According to Prof. Shimon Edelman, psychology, it was the pursuit of happiness — and his new book — that brought a crowd of local Ithacans to Buffalo Street Books Thursday night.

Research challenges a basic, economic assumption and suggests that people compromise their happiness for money.

One of the only moments in my life where I have little to no regard for the well-being of others occurs when I play sports. Anyone who has ever played basketball with me knows that I can get vicious. In the throes of intense physical competition, my normally calm, cool and collected demeanor suddenly turns into a raw, unfiltered rage. While I often analyze my behavior in an attempt to control it, I realize that on a macro-level this penchant to overlook others occurs in some way, shape or form to all Cornellians.

Can happiness be quantified? To some extent, yes.