Apparently the feeling of optimism caused by the combination of lighter evenings, the prospect of holidays and memories of childhood summers is at its peak on June 20.
According to the research this has been worked out using the equation O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He.
O stands for being outdoors and outdoor activity, N is connection with nature, which is in full bloom now, S is socialisation with neighbours and friends, Cpm stands for childhood positive memories, T is the mean temperature which is now usually warm, and He is holiday expected.
But the equation does not take into account the gloomy forecasts for the British economy, fears caused by falling house prices, rising inflation and stagnating pay rises, England not playing in the Euro 2008 and a damper than normal start to the summer.
The formula was compiled by Cliff Arnall, a psychologist and former tutor at Cardiff University who said the main aim is to 'get people talking about what makes them happy'.
Mr Arnall, who was commissioned by Walls Ice Cream to carry out the study, also calculates the most depressing day of the year which is normally around the end of January which is based on the weather, debt after Christmas, time since Christmas and motivational levels and days to pay day.
Which day for 2009 then?
Bring out the card!!!
Yay! Of course it was the happiest day - it was my BIRTHDAY!
I think this is location specific. Here in Japan for example, entire june is very humid and hot, in fact so humid and hot that most people rather stay home or in well airconditioned coffeeshops.
Cockroaches and spiders love this humid season though, so I think 20th of June might be very well happiest time for them.
Myself though, the weekend of 20th was more fiasco, all kinds of things.
It could be that here in Asia we have to count from Chinese calendar..
Every day is a happy one for me.
In fact, my favorite saying each day is,"That this is my best day ever"! Try it and you'll be amazed at the results.
I am afraid the Arnall formula is out by a factor of 10. The happiest day this year is not 20th, but the 2nd June - tax freedom day.
although I've been happy lately, that Friday was actually quite a crappy day for me :/ each to his own
Of course it's a great day! It's my Birthday!
Why on Earth do newspapers keep printing this nonsense? Self confessed "Corporate whore" Cliff Arnall has released this exact same story to the press for the past three years.
Arnall isn't an academic, he was a part time tutor at Cardiff's centre of Lifelong Learning (who quickly distanced themselves from Arnall's statements), and he has admitted that this saddest/happiest day of the year is nothing but PR for Walls.
In reprinting this story, you're making fools of yourselves and showing just why the UK's press coverage of science is held in such low regard.
Firstly, this "equation" is meaningless, unscientific fluff, as many have already pointed out.
Secondly - if, for a moment, you begin to take it almost seriously, what are the units of all the items in the equation, and how are the values actaully measured (or "guessed"?)
Thirdly - as already pointed out, if the equation in the article has been printed correctly, it shows that for any given day, you get more optimistic the COLDER it gets. How ridiculous is that?
A happier day in Turkey than in Croatia I'll bet. And it had nothing to do with the weather.
This is great...
instead of trying to find ways for this not too be true... why don't you all just be happy with what today is... today is the happiest day because we are alive...
and that is all that mattars... why don't we just be happy everyday?
it can't be true
Sorry to day, but today could quite easily be one of the most depressing days of the year. =]
The weather out is reasonably gloomy, no summer vacation to some place else because the family cannot afford it this year, and I've been sweating away packing. To move to a cornfield. Leaving a very beautiful city and lovely people behind. And I got into a number of brutal arguments today. If this is the happiest day of the year.. I'd hate to see the saddest.
"Gullible?" The "gullible" ones here are the readers who believe that either Arnall or the Telegraph actually think this is real science. It's in the "How about that?" section, for goodness' sake. How about trying on a smile and wishing your colleagues a "Happy happiest day?"
I think they left out the "ounces of vodka/litres of beer" term in the equation.
4. Posted by kobe on June 20, 2008 11:10 PM
it is adolf hitlers birthday today,not a very happy day if u think about it
--
No it is not. That is April 20th. Today happens to be my birthday. I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. This formula was especially tasty. Scientific rigor is awesome.
