In college, my upper-middle class friend who drove a fancy car would always buy Rolling Rock beer and told me it was his favorite. I had no idea this was among the cheapest beers. I thought I was drinking something fancy. This went on for a half decade. I never bought the stuff, I thought it was expensive, and I never checked the price.
To this day, I like Rolling Rock Beer, I was taught it was good.
Can you think of anything like this? It can increase your Pleasure Per Dollar.
The opposite of Epicurean Hedonism is Cyrenaic Hedonism: Intense pleasure and a disregard for the hangover/consequences of tomorrow. An Epicurean hedonist goes for limiting pain as much as possible, and accepting that they will get less pleasure. Epicurean Hedonists like hanging out with friends. Free, fun, and no hangover. Bread and Water can taste like the best thing ever if you are hungry or thirsty enough.
Not to be a monistic Platonic Realist, Epicurean Hedonism is only 1 way to live life. As a Philosophical Pragmatist, we can have multiple answers to how we should live life. Maybe we do some sort of Intense Cyrenaic Hedonism sometimes. I don’t believe in a metaphysical Truth, so I don’t have the answer. If you deem Happiness as something of Value, you may find something that works for you. Let us not be rigid in our systems, if your idea is useful, use it. If its not useful, don’t use it. There are no such thing as Platonic Universals, there is no mystical equation. If something helps you predict the future better, use it.
“If its useful, use it. If its not useful, don’t use it” – The Pragmatist Sacred Creed.