posted
Why do pessimists exist? Shouldn't they be all extinct? 'cause they all basically only go through the motions of life and don't care at all about the lives of other people. I say how the cost of reaching Mars is 22 Billion dollars and they say "why should we go? We're only going to (beep) that planet too!" WHY!? Why do these people exist?
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
You could easily say that optimsts just go through the motions of life and don't care at all if what they hope to be true has any connection to the real world.
You are painting with waaaaaay too broad a brush there.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
i try not to be, i really try, but i just am. i can't help it... as for Mars... when i think about the subject, i usually think, 'all that money should go to a better cause.' like people starving and whatnot. i don't really think that's pessimistic.
Posts: 464 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
If I thought it achieve anything besides waste my time, I'd write a couple page post explaining the current thinking of people who study optimism/pessimism and what my own somewhat informed opinion is.
If you really are interested in learning about why people could develop as pessimists and/or what possible benefits they could gain by doing so, you could check out Martin Seligman's theories on learned helplessness and optimism, most clearly et out in his book Learned Optimism, possibly followed by his The Optimistic Child. And/or look at the emotional costs of hopes/expectations being contradicted with an eye towards self-handicapping. And maybe look at defensive pessimism. I'd recommend Julie Norem's book The Positive Power of Negative Thinking. Or look at Alloy and Abrahamson's seminal 1979 study on what has been come to be known as depressive realism, or the followups by people such as Mischel.
These are all easily obtainable sources of information that will reward a little bit of effort on your part with a great deal of illumination on the topic of why people are pessimistic. I'm pessimistic (or is it realistic) that you'll do anything about it though. I'd love to be proven wrong though.
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Sid, That would be so freaking great if you did. It would make me extremely happy and if you wanted to talk about whatever you thougt about any of this, I'd be very willing.
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
"Why do pessimists exist? Shouldn't they be all extinct? 'cause they all basically only go through the motions of life and don't care at all about the lives of other people. "
Pessimists DO care about the lives of other people, they just don't trust them to do things properly.
Besides, it's useful to have pessimists around. They're usually the most prepared for what life brings.
Personally, I always try to expect the worst. That way, I'm either prepared, or I'm pleasantly surprised.
Posts: 9 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
If there weren't pessimists then everyone would just be happy all the time..and that would be really annoying. And, if there weren't pessimists, then we wouldn't have cool faces like this-->
Posts: 925 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
My God! This is such a stupid thread. It's just a total waste of time. Nothing good will ever come of it, and all you people--myself included--are all just a bunch of idiots for even wasting one second of our time here.
The only problem is: none of the other threads are any better.
Posts: 1862 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I am quite sure that Sid does not exist. He/she/it/they is/are/isn't an imaginary/fantastical/falsified/concrete mathematical/literary/digital construct/amalgamate born/bred/issued of/from our/your/their/his/her own/other pessimistic/paranoid/suicidal/optimistic tendencies/trends/inclinations.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
dh, only a AI with a stutter and an overactive thesaurus could concoct such a miscegnated mish-mash of a sentence. Talk about the mainframe calling the PC nonexistant.
posted
Indeed, I don't exist. I am a figment of your imanginations. All of you are collectively delusional in you own little Matrices. Since you figured this out you must all be deleted.
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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