I think pessimism is linked to aversion of bad tastes. We evolved to be more sensitive to bad tastes because detecting rotten/poisonous food was much more important than detecting sweet/calorie dense food. Basically, our aversion to the bad is stronger than our liking for good.
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Negativity bias is useful for avoiding all kinds of danger. But it’s a problem in an attention economy.
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"Literacy, democracy, health, civil rights and happiness have improved by substantial measure within a few generations." Really? Boys can't read, democracy is undermined by social media, we're obese and have a lower life expectancy than our parents, suicide is on the rise.
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@Neurosculpting This lines up with@realKenWilber &#allpartiallytrue eh? re: Energy and wiring and firing; be it genes, culture, or bad
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power to see the good? I hope I read that wrong ha! #truthlovertothecore#WhatImKnownForIn4Words#DescribeYourselfBadly - End of conversation
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@sapinker You should write a book specifically about how gun violence is getting lower so that the crazy irrational liberals stop crying over dead children. School shootings have become hilarious at this point. Part of me hopes that there are more so we see more liberal tears. -
Violence has declined. He wrote a book titled The Better Angels of Our Nature that covered this. However, the left is quite right in their desire to see the decline of violence continue. And at a faster rate. 1/2
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The historical drop in violence including gun deaths is not consolation to the families of the seventeen dead children. We can still do better through the tools described in the book. 2/2
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There is a direct correlation between amount of violence and number memes related to that violence. Why would anyone want to reduce violence? Think of the memes! Everyone loves memes. If a few kids have to die that's worth it, in my opinion. Your opinion may differ, that's fine.
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I’ll take some nice cat memes or complaints about customer service at fast food restaurants over memes about dead children.
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I personally think that the meme economy is getting over saturated with cat memes. The cat meme bubble will collapse eventually. I recommend diversifying. There is a great demand for absurdist child death memes. The school shooters should be commended for supplying.
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We diversify with a Doug The Pug calendar in the kitchen.
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It's always nice to have options. Some people like animated fox people having sex and some people like death and suffering. And, can you blame them? Existence is futility. Murder and suicide is a message to complacent - to those who are not only happy to live but who create more
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As Meher Baba said “Don’t worry be happy”. Rex Stout said “An optimist faces only disappointment, a pessimist pleasant surprises” (or words to that effect). They’re both right.
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Optimism is also at odds with reality then. Logically, it would have to be if pessimism is.
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Well you are a Canadian living in a well-paid cosy bubble as a tenured professor at Harvard. How pessimistic can you be?
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How many children of U.S. presidents enjoyed comfort and still died from diseases now easily treated?
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but were they optimists?
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Often optimistic for the future and not fatalistic. Harrison lost the election and his wife. Said you couldn’t be a good American unless you had hope.
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Unfortunately, I am not an American!
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