Where Did Mr. Barno’s Atlas to a Kinder Universe Come From?

Mr. Barno’s Atlas to a Kinder Universe, from Beware the Smart Kids, is built on the years he spent studying happiness. Scroll down to dive deeper into each part of his atlas.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happiness Myths and Pitfalls

First, in Beware the Smart Kids, several happiness myths and happiness pitfalls are alluded to by different characters. For example, Nolan expresses his belief in myth #3 early in the book during his conversation with Principal Anand in her office when he outright states, “You’re either born happy or you’re not. That’s just the way it is.”  Branson believes in myths #1 and #2 when he expresses his desires to get rich, get famous, and to leave the town. Nolan’s Mom also believes in Myth #2. What myths do you think Neil believed in? What about Mrs. Meyers?

Mr. Barno teaches Nolan about the happiness pitfalls through the Atlas to a Kinder Universe lessons. The use of these myths and pitfalls in Beware the Smart Kids is inspired by the work of popular experts on happiness, such as Dr. Daniel Gilbert, Dr. Lori Santos, and Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky.

Happiness Myths

1. happiness must be found
2. Happiness lies in changing our circumstances
3. You are either born happy or not

Happiness Pitfalls

The happiness pitfalls – or, annoying features of the mind as Dr. Santos calls them in her free course on happiness – include:

1. hedonic adaptation – our tendency to revert to our baseline of happiness after a brief boost in happiness
2. impact bias – our tendency to over-estimate the emotional impact of a future event in terms of intensity and duration
3. immune neglect – our lack of awareness of our psychological immune system to make us feel better after a bad experience
4. misguided reference points – our tendency to judge things based on comparison to our own past or on salient but irrelevant social cues (such as a wealthy neighbor).

The Atlas To a Kinder Universe Reading List

Some of the sources that Mr. Barno drew upon when creating the Atlas to a Kinder Universe are below:

1. Happiness, Not Fear.

• The Science of Well-Being by Laurie Santos (free online course)
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
• The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Use your strengths to boost your happiness (article)
• Happiest people revisited (research study)

1. Compassion, Not Judgment:

• The Lost Art of Compassion by Lorne Ladner
• Chapter 5 of The How of Happiness
• Putting Compassion on the scientific map (research article)
• Compassion for others and self-compassion (research study)
• Note to self: Compassion, not criticism (article)

1. Harmony, Not Rigidity

• Chapters 6 and 7 of The How of Happiness
• Happy people become happier through kindness (research study)
• What is eudaimonic happiness?
• Awakening Joy by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander
• Benefits of loving-kindness meditation (article)
• Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Salzberg

1. Gratitude, Not Perfection

• Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert A. Emmons
• The Fame, Prestige Happiness Trap (Atlantic article)
• Grateful Expectations episode of The Happiness Lab podcast
• Chapter 4 of The How of Happiness
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy exercises for perfectionism (article)
• How to be an Imperfectionist by Stephen Guise
• Counting blessings versus burdens (research study)

Inconvenience, Not Catastrophe

• The Surprising Science of Happiness: Ted Talk by Daniel Gilbert
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
• Immune neglect and affective forecasting
• How to be happy when everything goes wrong (article)
• Hedonic adaptation and the hedonic treadmill
• On Groundless Fears by Seneca
• The Feeling Good Handbook by Dr. David Burns (or other books/articles that explore the concept of cognitive distortions in CBT)

Want more?

1. Beware the Smart Kids book discussion questions
2. Beware the Smart Kids Teaching resources and activities
3. The Atlas to a Kinder Universe Podcast on Spotify
4. If you’re local to Shepherd University, you could always take my special topics class COMM 402: Happiness: Media versus Reality when it is offered. Or, you can read about the happiness and media class and see the syllabus