Copied from Shyam Jade's Website
A Prof's idea of Happiness (This is a mail an IIT prof sent his class after he taught them the course. It's an amazing read.) Here are some comments on the Happiness assignment. I will begin by describing some of the major issues raised in your essays. I will then describe why I gave this assignment -- why I think more students should relate happiness and academics. Then I will talk about job satisfaction and competition. WHAT YOU WROTE: SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS First, the most important source of happiness reported by many, many people were family ties -- happiness in just being with your parents/siblings as well as enjoying specific family events and get togethers. As it turns out, this also tops the list of what makes me happy. A number of people did say that academics/solving problems gives them a kick and in general makes them happy. Several also said that accomplishment makes them happy. These two are of course different -- you may be happy with accomplishment because it is