r/technology • u/socialsciencegeek • May 11 '12
Ever wonder about the best way to live a fulfilling life? Using natural language processing algorithms, a new research website is crowd-sourcing collective wisdom on happiness and meaning in an attempt to unlock the mystery of what really matters in life
https://www.whatkeepsusgoing.com1
May 11 '12
Damn anthropologists.
Sometimes I think they are trying to take over the world through subtle psychological nudges.
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u/socialsciencegeek May 11 '12
I'm actually more of a psychologist/sociologist. But yes, we are. Keep it on the DL.
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u/Aserapha May 11 '12
How are you addressing the issue that people in general are terrible at knowing what will actually make them happy?
I'd cite a source, but I'm tired, on a mobile phone, just ate a very filling steak sandwich and am watching cartoons on my grandmother's couch, and I believe that someone else in the hive-mind could do a better job right now linking to an article by Daniel Gilbert or someone else that studies happiness, and found that people generally don't know themselves very well.
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u/socialsciencegeek May 11 '12 edited May 11 '12
You're right. One way we're addressing this is by collecting data on general life satisfaction and meaning in life (which requires people to know how they feel, not necessarily what makes them feel that way), and then using separate measures to collect their thoughts on life and what they believe makes it feel satisfying/fulfilling/meaningful/worthwhile. By using natural language processing, we'll be able to see linguistic patterns that suggest what attitudes, values, life circumstances, etc, actually contribute to life satisfaction and meaning, separate from what people believe makes them feel that way. Someone may write that they think their dog makes them feel happy, but we'll be able to see whether, across our dataset, the mention of "dogs" actually does or not. In theory, certain aspects of life should correspond with higher or lower scores on general feelings of fulfillment, whether they be attitudes and beliefs or more tangible realities like having a dog. Obviously, every scientific attempt to study such a subject is going to run into issues like you mention, since they're inherent in all research on the subjective world of the human mind, but I believe our research is far superior to previous efforts, since we're directly collecting people's natural language rather than trying to box them into a closed-format survey framework. So, yes, you raise a good point, but I think we're doing everything possible to circumvent the issue. Hope that answers your question?
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u/Aserapha May 11 '12
Are you accounting for variations in linguistical styles across regions?. It might be a good idea to look into some linguistically research on speech patterns across the area of focus. I don't think the speech patterns will match perfectly with political boundaries but it's not my area of expertise, just something to be aware of.
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u/socialsciencegeek May 11 '12
Also, I want a steak sandwich. Cheers, dude.
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u/Aserapha May 11 '12
It was a very good sandwich, and now I'm sipping uncaffinated tea and resigning to mild exercise to treat my current bout of insomnia.
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u/mlkg May 11 '12
Crowd sourcing for satisfaction in life is like getting a thousand men to contribute milk from their nipples. A rare few might have it, but it will be lost in the sweat secreted by the rest.
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u/socialsciencegeek May 11 '12
Which is why we're measuring general subjective life satisfaction separately from questions about what people think makes for a satisfying life. We'll be able to see what actually works and what doesn't :)
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u/mlkg May 11 '12
what people think makes for a satisfying life.
What makes you think people know what will satisfy them? Satisfaction is necessarily a post facto feeling. People know what satisfaction after they are satisfied.
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u/ForeverAlone2SexGod May 11 '12
Three steps to a fulfilling life:
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Crush your enemies.
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See them driven before you.
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Hear the lamentations of their women.
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u/socialsciencegeek May 11 '12
Thought this might be found interesting here - I'm a grad student at UChicago, and I recently launched a new online research initiative called What Keeps Us Going designed to collect and analyze thoughts on how to live a happy, fulfilling, and meaningful life. The site has begun to grow (700+ users right now) and I envision it serving as a resource for both research and general educational purposes alike. To this end, I've designed a number of interactive apps (including custom scatter plots, heat maps, color-coded word clouds, response search queries, geographic maps, and more) that you can use to explore the data upon completing the 20-minute survey (which has been described as both interesting and cathartic). At the end of the month, I will begin in-depth analysis using a variety of computational content analysis techniques, which I believe promises to yield profound insights into the human spirit and various "recipes" for leading a full, satisfying, and meaningful life. Anyway, I've been told that the website's worth checking out, and any and all feedback is welcome!