tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post6567783460781322674..comments2024-03-26T06:17:49.527-07:00Comments on Had Enough Therapy?: Pinker Notwithstanding, We Are Too OptimisticStuart Schneidermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-34066190025012443742018-03-13T01:29:13.028-07:002018-03-13T01:29:13.028-07:00Do we have a negativity bias or an optimism bias? ...Do we have a negativity bias or an optimism bias? A negativity bias forces us to give higher attention to dangers than opportunities, even if supposedly the Chinese symbol for crisis has both.<br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_word_for_crisis<br /><br />And we have the quote “We have only two modes — complacency and panic.” James R. Schlesinger, so that shows something of the nature of denial, out of sight, out of mind, as long as it works. The moral of the Ant and the Grasshopper sounds good on paper, but sometimes the grasshopper is right, and you're going to die before winter anyway, so why prepare too much for a future that might never happen.<br /><br />I suppose debt for me is the ultimate sign of an optimist. If the future is always going to be bigger than the present, then why not borrow lots of money and bet on this? Why not get the biggest house you can afford on your current income, knowing income only goes up? And if you're wrong, you can always default and walk away, and it's the savers who were foolish enough to lend you money who will be gnashing their teeth.Ares Olympushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09726811306826601686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-76466798695183529922018-03-12T12:49:39.670-07:002018-03-12T12:49:39.670-07:00When I see optimistic individuals trying to "...When I see optimistic individuals trying to "Be the change they want to see in the world" - I remind them: Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao lived that saying. I now find optimism un-necessary - but that's because I have faith and hope that I would think is not misplaced. Shaun Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17425084501514329529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-85103474298266221322018-03-12T08:30:27.416-07:002018-03-12T08:30:27.416-07:00Because every graduating kollege senior, after fou...Because every graduating kollege senior, after four or six years of Making A Difference on kampus, is exhorted at the graduation ceremony "to go out and change the world", present optimism and future disappointment are guaranteed.<br /><br />But ... optimism isn't <i>per se</i> a fallacy, it depends on what one is optimistic about. Although no one is promised tomorrow, every Christian, and even some protestants, are optimistic about our ultimate fate.Jack Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17873320680596889057noreply@blogger.com