Absinthe and Flamethrowers

“Lately, I’ve been hard at work writing a book entitled Absinthe and Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously. …

“But here’s the cool thing. I found that moderate, rational, risk takers, that is, those with scores between the mean and one standard deviation to the right are the people who are most satisfied with their lives. I call that area “the golden third” because it’s roughly 1/3 of the population. Studies (and there are several) show that people who take just a bit more risks than average, that is, those who live their lives in the golden third, tend to do better than average. They tend to be more satisfied with their lives and more fulfilled. To me, that’s a stunning conclusion.”

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/HPtGBruJDMs/the-art-of-living-dangerously.html

Thoughts?

~ by Skennedy on June 3, 2009.

Posted in Uncategorized

6 Responses to “Absinthe and Flamethrowers”

  1. Maybe there is a connection between people who are more apt to take risks and just worrying less in general? Makes sense to me I guess :-)

    (hmm, maybe I should start hurling myself off cliffs or something… :-p)

    krisann said this on June 3, 2009 at 5:11 pm

  2. I wonder if that number is impacted by survival rate……
    I guess those that are the remaining 1/3 are there because they are the “moderate” risk takers…..
    huh.

    I also wonder what stage in their lives they are at.

    jellopony said this on June 3, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    • Indeed, studies like this are always suspect, depending on what factors are accounted for, such as age.

      Even if the study is off, though, it still brings up some interesting ideas – that personal satisfaction and willingness to take risks are at all tied together is interesting to me.

      atdt1991 said this on June 3, 2009 at 5:27 pm

      • how does that one saying go….

        “It is better to regret the things you’ve done, than to regret the things you haven’t.”

        jellopony said this on June 3, 2009 at 8:00 pm

  3. I think this one falls in the captain obvious category. At least to me.

    If you never leave your comfort zone you never experience new situations and new experiences and therefore you never leave your local area when looking for a happiness maximum.

    Likewise if all you do is incredibly risky activities eventually you will do something that will have a huge negative impact on your happiness (like death or long term disability/illness).

    I think the key is to determine how far beyond the average you are ability to comfortable act. And it is always good to learn to take risks, I think it is an absolutely critical skill for our generation.

    blazepoet said this on June 3, 2009 at 9:55 pm

  4. “The brave don’t live forever, but the cautious don’t live at all.”

    rbradakis said this on June 5, 2009 at 1:09 am

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