Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning scholar who recently passed away at 90, was famous for his groundbreaking research on how people think and make decisions, and how our choices often fall short of perfect logic.
But there’s another side to Dr. Kahneman that deserves recognition, especially in today’s world: his strong belief in working with people who have different viewpoints.
Unlike many academics who surround themselves with those who agree with them, Dr. Kahneman actively sought out collaboration with those who challenged his ideas. This wasn’t just professional courtesy; he genuinely enjoyed the process of working together to uncover the truth, even if it meant being proven wrong (which brought him a good deal of satisfaction).
This collaborative spirit is particularly relevant to a recent study by Dr. Kahneman, which upends some earlier findings about money and happiness. We’ve all heard the saying “money can’t buy happiness,” but this research suggests that for the vast majority of us (around 85%), it does play a positive role.
This challenges Dr. Kahneman’s previous work, done with another Nobel laureate, which suggested happiness levels plateau after a certain income level (around $90,000). The new study paints a different picture: for most people, more money seems to lead to greater happiness.