Mimarobe - Perhaps this article is meant to be tongue-in-cheek but I've read enough to know that the media is very gullible - just look out for the number of serious reports stating that "scientists" have done "research" or a "study" when, on closer examination, the scientist turns out to be some publicity-seeking fruitcake.
It's frustrating when there are so many fascinating science stories out there, and scientists working hard on real problems, yet the media tends to focus on either trivia or groundless scare stories.
Apart from finances and personal life - everythings great! J
Which company pays him to put his name to the "equation" that some advertising exec. made up to prove that some randomly chosen date when sales are down a bit is the unhappiest day of the year?
Wot a bunch of wet blankets.
I had a day off. I was happy before I heard about Prof Arnall's study, and I'm still happy now.
You grumps can go stew in your own sour juices.
"Gullible?" The "gullible" ones here are the readers who believe that either Arnall or the Telegraph actually think this is real science. It's in the "How about that?" section, for goodness' sake. How about trying on a smile and wishing your colleagues a "Happy happiest day?"
Well our computer systems are down at work giving me time to read this website so it is truly a good day!
Cliff Arnall churns out nonsensical "equations" for anyone who pays him (usually PR companies looking for publicity).
The tabloids usually fall for it but the Telegraph?! Are you now employing gullible media studies graduates in place of proper science/technical editors?
it is adolf hitlers birthday today,not a very happy day if u think about it
This story makes me sad to be
a) a mathematician
b) an academic
c) a member of the human race
I'm actually having a lovely day today. :)
Good to see the Telegraph handing out free advertising on a plate to Walls. Cliff Arnull has put his name to numerous "scientists have discovered the equation for..." press releases before. All backed by PR companies looking for some free advertising from gullible journos (hint for the exceptionally dim - type his name into Google, or consult Ben Goldacre's Bad Science blog).
You've been had. Wake up and smell the Nigerian banknotes. And try printing some news instead of advertising.
HAHAHAHA....this is so stupid. the variables are inconsistent as far as applying to every individual....It does happen to be my brothers birthday....but IM IN IRAQ. the weather sucks. so NO. this is NOT the happiest day of the year. now sept 20 is more like it....ill be heading HOME!!!
Lovin' your work Tom :D
Heard this on Good Morning America before I left home! (Of course it had to be an origin of England!!!)
See you later..!
No lasting happiness comes from external things. This formula reflects humanities delusion. Happiness comes from within. It is always there and when we become aware of it, we are happy. Nothing makes us happy. Have you ever given someone a gift and it displeased? Making others happy is a crap shoot. Happiness is an individual responsibility and can only be sourced by each of us. Our own happiness is the gift we give to others. People, things and circumstances cannot give us our happiness.
A string of characters none of which is "=" cannot be called "an equation". The author of this article doesn't have a minimal sense of language.
Maybe we can just say "isn't that nice? Someone is trying to give us a positive feeling today" and be happy about that? I don't think we are really supposed to think of it as hard science. Have a nice day everyone!
If there was anything to this you could show us how the happiness calculated by this formula varied over a year. You can't do so because you can't substitute numerical values for the terms in the equation. Even if you could each term would have different units. To see why this makes the equation odd think how you would answer this question:
What is 5 kilometres per hour plus 2 kilograms of rice plus 8 minus your annual salary in stirling?
Having said that if all the terms were dimensionless you could still add them up, but for that to be the case positive child hood memories would have to be measured on an inverse temperature scale, which is wierd.
But there must be an error. The Cpm/T term is smaller for higher values of T, meaning that (other things being equal) happiness would be greater when temperatures are lower in winter. Not only counter-intuitive, but also at odds with the commentary.
A string of characters which does not include a "=" cannot be called "an equation" (and, in fact, "a formula" either). As a direct consequence, a newspaper which publishes articles of this kind cannot be called "Britain's No.1 quality newspaper".
