It can be hard to define the hedonic
treadmill in easy-to-understand terms. So next time you’re stuck for an
explanation, just point
your interlocutor here, to this week’s Shouts and Murmurs column in the
New Yorker. As a funny, it’s not so funny. But as an elucidation of a relatively
recondite concept in that hazy area where sociology, psychology, and economics
intersect, it’s hilarious.