--- title: "2 Committing suicide Quotes By Steven D. Levitt" description: "2 Committing suicide quotes by Steven D. Levitt. Plus more from Steven D. Levitt and more Committing suicide sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg" --- > [“David Lester, a psychology professor at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey, has likely thought about suicide longer, harder, and from more angles than any other human. In more than twenty-five-hundred academic publications, he has explored the relationship between suicide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-richard-stockton-college-in/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg) > [“While one might expect that suicide is highest among people whose lives are the hardest, research by Lester and others suggests the opposite: suicide is more common among people with a higher quality of life. “If you’re unhappy and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-highest-among-people-whose/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/steven-d-levitt-5284_committing-suicide_while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-h_1434698.jpg) ## More by Steven D. Levitt > [“Here is the broader point: whatever problem you're trying to solve, make sure you're not just attacking the noisy part of the problem that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/here-is-the-broader-point-whatever-problem-you-re-trying-to-solve/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“Human beings, for all our accomplishments, can be fragile animals. Most of us don't take criticism well at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/human-beings-for-all-our-accomplishments-can-be-fragile-animals-most/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“The ECLS data do show, for instance, that a child with a lot of books in his home tends to test higher than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/the-ecls-data-do-show-for-instance-that-a-child-with-a-lot-of-books/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“In a complex world where people can be atypical in an infinite number of ways, there is great value in discovering the baseline. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/in-a-complex-world-where-people-can-be-atypical-in-an-infinite-number/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“Morning robberies yield far more than afternoon robberies . . .' - When to Rob a Bank: A Rouge Economist's Guide to the World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/morning-robberies-yield-far-more-than-afternoon-robberies-when-to-rob/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“The more complex a problem is, the harder it is to capture good feedback. You can gather a lot of facts, and that may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/the-more-complex-a-problem-is-the-harder-it-is-to-capture-good/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [ “\[...\]if you are hoping to damage opponents' mental health, go ahead and tell them how inferior or dim-witted or nasty they are. But even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/if-you-are-hoping-to-damage-opponents-mental-health-go-ahead-and-tell/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“If asked how we'd behave in a situation that pits a private benefit against the greater good, most of us won't admit to favoring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/if-asked-how-we-d-behave-in-a-situation-that-pits-a-private-benefit/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“The impulse to investigate can only be set free if you stop pretending to know answers that you don't. Because the incentives to pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/the-impulse-to-investigate-can-only-be-set-free-if-you-stop/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“From 2002 to 2008, the United States was fighting bloody wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; among active military personnel, there were an average 1,643…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/from-2002-to-2008-the-united-states-was-fighting-bloody-wars-in/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“But if you are hell-bent on persuading someone, or if your back is truly against the wall, you might as well give it your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/but-if-you-are-hell-bent-on-persuading-someone-or-if-your-back-is/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“Just because you're great at something doesn't mean you're good at everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/just-because-you-re-great-at-something-doesn-t-mean-you-re-good-at/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“For until you can admit what you don't yet know, it's virtually impossible to learn what you need to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/for-until-you-can-admit-what-you-don-t-yet-know-it-s-virtually/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“Sometimes in life, going straight up the middle is the boldest move of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/sometimes-in-life-going-straight-up-the-middle-is-the-boldest-move-of/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [“When it comes to solving problems, one of the best ways to start is by putting away your moral compass. Why? When you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/when-it-comes-to-solving-problems-one-of-the-best-ways-to-start-is-by/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/#itemlist", "name": "2 Committing suicide Quotes By Steven D. Levitt", "numberOfItems": 2, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“David Lester, a psychology professor at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey, has likely thought about suicide longer, harder, and from more angles than any other human. In more than twenty-five-hundred academic publications, he has explored the relationship between suicide and, among other things, alcohol, anger, antidepressants, astrological signs, biochemistry, blood type, body type, depression, drug abuse, gun control, happiness, holidays, Internet use, IQ, mental illness, migraines, the moon, music, national-anthem lyrics, personality type, sexuality, smoking, spirituality, TV watching, and wide-open spaces. Has all this study led Lester to some grand unified theory of suicide? Hardly. So far he has one compelling notion. It’s what might be called the “no one left to blame” theory of suicide. While one might expect that suicide is highest among people whose lives are the hardest, research by Lester and others suggests the opposite: suicide is more common among people with a higher quality of life. “If you’re unhappy and you have something to blame your unhappiness on—if it’s the government, or the economy, or something—then that kind of immunizes you against committing suicide,” he says. “It’s when you have no external cause to blame for your unhappiness that suicide becomes more likely. I’ve used this idea to explain why African-Americans have lower suicide rates, why blind people whose sight is restored often become suicidal, and why adolescent suicide rates often rise as their quality of life gets better.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven D. Levitt" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-richard-stockton-college-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“David Lester, a psychology professor at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey, has likely thought about…” — Steven D. Levitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“While one might expect that suicide is highest among people whose lives are the hardest, research by Lester and others suggests the opposite: suicide is more common among people with a higher quality of life. “If you’re unhappy and you have something to blame your unhappiness on—if it’s the government, or the economy, or something—then that kind of immunizes you against committing suicide,” he says. “It’s when you have no external cause to blame for your unhappiness that suicide becomes more likely.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven D. Levitt" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-highest-among-people-whose/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/steven-d-levitt-5284_committing-suicide_while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-h_1434698.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/steven-d-levitt-5284_committing-suicide_while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-h_1434698.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/steven-d-levitt-5284_committing-suicide_while-one-might-expect-that-suicide-is-h_1434698.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While one might expect that suicide is highest among people whose lives are the hardest, research by Lester…” — Steven D. Levitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/", "name": "Committing suicide Quotes by Steven D. Levitt", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/steven-d-levitt-5284_blind-people_david-lester-a-psychology-professor-at-r_1114245.jpg" }, "description": "2 Committing suicide quotes by Steven D. Levitt. Plus more from Steven D. Levitt and more Committing suicide sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Committing Suicide", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Steven D. Levitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/steven-d-levitt/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```