Have you ever played Binky’s Facts and Opinions? It’s a game that teaches players the difference between what’s true and what’s not. Here, let’s play together. Look at at this question from my Positive Psychology™ midterm, and tell me if it’s a fact, or opinion, that one of these things decreases happiness.*
I picked religion. Not because I believe religion decreases happiness, but because I had absolutely no idea how to answer this question. It seemed like the obvious answer since it’s easy to harp on religion. Everyone and their grandpa can form a half-baked paraphrase of Marx’s, “opiate of the masses.”
So I picked religion, and got the question wrong.
If I had to take this exam again, I’d pick marriage. Because way too many people wear shirts like this…
…,and I’ve heard way too many deadbeat comedians make jokes about how horrible it is to find the 1 person out of 8 billion who give them more than the time of day.
If I had to take this exam a third time, I’d pick education. Because I’m definitely not happy. I’m confused as to what it is exactly that this question is testing me on.
Oh, yeah, and children? What? — Really?
If you want to know what the correct answer is, you’ll need to wait until October 30th.
*On a separate exam, I was asked about the different ways of getting information. One of the ways we get information is from figures of authority. According to “the lecture and text”, either marriage, children, religion, or education decreases happiness. Go figure.
