Living in Somerville Mass. your 2010 Census questions might have included "How many people are living in your home currently? What is your age? What is your race?"

"How much do you weigh?" Kidding. The census takers are seeking the truth.

"How happy do you feel right now"? Not kidding.

So, sitting down to answer the questionnaire, perhaps with Oscar and Hammerstein's South Pacific "Happy Talkie Talkie" playing softly in the background, pencil poised, the citizens of Somerville prepare to evaluate and answer the question.

Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University psychology professor, wrote the questionnaire. "Social policies are always meant to promote things that promote happiness, so how could it be a bad idea to measure directly the very thing you are trying to maximize."

"I would like to be three inches taller and speak Quechua" wrote one respondent.

Perhaps getting to the root of what makes people happy is going to be more challenging than Dr. Gilbert imagined.

In the end, if the city's policies can be changed perhaps it will make people happier.

That's one solution. 

Adding Prozac to the city's water supply is another.