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?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I'm pretty sure it's just to piss you off.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
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.
Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
It's the whole attitute of hopelessness that I just don't understand. It's incomphrehensible.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Well, then many people are pretty different from you. That's just the way things are.
Posted by Soara (Member # 6729) on :
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.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I was gonna start a thread like this, then I figured why bother....
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Like.
Like hot.
Like.
Posted by Proteus (Member # 794) on :
Pessimism is neccessary as a counter-point to pointless faith in the world.
And to make us (the English) remain cynical, spiteful, but also unsurprised by the stupidity of the world around us...
You truly know that you live in the free world when your role models are Ian Hislop and Jack Dee!
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
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.
Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
Thanks, I'll look into it.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
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.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
Squick, does the word "freaking" really elevate the level of dicourse here?
Hobbes Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
lol, I may take me a while to look into it. College and all.
Posted by Slurpy (Member # 6505) on :
"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.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I'd respond to this thread...
But I don't care. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?
I don't know and I don't care.
Posted by Bitterman (Member # 7042) on :
Pessimism is a way of dealing with the stesses of the world. It's a survival tool used to keep from getting your dreams stomped on.
If one always expects the worst, you cant be dissapointed when the worst possible thing happens.
Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
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--> Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
I have two words for all of you.
Existential ennui.
So sad.
Oh, wait - that was four - well, who cares if I can count anyhow? I don't -
Posted by ssywak (Member # 807) on :
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.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Sid's being pretty pessimistic about pessimists. Which begs the question, why does Sid exist?
Deep.
Posted by dh (Member # 6929) on :
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.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
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.
[ November 22, 2004, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Darn. Since you laughed at my stupid criminals thread I'll just say that was a cool sentance, Dh.
[ November 22, 2004, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
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.
Posted by Steel (Member # 3342) on :
I saw the title and figured that "Why not?" would be the best answer.
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