The Triangle of Happiness

In the late 18th Century, before our time, my ancestors mostly lived in small villages across Scotland. They would have worked within walking distance of their homes and shopped for anything they didn't grow or produce themselves at the local village shops.

Their work/sleep/shop triangle would have been very small and therefore, according to Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000) they were happier than if they had a large triangle between those points.

Putnam, who is a Harvard political scientist and Professor of Public Policy, is credited with the 'Triangle of Happiness' theory.

Putnam likes to imagine that there is a triangle, its points comprising where you sleep, where you work, and where you shop. In a canonical English village, or in a university town, the sides of that triangle are very short: a five-minute walk from one point to the next. In many American cities, you can spend an hour or two travelling each side. “You live in Pasadena, work in North Hollywood, shop in the Valley,” Putnam said. “Where is your community?” The smaller the triangle, the happier the human, as long as there is social interaction to be had. In that kind of life, you have a small refrigerator, because you can get to the store quickly and often. By this logic, the bigger the refrigerator, the lonelier the soul.

'There and Back Again.The soul of the commuter' by Nick Paumgarten. New Yorker, April 16 2007

Putnam points out however, that a small triangle equals a happier human only when social interaction is also involved. Reducing your triangle to one of working from your bedroom and ordering all the groceries on-line for delivery would be counter-productive to your happiness!

My local shops are walking distance, but getting to and from my workplace and my kids' school (and their various after-school activities) requires the car.  Some days my life as a chauffeur looks more like the Oblong of Exasperation than the Triangle of Happiness, but that is the reality of the life we have chosen to lead, and the key is to minimise the angst of the time spent in the car. 

I've tried a number of ways of making time in the car productive - listening to audio books, brushing up on a foreign language using audio programs and if the children are in the car, using the time to talk about their days. The most enjoyable activity when it's just me however, is to ensure the car radio is on a quality (usually ABC) talk radio station so that my time in the car is informative and/or entertaining. 

My 'commute' is under 10 kilometres, which is not much at all. However, a recent Federal Government report Population Growth, Jobs Growth and Commuting Flows in Melbourne, predicted ''an increase in journeys to work involving a road distance of more than 30 kilometres and an increase in the average commuting distance'' as the city is expected to add another million residents by 2025.

That's a really large Triangle of Happiness/Unhappiness for a significant proportion of our city's population, and the challenge ahead will be to try to create more jobs on the outskirts of the city - thereby reducing the size of those triangles.


What geometric shape is your work/sleep/shop life in?

Packing for a holiday abroad

"When packing your bulk luggage, remember that it won't be available to you on the journey. Therefore, pack the items most urgently needed in a small handbag which will remain in your custody. Keep within the weight limits laid down for luggage, which, in normal circumstances, is 44lb. Don't exceed that limit unless you are prepared to pay excess."

Etiquette for Australians by Noreen Routledge (1944)

Next week, my husband, daughters and I are heading off on a plane for a holiday 'abroad'.

(Don't you just love the word abroad? It conjures images of European Grand Tours and Mediterranean sojourns, flying boats and steam trains - so much more evocative than overseas.)

Anyway, I digress. The fact is that we are journeying to another country via an aircraft. And I have started to worry about what I need to pack for three weeks which includes two cities - one of which has recently been experiencing temperatures in the high 20s, low 30s (Celsius) and the other of which hovers around 0-4 degrees for most of the day and drops below zero at night.

It's a difficult task.

So I consulted the wisdom of the past.

Noreen Routledge's Etiquette for Australians published in 1944 contains a chapter on travel by air, including a very helpful list (with weights) of suggested clothing to pack. (Click on the photo if you would like to read the list.)

Now keep in mind that this book was published in 1944. The Second World War was raging. When Singapore had fallen to Japanese forces in 1942, Qantas's thrice-weekly Australia-England flying boat services had ceased*. In 1943, Qantas (together with the British Air Ministry and BOAC) agreed to a plan to re-establish the Australia-England air link by establishing regular Catalina flying boat flights between the Swan River, Perth, and Koggala Lake, in southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The single Indian Ocean hop of 5,652km was to be the longest non-stop regular passenger flight ever attempted. Navigation was by the stars to maintain radio silence near enemy aircraft and each flight was limited to only three passengers and 69kg of diplomatic and armed forces mail. The flying boats took an average of 28 hours to complete the journey. By the time the operation ended in 1945, 271 crossings carrying 648 passengers had been completed.

It's not quite the same as a 747-jumbo packed full of tourists, backpackers and business people now is it?

Throughout the War, Qantas did maintain a modest domestic schedule (a Brisbane-Darwin service and a handful of minor Queensland routes) but air travel was hardly an experience for the masses.

Which perhaps explains some of the items on Ms Routledge's list: 1 costume, 2 dinner frocks, 2 silk frocks, 2 afternoon frocks...3 pairs of gloves...1 hat box, 2 hats...

Interestingly though, after all this time, and with significant changes in the type of aircraft flown, today's baggage allowance is identical to that of 1944. Forty-four lbs (or 20kgs) is still the baggage allowance for travellers flying economy class on an international flight.

Which, as far as I'm concerned, is about 15 kilograms too much to be lugging around into and out of hotels and taxis. I like to travel reasonably light. I can probably forgo the silk frocks and the hat box, but I know that in my enthusiasm to keep our suitcases light, I'm bound to leave out an essential item.

Tell me. What should I not forget to pack?


* Historical information about Qantas came from the Qantas website.