Damn you, tall people. They block your view at the movie theater. They're a pain to shop for: Who really wants to drag themselves to the Big & Tall to buy Uncle Lurch a pair of extra-long pants? They're the ones with better chances of becoming pro basketball players, or supermodels.

    Squirts probably don't need any more reasons to envy their longer-limbed neighbors. Unfortunately, a new study just added to the indignity of short people. According to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, both men and women who are above average height - 5 ft. 10 in. for males, 5 ft. 4 in. for females - report higher levels of happiness than smaller people. （See 10 perfect jobs for the recession - and after.）

    In the study, men who call their lives the "worst possible" are nearly an inch shorter than the average man. The women most down in the dumps are half an inch smaller, on average, than the average woman. Taller people say they are more content, and are less likely to report a range of negative emotions like sadness and physical pain. "Happiness is just one more thing that taller people have going for them," says Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist and co-author of the study, who stands a smug 6 ft. 4 in. （Full disclosure: I, too, am about 6 ft. 4 in., but I will refrain from mocking shrimps in this story.）

    Why are tall people happier? According to Deaton's analysis, the result is linked to education and income. The study found that taller people tend to have more education, and thus higher income levels, than shorter people. It follows that the smarter, richer tall people would be sunnier than their vertically challenged compatriots. "Money buys enjoyment and higher life evaluation," says Deaton. "It buys off stress, anger, worry and pain. Income is the thing!"

    To gain some real-world insight into these stats, I called the first smart short person I could think of, a friend named Milton Lee. Despite what these studies indicate, smart short people do exist. Milt, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, made a killing as a Wall Street trader in the 1990s, but quit finance to chase his dream of becoming a basketball coach. He has trained many NBA players, including this year's top draft pick, Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, and even landed an assistant coaching gig for the Los Angeles Clippers' summer-league team.

    Despite giving up an healthy Wall Street income, Lee, who claims he's 5 ft. 9 in. but admits to being 5 ft. 8 in. when pressed, considers himself content. "I'm not totally buying it," he says of the study. "I'm below average height, and have above-average happiness." In his basketball work, Lee spends a lot of time around well-compensated human trees, and doesn't always see smiling faces. "There are plenty of NBA players who are absolutely miserable," Lee says. "They want more playing time, they feel underappreciated. Only a dozen or so guys feel that they are truly loved." （Watch TIME's vide "A Free Lesson with Kobe Bryant."）

    In his Wall Street days, Lee saw plenty of rich, happy short people and wealthy, depressed tall people. He does offer one reason why taller men might be happier. "Whenever I'm out with tall guys, they tend to get more attention from women," says Lee. "You never hear girls say, 'Hey, I'm really into short guys.'"

    Lee directed me to one of the players he coaches, Coleman Collins, for the smart, tall guy's perspective. When I told him Lee questioned the findings, Collins, who is 6 ft. 9 in., wasn't surprised. "Short people are always ready to disagree," says Collins, who graduated from Virginia Tech when he was 19, after just three years, and played for the school's basketball team. He points out that he has many short friends. "Generally speaking, I've found that they are more likely to have a chip on their shoulder, more likely to have something to prove," Collins says. （See 10 ways Twitter will change American business.）

    Collins, now 23, supports the study's results. "I'm generally in a good mood," he says. "And based on the anecdotal evidence I've seen, tall people have a more pleasant disposition and are more easygoing. They don't have to make an extra effort to command attention. When they walk into a room, it tends to come naturally to them." Such recognition surely helps your self-esteem. If only it wasn't too late for you short people to have a growth spurt.

