The Reproductive Quadratic Equation

“Finally, lots of people offer the notion that parenthood will make them happy. Here the evidence is, sadly, against them. Research shows that people who have children are no more satisfied with their lives than people who don’t. If anything, the balance tips the other way: parents are less happy.”
— And yet! Elizabeth Kolbert reads up on the sometimes startlingly, endearingly chilly ethics of having versus not-having children.