Chapter 3 Reading Quiz Answer Key
1. What is the best description of the Hedonic Treadmill?
A. You are running very fast and you actually enjoy it B. You are stuck repeating things in your life, like a job or chores, and you do not like them C. You are increasingly happy the more you work D. CORRECT: You are convinced the next desire you have will finally make you happy, then you reach it only to crave something else. - For example, you get that cheesesteak and fries, but once you eat it, you don’t feel great and are maybe already looking forward to what your next meal will be. This is normal and okay, but we don’t want our lives to revolve around seeking out these simple pleasures.
2. What is the best definition of “hedonism?”
A. Excitement from exercise of either your mind or body B. The belief that valuing your mind or “head” is most important C. The pursuit of very meaningful pleasures, like helping the world or taking care of sick loved ones D. CORRECT: The pursuit of simple pleasures
3. Which of the following is an example of “hedonism?”
I. Going out to dinner II. Playing video games III. Hanging out with a group of friends IV. Having a job that makes a big difference in the world
A. I only B. I and II C. CORRECT: I, II and III – These are all temporary forms of happiness, which is hedonism. Have a job that makes a big difference in the world would be an example of your eudaimonia. D. I, II, III and IV
4. Which of the following statements is true about your brain?
I. Anytime you feel “happy,” such as eating a tasty piece of food, your brain releases chemicals called serotonin and dopamine. It’s those chemicals that make you feel happy.
II. Hedonism is always bad. Anytime your brain starts to recognize happiness from hedonism, your physical body starts to get a little sicker.
A. CORRECT: I only – Hedonism is not always bad. We all pursue it and that’s okay, but we need to make sure that’s not all we focus on. We must also strive to find our purpose in life and what will give us long lasting happiness. B. II only C. Both I and II D. Neither I nor II
5. What statement best summarizes the premise that “wealth and well-being work together?”
A. Money will always make you happy. – NOT TRUE – THERE ARE PLENTY OF FOLKS WHO HAVE A LOT OF MONEY BUT ARE NOT HAPPY. B. Being wealthier is worse than being rich, and when you are rich you also tend to be physically healthier. C. Hedonism should always be avoided at all costs. You should always strive to live a life full of purpose. D. CORRECT: Money will not guarantee everyday will be great, but it will help you have an increasing amount of better and better days. – There is no way to guarantee you’ll be happy each day, but you can be sure that you’ll have more happy days if you’re wealthy because you won’t have to worry about meeting your basic needs all the time.
Chapter 3 YouTube Video Quiz Answer Key
1. How old is the Big Bang?
A. CORRECT: 13.8 billion years B. 5 billion years C. 500 million years D. 5,000 years
2. How old is writing?
A. 13.8 billion years B. 5 billion years C. 500 million years D. CORRECT: 5,000 years
3. What do we call the consistent improvement in the quality of human life over long periods of time?
A. Writing B. Find Your Niche C. Wealth and Well-Being Work Together D. CORRECT: The Optimistic Universe
4. Where is the earliest known records of the first humans?
A. CORRECT: Ethiopia B. Greece C. Rome D. China
5. What is interesting to Mr. LaSalle about the idea of hedonism and eudaimonia?
A. Only the Greeks came up with this or any similar idea. B. Even though it may go by different names, these two forms of happiness were developed by Jews, Christians, and Muslims at the exact same time. C. CORRECT: Even though it may go by different names, these two forms of happiness were invented by different thinkers and civilizations very close in time from one another. – How cool is that?! D. Eudaimonia is the only good form of happiness and hedonism is a terrible form of happiness.
6. What refers to happiness we get from simple pleasures?
A. CORRECT: Hedonism B. Eudaimonia C. Both (A) and (B) D. Neither (A) nor (B)
7. What refers to happiness we get from discovering our purpose or potential?
A. Hedonism B. CORRECT: Eudaimonia C. Both (A) and (B) D. Neither (A) nor (B)
8. Wealth or money helps you achieve what type of happiness?
A. Hedonism B. Eudaimonia C. CORRECT: Both (A) and (B) D. Neither (A) nor (B)
9. What is true when you “find or create your niche?”
I. You will only have happy days in the future II. All of your different identities are in balance
A. I only B. CORRECT: II only – You won’t necessarily have only happy days in the future but you’ll have a lot more happy days than you would if you didn’t find your niche. C. Both I and II D. Neither I nor II
10. “Find or create your niche” is similar to what other idea?
A. The Optimistic Universe B. Invest and diversify C. CORRECT: Wealth and well-being work together – Finding your niche will likely lead to wealth which will lead to more happy days. D. Hedonism
Chapter 3 Friday Summative Quiz Answer Key
1. Which description best represents the “Hedonic Treadmill?”
A. Humans can only achieve the greatest happiness by chasing after specific goals, similar to being on a treadmill. B. The source of unhappiness and misery comes when we pursue goals without reaching them, similar to how a treadmill uses energy without getting the runner any closer to any destination. C. The key to happiness is to motivate others to do the exhausting work that they find meaningful but you do not. D. CORRECT: Humans think achieving or obtaining will lead to happiness but humans find themselves wanting more and more without getting much happier. – We are never satisfied with simple pleasures – we always want more. In other words, we’re always chasing (like on a treadmill) that next thing that will make us temporarily happy.
2. Which of the following is the best summary of the “Hedonic Helmet?”
A. Real technology that now exists that can measure a person’s potential to earn money. B. The greatest scam in recent human history where normal Americans wasted thousands of dollars on something that did not make anyone happier. C. A theoretical idea that Einstein thought up, which then motivated millions of dollars in government investment that led to new inventions never dreamed up before. D. CORRECT: An imaginary experiment that asks someone if they would spend their time feeling instant happiness by plugging it in. – Would you do it? Probably not. No one wants to be happy every second of every day with no effort.
