Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned.

Stefan Sagmeister prefers to watch with company: “I find watching TED Talks the most brilliant alternative to watching TV, especially with someone else while stopping and going and stopping and discussing it all.”

Spellbinding, stimulating, seductive ... science? Here, the 10 most-watched science talks on TED.com. See why.

It never hurts to have a basic set of guiding principles. Let these insightful talks help shape, redefine and build out your own leadership goals.

A top newscaster in China, Wang Lifen has launche Umiwi to call on the youth of China to make their own media. Here, her 5 most quotable TED Talks.

These speakers offer beautiful, sweeping, simple life advice — the kind to tuck in the back of your mind and let inspire you onward.

Ignite your curiosity with these TED Talks certain to motivate the mind, reshape perspectives and inspire ideas worth spreading.

Everyone wants to be happy. But how, exactly, does one go about it? Here, psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks and more gives answers that may surprise.

Head of TED Chris Anderson speaks with fascinating individuals to dig into some of the most provocative and powerful ideas of our time. (Made possible with the support of Lexus.)

Dan Gilbert gave his first TED Talk in February 2004; The surprising science of happiness was one of the first we ever published, in September 2006. Here, the Harvard psychologist reminisces about the impact of TED, shares some suggestions of useful further reading — and owns up to some mistakes. When I gave this talk in 2004, the idea that v...

Nancy Etcoff is part of a new vanguard of cognitive researchers asking: What makes us happy? Why do we like beautiful things? And how on earth did we evolve that way?

At TEDxCambridge, Michael Norton shares fascinating research on how money can indeed buy happiness -- when you don't spend it on yourself. Listen for surprising data on the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people.

Cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff looks at happiness -- the ways we try to achieve and increase it, the way it's untethered to our real circumstances, and its surprising effect on our bodies.

About this event: Our TEDx event takes the format of two videoed TED talks, shown on a large projector screen, with time between each talk for discussion among attendees. The May talks will be: "The surprising science of happiness" and "The jobs we'll lose to machines - and the ones we won't"

When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built an app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be.

Ron Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you'll live -- and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily contagious behavior.

A list of the talks mentioned in TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking. Chris Anderson's comments on each talk (in the grey italics) indicate why they were included in the book. Use the book index for more info.

We're all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits -- from happiness to obesity -- can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don't even know.

What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard says we can train our minds in habits of well-being, to generate a true sense of serenity and fulfillment.

Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists -- that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is.

Have you played with Google Labs' Ngram Viewer? It's an addicting tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries. Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel show us how it works, and a few of the surprising things we can learn from 500 billion words.

About this event: You are cordially invited to the next TEDxTheHague salon! Our September edition — themed (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding — is curated by TEDxTheHague regular Norman Lenffer. Norman writes: "Happiness is something were all aspire to, or even feel that it is a right to be happy. But yet for many people happiness remains a...

The path to better medicine is paved with accidental yet revolutionary discoveries. In this well-told tale of how science happens, neuroscientist Rebecca Brachman shares news of a serendipitous breakthrough treatment that may prevent mental disorders like depression and PTSD from ever developing. And listen for an unexpected -- and controversial...

For the past 70 years, scientists in Britain have been studying thousands of children through their lives to find out why some end up happy and healthy while others struggle. It's the longest-running study of human development in the world, and it's produced some of the best-studied people on the planet while changing the way we live, learn and ...

Canine cognition expert Alexandra Horowitz offers a peek inside the mind of your dog, sharing solutions to common "misbehaviors" that are often simply the result of a pup's attempt to communicate in a world that's very different from their own. Hear about the evolution and psychology behind your dog's actions -- and how to give them a happier, h...

About this event: This session — themed In Search of Happiness — is curated by TEDxTheHague regulars Johan Olie (46) and Bruce Siemens (19). Inspired by Sebastian Wernicke, featured in our February session, Johan and Bruce set out to create an ideal TED talk using the tedPAD. Off course, as these things go, the process brought them elsewhere. Wernicke found...

Human activity is affecting the planet in dramatic, unsustainable ways -- including destroying the habitats of wild animals. Considering our obligation to care for the creatures we've impacted, environmental writer Emma Marris dives into the ethics of wildlife management, zoos and aquariums, offering her thoughts on how we can help Earth's wildl...

Over the past week, we’ve noticed a lot of TED-related news items in the ether. Here, some highlights: Chip Kidd (watch his TED Talk) has just released a new book: a how-to guide to graphic design for kids. Read The New York Times’ Q&A with him in which he says, “I was utterly floored [when an editor wrote me about the book idea]. I sai...

I’m an anthropology major gearing up for my senior year and all that comes with it -- job applications, extracurricular responsibilities and my senior honors thesis. After a semester abroad, I’m looking forward to returning to the familiarity and challenges that my college, the University of Pennsylvania, presents while incorporating the new per...

Martin Seligman talks about psychology -- as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a focus on disease, what can modern psychology help us to become?