What does 'otherwise' mean? Our sense of how deprived we are is relative. This is an observation that is both obvious and (upon exploration) deeply profound, and it explains all kinds of otherwise puzzling observations. Which do you think, for example, has a higher suicide rate: countries whose citizens declare themselves to be very happy, such as Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Canada, or countries like Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, whose citizens describe themselves as not very happy at all? Answer: the so­called happy countries. 2nd line 'otherwise' means: 1. if our sense of how deprived we are is not relative or 2. if an observation is not obvious and profound I read over and over again, but I'm confused.