I know that just one data point isn't all that useful, but I'm noticably happier on warm, cloudy days! What can I say, I really enjoy being able to stare at the sky without going blind. And also being half-asleep for a full 24 hours.
Don't get too down and out about the Kanazawa paper, by the by. I have a strong suspicion that they are actually measuring "The Nerd Effect", rather than some deep rooted evolutionary phenomenon. Nerdy activities like reading, complicated board games, and (at least in the mid 90s to mid 00s, when these people were surveyed) video games and the internet can be equally enjoyed in sunny and rainy weather. As such, sunlight doesn't have a huge effect on nerds, since they still get to do most of the things they already enjoy. Meanwhile, sports, travel, or even just hanging out with friends, activities with a much broader appeal, are highly dependent on the weather. Once the sun disappears, the less intelligent crowd gets cooped up indoors, with nothing to do. The activities they prefer are more explicitly tied to sunshine, so sunshine has a bigger impact on their happiness.
Though, to be fair, this doesn't explain why intelligent people are happier overall. More capable of achieving their goals, maybe? Or maybe they're just better at convincing themselves bad stuff doesn't exist?
I'd actually like to see this study repeated with more recent data. My gut says, now that several nerdy activities have gone mainstream, the sunlight difference among unintelligent people won't be nearly as pronounced.
Yeah, I don't have a lot of confidence in that Kanazawa paper, anyway. It does seem possible that less smart people are just more sensitive to environmental cues, because, like you say, intelligent people can just make themselves happier regardless of the environment. It's just kind of weird/funny how studies like that make one feel!
I find it really interesting that studies on mood never seem to dig deeper as to *why* certain things might have a mood impact. For example, large swings in barometric pressure give me headaches! So if you were to ask me some mood vs. weather questions, my answer would probably depend on how close the nearest high- or low-pressure system is.
Did any of the studies you looked at do any digging along these lines?
Also, I'm thirding the request for a book. I'm one of the people who found your blog through the Meso-American Tech Wizards post and I immediately binged your entire archive because your posts are always interesting, informative, and entertaining. I don't know how you would organize this blog into a book, but it would be fun to have a physical copy of your best posts in a few years!
Some of the studies did examine barometric pressure, but I don't recall any of them saying it had a significant effect or asking more elaborate questions like on swings. I think the studies generally do discuss the potential causes for any results they find, though I haven't read all of the super closely, but yeah. It's a far more multidimensional topic than it may seem at first, so a lot of questions haven't really been asked yet — and because the general feel I get from this is that any effects are probably pretty small, they may never be.
Second: I wrote in my newsletter (sadly only in Brazilian Portuguese) how moving from Brazil to Germany has impacted me in many ways — of course — but the most tangible and measurable thing that changed my mood was (guess?) the weather.
I arrived in the summer, so the sun was up at 5h and still quite sunny at 21h —ridiculous. I was getting tired without the feeling the day was over because the freaking sun was still up. While my German colleagues were quasi-naked, enjoying this crazy phenomenon, in Brazil, independent of the season, the sun goes up around 6h and down around 17h. Most Brazilians understand the term "the day looks like 16h", which means grey, sad — the day is ending — and happy — the shift is ending.
In Germany, here I am working, without getting why I feel so tired, and BAM: it's already 20h, and I didn't realise it because the sun is up and shining.
Fade out.
Fade in. WINTER. I thought I knew what suffering was, but I didn't.
How do people smile when the sun is up for so few hours? Oh, right, we're in Germany; people don't smile here. German winter made techno make sense to me, all angry and violent. Snow isn't my problem, but the lack of sun killed me. I wake up "at night" and leave the office "at night", mostly wanting to lay down and cry because the whole day "looks like 16h".
In conclusion, I'd like to see a study in which people talk about the happiness of people that moved countries, especially from bright and sunny ones to cold and glum, and the other way around, and if that impacts our happiness. Either way, it affected MINE. I spent last month in Brazil, and I felt fucking happy — and coated in sweat, but that's life.
The problem with such studies is that moving changes *so much else* in our lives — as I'm sure you've experienced ! — and I'm guessing it's really hard to tease apart the effects. Still, it could be valuable.
And I fully sympathize with your story. Even I, who live in a northern temperate place, once experiences days far shorter than I was used to when I lived in Sweden, and... yeah, when the month of November has a total of 12 hours of sunlight — for the whole month! — it certainly does something to your soul.
Several people by now say I should turn parts of this blog into a book, but I have no idea what the book would look like. Thanks a lot for the encouragement :)
well, it can be hardcover, softcover, hand-bound...
sorry, lousy joke.
Maybe find a common subject and write 10 issues about that, then just glue it together in a long file? When you talk about research, for instance: I could read a book from you just interpreting interesting research.
I've never been to India, so I can't talk about it. It's in my plans to go soon, especially after meeting a lot of indians from different parts of the country. I'm from Brazil, and we have an interesting relationship with sun and summer: it's vacation time, christmas, new year, and Carnaval. If it's sunny and hot, it's a good moment for a barbecue with beer and friends. As this famous song says: "it's summer, a good time to be happy, a good time to date.": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz2gThgxQjM
Annita, said by some as "the international brazilian artist", has a song called Muito Calor (very hot). She sings in spanish, but whatever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuvlEJxI9wM
Thanks :) I am in contact with my colleagues and they are recommending a lot to me — but this is on the top of the list, the whole "prefer not to go on the summerest summer"
I know that just one data point isn't all that useful, but I'm noticably happier on warm, cloudy days! What can I say, I really enjoy being able to stare at the sky without going blind. And also being half-asleep for a full 24 hours.