    該死的高個子，總在電影院看電影的時候擋住你的視線。雖然對他們來說買衣服是件頭疼的事情--誰愿意特地跑到the Big&Tall買一條Uncle Lurch的特大號褲子呢？但他們卻更有機會成為職業籃球選手或者模特。

    小個子也許已經有足夠的理由嫉妒他們的高個子鄰居。然而不幸的是，一份來自國家經濟研究局的報告表明比平均身高--以男性5 英尺10 英寸（約1.77m）,女性5 英尺4 英寸（約1.62m）為衡量標準--高的人，無論男女，比相對較矮的人更易感到快樂。這一結論無疑是火上澆油。（See 10 perfect jobs for the recession - and after.）

    研究顯示，認為生活過得很糟糕的男性基本上比平均身高矮一英寸（約2.54cm）,同樣，總是感到沮喪的女性則矮了半英寸。而高個子的人似乎更容易心滿意足，不常流露出消極的情緒，感到悲傷或者身體上的傷痛。"快樂就像是高個子的額外優勢。"來自普林斯頓的經濟學家、這項研究的合作人員安格斯·迪頓說道。安格斯·迪頓擁有令人羨慕的身高，有6英尺4英寸（約1.92m）（順便透露下，我本人也大概有6英尺4,但我會克制自己不去嘲笑這篇文中提到的小個子的）.

    那么，為什么長得高的人會更快樂呢？根據迪頓的分析，這個結果跟教育與收入有關。研究發現長得高的人往往比長得矮的人受到更多的教育，因而收入也較高。由此可知，聰明有錢的高個子比他們的同輩更快樂。"錢可以換來快樂與長壽，"迪頓說道，"可以消除壓力，不滿，擔憂與痛苦。收入高低很重要！"

    現在讓我們貼合現實來深入分析下這些數據的真實性。盡管這項研究顯示長得高的人聰明，但現實生活中顯然存在著聰明但長得矮的人。我就有個朋友叫米爾頓·李，他長得不高卻很聰明，畢業于賓夕法尼亞大學。19世紀90年代米爾頓曾在華爾街工作，并獲得成功，賺了一大筆錢。但后來，為了追求自己的理想，他退出了金融業，轉而當起了籃球教練。到現在，米爾頓培訓過許多NBA球員，包括本年度的選秀狀元布雷克·格里芬，甚至還成為了洛杉磯快艇隊夏季聯賽的助教。

    盡管失去了在華爾街的穩定收入，李，原先自稱身高5英尺9英寸（約合1米75）--后來承認其實是5英尺8英寸（約合1米74）,當被問到是否快樂時，他表示對現狀感到滿意。"我才不相信這一套，"他對于該項調查結果如是說道，"我比常人矮，但卻比常人快樂。"作為一個籃球教練，李平日里常跟這些高收入的 "巨人"打交道，但是很少看到他們開心得笑。"有很多NBA球員過著相當凄慘的生活，"李透露，"他們想要更多的薪水，總覺得自己不被賞識。只有少數人覺得自己是深受愛戴的。"（Watch TIME's vide "A Free Lesson with Kobe Bryant."）

    而且當李還在華爾街工作的時候，他也見過很多快樂但長得矮的有錢人和整天悶悶不樂卻長得高的有錢人。不過，他倒是說出一個高個子也許更快樂的原因。"每當我跟長得高的人一起出去的時候，高個的人更能吸引女人的注意力，"李解釋道，"你不會聽到哪個女人說，'嗨，我就是更喜歡矮個子。'"

    李把一名他手下的球員介紹給我。科爾曼·科林斯可以說是屬于又高又聰明的那一類。當我告訴他李不認同這個研究結果時，身高6英尺9英寸（約合2.04m）的科林斯一點都不感到驚訝，對此他表示："長得矮的人總喜歡提出異議。"科爾曼19歲就從弗吉尼亞理工大學畢業，三年后便在學校籃球隊打球，他說他有不少長得矮的朋友，"通常來說，他們更容易自卑，總是想著要去證明什么。" （See 10 ways Twitter will change American business.）

    科林斯，現今23歲，支持該研究結果，"我基本上都心情愉悅，"他說，"而且根據我平日里的所見所聞，高個子的人一般性情溫和，更容易相處。他們不需要格外的關注，因為當他們走進房間時，人們的視線會自然而然地被吸引過來。"要是長得矮的人能一下子長高的話，這種說法也許有助于加深個人的自我認識。