# Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/stumbling-on-happiness/

3 people recommended Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its accessible explanation of how poorly people predict what will make them happier or sadder in the future.

Summary written by Claude from 2 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Explains poor prediction of future happiness (1 comment in the sample): "It shows how humans are systematically bad at predicting to what extent future events will make them happier or sad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49007228))
- Accessible treatment of key points (1 comment in the sample): "It very accessibly addresses almost every point you raised." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49183970))

## Other psychology books people recommend

- [The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/courage-to-be-disliked/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Influence by Robert Cialdini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/influence/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize
- [The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/inner-game-of-tennis/): 4 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/happiness-hypothesis/): 3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert", https://hackerapproved.com/p/stumbling-on-happiness/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.