Happiness and the Lottery
A funny thing happens when a lot of money falls into your lap — you don't stay happy for very long. Termed the Hedonic Treadmill, it describes the tendency for people to return to a baseline of happiness after major positive or negative events. This TED talk uses studies of lottery winners — and a cutthroat game of Monopoly — to show that you really can't buy happiness. At least not for very long.