Why Happiness Can’t Be Faked

The Experience Machine thought experiment

Photo by My name is Yanick on Unsplash

Every so often I find myself imagining that everything in my life is going perfectly to plan. My relationships are bouyant, my social life is all dinner parties and wine evenings, and my work is winning the best accolades around.

My imagination can do this. It can conjure effects that don’t match reality. But all this…