Hey, today is my birthday too! Cool! Have a very happy day everyone! Go Cubs
Maybe we can just say "isn't that nice? Someone is trying to give us a positive feeling today" and be happy about that? I don't think we are really supposed to think of it as hard science. Have a nice day everyone!
today is my wife's birthday. She must be happy to see this formula.
Tosh tosh tosh. Stop printing made-up formula crud, you lazy churnalists.
I think external factors are an interesting placd to begin the conversation about what makes us happy. I think this is Mr. Arnall's point. To approximate how much subjective satisfaction one is able to derive from ideal conditions, consider this formula from Shinzen Young: Satisfaction = Pleasure � Grasping
He observes that a person�s subjective sense of satisfaction is inversely proportional to the degree to which the pleasure is subject to grasping. Conversely, a person�s subjective sense of satisfaction is directly proportional to the intensity of pleasure present and the degree to which one can monitor that pleasure with specificity.
In other words: When grasping goes up, satisfaction tends to decrease. When mindfulness goes up, satisfaction tends to increase.
More to explore at http://www.basicmindfulness.com/
What about if you're in the Southern Hemisphere? Raining cats & dogs in Cape Town.
Doesn't an equation require an "equals" symbol? Or is that just old fashioned? Also this implies that the lower the temperature the greater the happiness.
If, when you wake up, you are still alive - THAT is a happy day. Carpe diem.
No doubt it works for the Southern Hemisphere too. Not.
I think the researcher has actually come up with a formula for adverts that are most likely to benefit ice cream vendors.
It's not my happiest day as I still have to work. Looking at the photo, I wonder if they're all happy because they've retired. If it was tomorrow I could understand. But like Gaurav Kumbhat 03:59 PM - I too have to work the next two days.
I'm glad to see that the Telegraph is doing its bit for the environment by re-using news stories; this one's been floating up since 2005. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4618209.stm
Everywhere & for Everyone...this can be treated as Best Day to be called a Happiest one is mostly coz ,thanks to weekend ahead, He factor has played its role....alas..it doesnt stand the same for me..since i would be working for next two days as well..much to my displeasure..
But there must be an error. The Cpm/T term is smaller for higher values of T, meaning that (other things being equal) happiness would be greater when temperatures are lower in winter. Not only counter-intuitive, but also at odds with the commentary.
Is there any preposterous drivel (sponsored by PR agencies) that journalists can't be persuaded to (a) believe and (b) publish?
Perhaps Arnall can find an equation for finding scepticism in the press?
today is my wife's birthday. She must be happy to see this formula.
Can't believe this would be the happiest day...my 'Birthday', and 1 day before Prince William too! 'Happy' Birthday to the both of us! A voice from the former colonies of the Americas!
today is my wife's birthday. She must be happy to see this formula.
Yeah right! :P
I am at my sadest peak these days and also I hate the Summer and love the Winter.
I guess there is a unique and different equation for every human out there..
Well its our 21st Wedding Anniversary today so should be the happiest day of the year
But as Les Dawson used to say
"My wife and I have one thing in common - we got married on the same day"
Only joking dear!
This is preposterous. "Cpm stands for childhood positive memories". Can't we just call it a guess? A guess commissioned by Walls Ice Cream off some academic willing to whore his profession's good name to get them both in the papers. Why dress it up as science?
(E + v)/Pgm = Fsr
Where E equals exhausting chore levels of reading this crap, v equals vacuity of concept, Pgm equals prevailing good mood before reading and Fsr equals futile sense of rage. Good God.
SAD
Yeah right! :P
I am at my sadest peak these days and also I hate the Summer and love the Winter.
I guess there is a unique and different equation for every human out there..
Well, as term ended two hours ago, the sun is smiling after days of torrential,record-breaking amounts of rain, pollution has lifted and I can see for miles and my vet has told me I do not have my cat 'put to sleep': this is, indeed, a very happy day!