Hannah Aster

SEO Team Lead

Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.

Expertise

Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing

Describing Happiness: 5 Reasons Why It’s So Difficult

Have you ever tried to describe happiness to someone? Why is it so difficult to discuss happiness in an objective way? Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor and the author of Stumbling on Happiness, theorizes that happiness is difficult to describe and discuss for five specific reasons. Gilbert further theorizes that most of the time people don’t even realize when they’re happy or unhappy, which complicates the issue further. Here’s why it’s difficult to objectively discuss and describe happiness.

How to Talk About Happiness (Daniel Gilbert)

Have you tried to talk about happiness but don’t know how to describe it? What two propositions did Daniel Gilbert give on how to discuss happiness? Daniel Gilbert is an award-winning writer, teacher, and researcher in social psychology. In his book Stumbling on Happiness, Gilbert points out why it’s difficult to talk about happiness. He proposes two methods for discussing happiness despite the difficulties. Here’s how to have a constructive talk about happiness.

A Look at the Future of VR (Outside of Gaming)

How can virtual reality be useful outside of gaming? Is VR the future? Will the virtual world sever interpersonal relationships? What kind of effect will VR have on mental health? When most people think of virtual reality, they think of an expensive gaming headset with mediocre graphics and limited games. However, VR is for a lot more than just video games. VR technology is becoming more prominent in healthcare, education, and even in the workplace. Learn why VR may just be the future of technology.

Can You Trust Your Memory to Guide Decisions? No!

When you need to make a difficult decision, can you trust your memory to guide you to the right choice? Will relying on past experiences help you make better choices in the future? According to Daniel Gilbert, a researcher in social psychology, you can’t trust your memories to help you make better decisions for the future. There are three reasons for this: you don’t remember common experiences, you tend to remember only how things end, and you remember how you should have felt rather than how you actually felt. Here’s an overview of how your memory misrepresents your past.

Fake Memories: Why and How Do They Occur?

Do you ever remember an event differently than someone else who was there? How do fake memories form in the brain? A fake memory is one that is remembered differently from how it happened or one in which details of a thing or event are wrong. But, don’t worry—everybody has fake memories. It’s part of how the human brain functions. Here’s why your memory may be playing tricks on you.

How to Make Better Decisions: Don’t Do These 6 Things

Do you want to know how to make better decisions about your future? What common mistakes do people make when considering the future? In his book Stumbling on Happiness, social psychology researcher Daniel Gilbert details six poor choices people make when planning for the future. By avoiding doing these things, you will be in a better position to make decisions that lead to happiness. Here are the six poor choices you should avoid when making decisions.

Taking Advice From Others: Why People Avoid It

Is taking advice from others a good idea? Do you shrug off advice given to you by friends and family? Studies have shown that making decisions based on your own memories often leads to poor decision-making and unhappiness. However, social psychologist Daniel Gilbert says that taking advice from others can help you overcome your bias and faulty memories. Unfortunately, many ignore the advice of others for two main reasons. Here’s why people tend to ignore advice from others.

Perceiving Reality: We All Use a Distorted Lens

Are you perceiving reality accurately, or do you have blind spots in your perception? Does everybody perceive the world in the same way? According to Harvard professor and social psychologist Daniel Gilbert, we all are perceiving reality through a distorted lens. Gilbert says that your brain fabricates your present reality by filling in visual and aural gaps in your perception with assumed information—and by interpreting present events in a way that’s advantageous to you. Here are the two fabrications that most people make about reality.

Imagining the Future: Why It Increases Happiness

Why does imagining the future increase happiness? Why do fabrications of the future tend to look more positive than the past or present? In his book Stumbling on Happiness, social psychologist Daniel Gilbert explores how and why your brain attempts to fabricate the future. He also discusses the limitations the brain encounters while trying to do so and how it overcomes them. Here’s how and why your brain imagines the future.

The Top 3 Reasons Why People Make Bad Choices

Why do people continue to make bad choices despite tons of advice on how to avoid them? How does your fabricated reality lead you to make poor decisions? Daniel Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, has a theory about why this happens. Gilbert believes that your brain fabricates beliefs about your past, present, and future that don’t always align with reality. Gilbert’s theory is that this fabricated reality leads you to make decisions about the future that aren’t conducive to happiness. Here are the reasons people make bad choices, according to social psychologist Daniel Gilbert.