3. What was Mr. LaSalle’s purpose in writing about the Hedonic Helmet?
A. CORRECT: To force the reader to realize that there is more to happiness than the pursuit of simple pleasures – it’s easy to think that’s what life is all about, but we would all agree it’s about more than the simple pleasures. B. To force the reader to realize that money cannot buy happiness C. To force the reader to realize that technology is changing the world, and has been, in better and better ways for thousands of years D. To force the reader to recognize that science and innovation can destroy civilization
4. What is the best way to describe the difference between hedonism versus eudaimonia?
A. Hedonism is the pursuit of money and eudaimonia is the pursuit of value B. Eudaimonia is the pursuit of money and hedonism is the pursuit of value C. CORRECT: Hedonism is the pursuit of simple pleasures and eudaimonia is the pursuit of discovering your purpose in life D. Eudaimonia is the pursuit of simple pleasure and hedonism is the pursuit of simple pleasure in life
5. What does Mr. LaSalle mean by “value wealth and well-being?”
A. Happiness comes before earning money B. Earning money comes before happiness C. CORRECT: Money that does not run-out allows people to achieve the goals that lead to happiness – if you don’t have to worry about your basic needs because you have wealth, you’ll have many more happy days. D. The more money a person has, the happier the person will be
6. A metaphor or analogy is used throughout the chapter about a “yo-yo going up a hill.” Obviously, no one in this class is going to receive a yo-yo or be asked to walk up a hill. What was Mr. LaSalle’s purpose in introducing the idea of a “yo-yo going up a hill?”
A. The yo-yo represents the focus, discipline and perseverance necessary to achieve wealth. The hill represents challenges. B. Gravity on the yo-yo symbolizes how poverty weighs us down, and the mountain is time. C. CORRECT: A yo-yo represents your mood or level of happiness, and walking up a hill with a yo-yo represents how wealth leads to a gradual improvement in happiness as we get older. – Day to day and week to week your happiness levels will go up and down. But, over time your happiness levels will continue to rise throughout your life if you can find your niche and build wealth. D. A hill represents the pursuit of happiness, and a yo-yo’s ups and downs represent your bank account balances.
7. What was the purpose behind Mr. LaSalle introducing the diagram below?
Your Ambitious but realistic Thing you can afford to increase your happiness age savings account balance by this age 10 $5 A slice of pizza for you and your sister years old 15 $100 Average cost of a pair of jeans plus a shirt, or 3 one- years on-one dance lessons with a private instructor old 20 $500 Average cost of a guitar or a computer program to years learn to code better, a month of MMA classes told 25 $5,000 A car to get you to a better job in a different city years old 30 $10,000 Night classes for your first year of law school or 6 years months of expenses so you can start your own told business as a fashion consultant.
A. CORRECT: Wealth allows you to reach more goals over time that bring well-being or happiness B. America needs to increase food stamps and free healthcare so all Americans can achieve the details in the chart C. Each person should strive to do all actions listed in the right-most column D. Happiness and money have nothing to do with each other, which is what many people have been saying for centuries
8. What was the purpose behind Mr. LaSalle introducing the diagram below?
1. America is the world’s leading producer of gas. (Yep, we now beat the Middle East) 2. America patents more inventions than any other nation. 3. America has 20% of the world’s top 500 companies. China has Alibaba, an ecommerce business like Amazon. Japan has Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi. Millions of new businesses are registered across the world each day. And 20% of the best ones are in the United States. That’s not just first place. That’s a blowout!
America would never have accomplished those 3 things without ordinary Americans spending well, saving intensely, and investing regularly.
A. America’s success as a country has been by luck and randomness, so each student in this class should be grateful he/she currently lives in this country B. America’s failures are due to poor financial decisions by the majority of its people C. CORRECT: America’s successes as a country have been helped by ordinary people using their money wisely D. America’s failures are due to those who do not start or work for businesses in this country
9. A portion of a diagram from Chapter 3 about Bill Gates has been reprinted below. What was Mr. LaSalle’s purpose behind creating this diagram?
Bill Gates lives in Seattle With over $100 billion where Microsoft and the sitting in bank accounts, the Bill and Melinda Gates banks know that Bill Gates is Foundation has their NOT going to show up one headquarters. Both day and want all of this organizations create a money back in an instant. So, combined 130,000 jobs. banks take that money and Those people, who may lend it out to people who have moved to Seattle, want to start their own want to go to gyms, business or get loans for restaurants, and put their houses, cars and other children in daycare and things. schools. This, in turn, leads to even more jobs!
A. To illustrate that the more money a person earns in a country, the less others have. (There is only so much money that can go around in the world.) B. To prove that too much money in the hands of a few people creates immense problems for some and gives too much power to others. (There is only so much money that can go around in the world.) C. CORRECT: To illustrate that the more money a person earns, the more money a country has which can make all those in that country better off. (There is more and more money that can always go around in the world.) – if you have more money, it means there is more money that can go around to others (not just through charity). D. To prove that the best way to make money is to find your niche. (There is more and more money that can always go around in the world.)
10. Wealth was compared to a garden that grows into a jungle. What was Mr. LaSalle’s purpose behind using this description?
A. To describe to the reader the math behind wealth B. To prove to the reader that as one business dies, another one is born C. To scare the reader into how hard it is to survive in a world without money D. CORRECT: To persuade the reader that wealth leads to more wealth with benefits for everyone