Worlds Happiest Countries 2017

[Spectral]

I'd encourage people to go have a look at the appendices. There are really silly metrics for "happiness". The education ones, for example, are pretty bizarre to just flatly count as "happiness" or believe is a causal agent of happiness. I'm pretty educated and this probably does correlate with my happiness, so it might be some incredibly loose proxy for the concept, but just saying that all else held equal, more educated people are happier seems absurd. Likewise, it includes parental education and other measures that don't seem like they have much to do with anything.

Including inequality as an independent variable is another odd one - if this is actually causing unhappiness, you should already find it in self-reporting metrics and mental health metrics. There's no reason to look at two groups that say they're equally happy and don't show differences in mental health and just declare that the less equal group must be less happy. Well, there is a reason, but it's a transparently political reason.

There are quite a few other independent variables that don't really make sense as independent variables.

The way points are rewarded are sufficiently arbitrary to give the authors the fudge factor to move countries around in the rankings as they see fit.

[Flutterguy]

Happiness is an emotional state. It's flimsy and is influenced by all sorts of things including chemistry, perception, trauma, whatever. Happiness also fluctuates. You could start your day happy, but that doesn't mean you're gonna end your day happy.

[Puupi]

The only people bitching about this report are Americans.

[Deleted]

Canada only 7th. Interesting considering how some canadians on mmo-c are arrogantly bloating how great canada and Trudeau is one would think they be #1 with a huge lead.

[Spectral]

The only people bitching about this report are Americans.

I mean, I explicitly explained why it's not a very good report. If your retort is, "yeah, well, you're just American", how is this anything other than just admitting that you're willing to buy into bullshit if it feeds into what you want to believe?

[Deleted]

Canada only 7th. Interesting considering how some canadians on mmo-c are arrogantly bloating how great canada and Trudeau is one would think they be #1 with a huge lead.

Tennis isn't Canadian, he's Somalian.

[Puupi]

I mean, I explicitly explained why it's not a very good report. If your retort is, "yeah, well, you're just American", how is this anything other than just admitting that you're willing to buy into bullshit if it feeds into what you want to believe?

No, I just take it for what it is and move on with my life. I don't get my jimmies rustled over this in one way or another.

[Spectral]

No, I just take it for what it is and move on with my life. I don't get my jimmies rustled over this in one way or another.

I will take this as a concession that you're pretty willing to read bullshit uncritically.

[Puupi]

I will take this as a concession that you're pretty willing to read bullshit uncritically.

So I take it you are unhappy with the methodology of the happiness index? Ironic.

[Spectral]

So I take it you are unhappy with the methodology of the happiness index? Ironic.

I'd actually say that picking apart bullshit makes me pretty happy, so I appreciate there efforts and faux-precision.

[Adolecent]

Why do the countries on the top of that list are also the ones with the biggest suicide rates ??

Those governments are actualy counting/registrating suicides because they care.

[Wyrt]

How is Australia so high up there when they live in constant free of their lives since everything wants to kill them?

[Baneador]

With the problems Europe is suffering lately this years i dont believe the graphic.

[Jeezy911]

"World Whitest Countries" fixed the title.

[Tommi]

So bored of seeing the UK as one entity in these polls, its completely useless for everyone on the islands.
"screams internally"

Even worse when people refer to the UK as England.

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How is Australia so high up there when they live in constant free of their lives since everything wants to kill them?

There was a reason we picked that place to put the prisoners. It was Gods test ground for killer shit.

[Socialhealer]

i think you'll find north korea has a very different list to this.

[lockedout]

Would love to see a breakdown on the demographics from 1-20.

[breadisfunny]

wait so chile has a better life expectancy than the united states?