Don't get too down and out about the Kanazawa paper, by the by. I have a strong suspicion that they are actually measuring "The Nerd Effect", rather than some deep rooted evolutionary phenomenon. Nerdy activities like reading, complicated board games, and (at least in the mid 90s to mid 00s, when these people were surveyed) video games and the internet can be equally enjoyed in sunny and rainy weather. As such, sunlight doesn't have a huge effect on nerds, since they still get to do most of the things they already enjoy. Meanwhile, sports, travel, or even just hanging out with friends, activities with a much broader appeal, are highly dependent on the weather. Once the sun disappears, the less intelligent crowd gets cooped up indoors, with nothing to do. The activities they prefer are more explicitly tied to sunshine, so sunshine has a bigger impact on their happiness.
Though, to be fair, this doesn't explain why intelligent people are happier overall. More capable of achieving their goals, maybe? Or maybe they're just better at convincing themselves bad stuff doesn't exist?
I'd actually like to see this study repeated with more recent data. My gut says, now that several nerdy activities have gone mainstream, the sunlight difference among unintelligent people won't be nearly as pronounced.
Yeah, I don't have a lot of confidence in that Kanazawa paper, anyway. It does seem possible that less smart people are just more sensitive to environmental cues, because, like you say, intelligent people can just make themselves happier regardless of the environment. It's just kind of weird/funny how studies like that make one feel!
I find it really interesting that studies on mood never seem to dig deeper as to *why* certain things might have a mood impact. For example, large swings in barometric pressure give me headaches! So if you were to ask me some mood vs. weather questions, my answer would probably depend on how close the nearest high- or low-pressure system is.
Did any of the studies you looked at do any digging along these lines?
Also, I'm thirding the request for a book. I'm one of the people who found your blog through the Meso-American Tech Wizards post and I immediately binged your entire archive because your posts are always interesting, informative, and entertaining. I don't know how you would organize this blog into a book, but it would be fun to have a physical copy of your best posts in a few years!
Aw thanks!
Some of the studies did examine barometric pressure, but I don't recall any of them saying it had a significant effect or asking more elaborate questions like on swings. I think the studies generally do discuss the potential causes for any results they find, though I haven't read all of the super closely, but yeah. It's a far more multidimensional topic than it may seem at first, so a lot of questions haven't really been asked yet — and because the general feel I get from this is that any effects are probably pretty small, they may never be.
First of all: as always, great article.
Second: I wrote in my newsletter (sadly only in Brazilian Portuguese) how moving from Brazil to Germany has impacted me in many ways — of course — but the most tangible and measurable thing that changed my mood was (guess?) the weather.
I arrived in the summer, so the sun was up at 5h and still quite sunny at 21h —ridiculous. I was getting tired without the feeling the day was over because the freaking sun was still up. While my German colleagues were quasi-naked, enjoying this crazy phenomenon, in Brazil, independent of the season, the sun goes up around 6h and down around 17h. Most Brazilians understand the term "the day looks like 16h", which means grey, sad — the day is ending — and happy — the shift is ending.
In Germany, here I am working, without getting why I feel so tired, and BAM: it's already 20h, and I didn't realise it because the sun is up and shining.
Fade out.
Fade in. WINTER. I thought I knew what suffering was, but I didn't.
How do people smile when the sun is up for so few hours? Oh, right, we're in Germany; people don't smile here. German winter made techno make sense to me, all angry and violent. Snow isn't my problem, but the lack of sun killed me. I wake up "at night" and leave the office "at night", mostly wanting to lay down and cry because the whole day "looks like 16h".
In conclusion, I'd like to see a study in which people talk about the happiness of people that moved countries, especially from bright and sunny ones to cold and glum, and the other way around, and if that impacts our happiness. Either way, it affected MINE. I spent last month in Brazil, and I felt fucking happy — and coated in sweat, but that's life.
The problem with such studies is that moving changes *so much else* in our lives — as I'm sure you've experienced ! — and I'm guessing it's really hard to tease apart the effects. Still, it could be valuable.
And I fully sympathize with your story. Even I, who live in a northern temperate place, once experiences days far shorter than I was used to when I lived in Sweden, and... yeah, when the month of November has a total of 12 hours of sunlight — for the whole month! — it certainly does something to your soul.
Several people by now say I should turn parts of this blog into a book, but I have no idea what the book would look like. Thanks a lot for the encouragement :)
well, it can be hardcover, softcover, hand-bound...
sorry, lousy joke.
Maybe find a common subject and write 10 issues about that, then just glue it together in a long file? When you talk about research, for instance: I could read a book from you just interpreting interesting research.
"Please write a book", I second that.
I've never been to India, so I can't talk about it. It's in my plans to go soon, especially after meeting a lot of indians from different parts of the country. I'm from Brazil, and we have an interesting relationship with sun and summer: it's vacation time, christmas, new year, and Carnaval. If it's sunny and hot, it's a good moment for a barbecue with beer and friends. As this famous song says: "it's summer, a good time to be happy, a good time to date.": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz2gThgxQjM
Annita, said by some as "the international brazilian artist", has a song called Muito Calor (very hot). She sings in spanish, but whatever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuvlEJxI9wM
In conclusion, the only american song I know about summer has zero lyrics, and that says A LOT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJ_nzOckOQ
Thanks :) I am in contact with my colleagues and they are recommending a lot to me — but this is on the top of the list, the whole "prefer not to go on the summerest summer"