RE: https://mastodon.social/@Daojoan/116389155177174187
1000% this:
“Optimism is treated like a belief in astrology.
Pessimism reads as intelligence now.
Optimism reads as naivety.
This has gotten so baked into educated Western culture that most people don't notice they're doing it. But it's toxic, all the same.”
Counterpoint:
There are 5 very dead rich folks at the bottom of the ocean because they were overly optimistic (or one was and the rest were gullible). Ignoring evidence that doesn't match your world view isn't optimism, it's foolhardy denial.
And there is a middle ground between optimism and pessimism - realism. It's not wrong to dismiss both optimism and pessimism in the absence of actual data. As with most things, wisdom lies somewhere between the extremes.
Scott Francis
Tom Bortels