived experience.

[scns]

Money won't provide happiness, but it is more fun to cry in a cab than in the subway.

[dixie_land]

I've recently had some misfortunes in the romantic department.

It is objectively a better experience being depressed in my hilltop hot tub over looking acres than the 1bd apartment the 20yr old me had.

[borroka]

Most (all?) of these topics need to be approached in terms of probabilities, not absolutes. More money makes it more likely to be happier, enjoy life more, or have fewer insurmountable problems. It is a truism.

Now, after how much money we reach a plateau for the outcome being considered (happiness, the best care in case of illness, sending children to the best colleges, traveling the world in 80 days), whether there are trade-offs between the money obtained and the ways of obtaining the money are examples of topics that may be more interesting, and they are all context-dependent. But if someone wants to give me money as a gift and makes me choose between $10 million and $50 million, I choose $50 million. And I might have the temerity to ask if there is by any chance also the possibility of getting $100 million.

And it is the same for all positive traits or qualities, which are, in fact, considered positive because they make it more likely to achieve the goal being talked about.

Then we can discuss more interesting matters of trade-offs and let people like the author of the article enjoy a nap instead of offering the usual trivial contentions with his writings.

[joffrywinslow]

I think what you are describing is euphoria. Drugs like adderall can motivate people but the reward will be nothing without the endogenous release of opioids.