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<p>I think that the concept you are having trouble with is that most of the people who are doing all of the things you list above (which do contribute to happiness), did NOT major in STEM subjects. If you did a survey in the most affluent neighborhoods in my geographic area (DC & suburbs) most of the most successful and influential people have a broad variety of educational backgrounds. I have the utmost respect for technology careers and the people who have the degrees leading to them but the ones who move up in their organizations had better be knowledgeable in areas requiring cultural literacy. Trust me, engineers and computer scientists who can’t recognise Shakespearian references or who don’t understand the cultural influences of the Greek and Roman empires aren’t going to end up on the boards of directors, ie where the REAL impact (and money) is.</p>