Joy of Pain

Few people will easily admit to taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others. But who doesn''t enjoy it when an arrogant but untalented contestant is humiliated on American Idol, or when the embarrassing vice of a self-righteous politician is exposed, or even when an envied friend suffers a small setback? The truth is that joy in someone else''s pain-known by the German word schadenfreude--permeat...