BIOGRAPHY
Professor Daniel Gilbert is renowned as one of the world’s leading psychologists, known especially for his work on the science of happiness.
His book, Stumbling on Happiness (2007), was on the New York Times best-seller list for 6 months and has gone on to sell over a million copies. It has been translated into over 35 languages and received the Royal Society’s General Book Prize for best science book of the year.
In 2010, he hosted and co-wrote the award-winning television series This Emotional Life which was watched by over 10 million people when it was first aired.
In 2013, he collaborated with Prudential on a series of TV adverts designed to help Americans overcome the psychological obstacles to saving for retirement. The campaign was one of the most successful in the history of the financial services industry.
Daniel is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He has won several awards for research and teaching and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. In 2018 he won the William James Award for “a lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology.”
His research and op-eds have been featured in many well-regarded media outlets including Time, The New York Times, and NPR’s All Things Considered. He has also appeared on several TV shows including The Today Show, Charlie Rose, 20/20, The Colbert Report, and The Late Show.
In 2014, Science magazine named him one of the world’s 50 most-followed scientists on social media, and in 2017, he was ranked as one of the 50 Most Influential Psychologists in the World. Dan’s TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times, and his first TED talk remains one of the 15 most popular of all time.
DAN’S TALKS
A pioneer and one of the leading communicators in the field of psychology and happiness research, Dan’s talks are inspirational and loaded with fascinating insights on how we can improve our well-being.
Here are a couple of sample speech synopses:
(1) HAPPINESS: WHAT YOUR MOTHER DIDN’T TELL YOU
Most of us think we know what would make us happy and that our only problem is getting it. But research in psychology, economics, and neuroscience shows that people are not very good at predicting what will make them happy, how happy it will make them, and how long that happiness will last. Is the problem that we can’t really imagine what our futures will hold? Is the problem that society lies to us about the true sources of human happiness? Yes, and yes again. Professor Gilbert will explain why, when it comes to finding happiness, we can’t always trust our imaginations—or our mothers.
(2) HOW TO DO PRECISELY THE RIGHT THING AT ALL POSSIBLE TIMES
Floss daily, save for retirement, and don’t wear plaid pants before or after Labor Day. Most experts tell us what to decide but they don’t tell us how, and so the moment we face a novel decision—should I move to Cleveland or Anchorage? Marry Jennifer or Joanne? Become an architect or a pastry chef?—we’re lost. Is there any way to know how to do precisely the right thing at all possible times? In fact, there is a simple method for making decisions that most people find easy to understand and impossible to follow. New research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural economics explains why.