Would you rather be happy or right?

I’d much rather be happy. Nobody gives a shit if you’re the one who gets to say “I was right!”

And what does being right really mean? So you were right, stay with your sanctimonious crap while the rest of the world moves on through this life.

You could be happy in the belief you are right without actually being right.

What good is being right if you’re not happy? Or someone else is unhappy. I know when to bite my tongue. It came with maturity.

My happiness comes from being right.

It’s basically a bullshit quote, better to be happy than self righteous, certainly.

I need to be right.

I’m unhappy most of the time, anyway. I’m used to it by now.

Knowing I am right is all I need to be happy. I learned the hard way that that is enough.

Depends.

Happy is certainly easier, but this is only effective for me until I realize I may be wrong. Blind faith simply doesn’t do it for me. This can be a dangerous trap though, because too much empathy can destroy one’s own life and cause a person to become insane.

Happy, the only time I insist on being right is when factual information is distorted or completely misrepresented/wrong. The rest is all ego, who cares, not worth the drama.

Being right doesn’t automatically make me happy, and being happy often has nothing to do with being right. Actually, I rarely know if I’m happy or right.

It’s possible to be happy if one doesn’t know one isn’t right. But if you know you’re not right, then why choose to remain that way? I don’t think I could be happy in that situation.

Happy

Right

I just try to be happy right now.

I don’t want anyone to ever say to me “Ok you’re right. Happy now?”
That wouldn’t make me happy.

Oooooo…..an either or de facto polling question…..

That means I have to give a Fluther answer; I will be happy I am right.

Hah I read the question and instantly thought of H2G2 :P

Like SlartibartfastI’d much rather be happy than right, also unfortunately like him when prompted with the question are you happy? My answer would be no, it’s where it all falls apart.

If you’re truly happy, it should matter little if you’re wrong. If I’m happy, I will smile at being wrong and beam at you approvingly for pointing it out.

when I’m proven right that always makes me happy.

Here are some things that I’m probably right about that being wrong about would make me very happy:

My right knee needs surgical replacement.
I’m going to eventually have to go back to work.
I’m not going to live forever.
My area isn’t going to get any substantial summer rain in my lifetime.

@Brian1946 I hope you’re wrong on all of them. I think I’m going to join you in number 1 if I live that long.

I’m with @zenvelo on this. In the end nobody gives a shit what you have to say, or if you’re right or wrong about it. I’d rather be happy.

@Brian1946 My brother is being confronted with impending knee surgery,and has been a physical dynamo his entire life. Apparently the one aspect of the body which picks up the tab for exercise is the joints.

happiness is an emotion and therefore fleeting.

Right isn’t always right. Too often there isnt enough data or it is a matter of perspective.

I would much rather be awed by new (to me) discoveries. Excited to learn and overjoyed by the little things that often get overlooked in the daily grind.

Sometimes I am so glad I was wrong.

I don’t worry about being right or wrong. I do care about being recognized when I was right and someone gave me a really hard time trying to tell me I was an idiot.

Happy is the most important. Agreeing to disagree is usually a simple way to not care who is right or wrong. Plus, often both people can be right. Different perspectives can make two different right answers.

@Unbroken What do you mean right isn’t always right? Is right not right by definition? Can right be wrong and if so, why is it not called wrong to begin with? Right cannot even be ambiguous because if it is so, it is not right, it is a guess or an assumption or perhaps a gut feeling. No wait, maybe it can be ambiguous, just because you are unsure does not make it incorrect. It can still be right or a truth without you (or me) being positive that it is so.

you know, if I could make that “edit” thing work from that other question I could just of erased that part of it and left the correct stuff

@rojo Sometimes people can fight over something and when you listen to both people’s explanation you realize they both had valid reasons for doing what they did. Things are not always black and white, there can be a lot of gray.

Yep @rojo shades of grey as @JLeslie said. The more people or variables there are the more gray exists.

Then there is science. Science is built upon. Often especially early in a field there are a lot of facts or theories that are incorrect. Until the time they are disproven they are considered facts.

no worriez , I rant equally and regret just as much

No, right is right; if it is not completely right then it is wrong. You can’t be a little pregnant; you either are or are not.

Life isn’t black and white. There are greys and a plethora of other colors.

I do understand where you are coming from I was raised by people who viewed the world that way and I had trouble adjusting.

I found that upon critical thinking looking at relationships from both aspects etc that it just didn’t fit. People can be both right and wrong I don’t believe in very many absolutes.

I think one of the reasons people are arguing on this question is that “right” is not defined. In the quote that the OP cites, Slartibartfast is talking about being factually right. But some people are interpreting the phrase “would you rather be happy or right?” to mean, “would you rather be happy or argue until someone accepts your point of view?”

These are two completely different questions, and I would give opposite answers to each question. So, perhaps if people could explain which question they are answering when they answer… we could avoid argument and everyone could be happy. ;)

I think one of the reasons people are arguing on this question is that “right” is not defined because this is Fluther.

fxd ryte?

@dappled_leaves I agree two different things.