zlacker

>>bookof+(OP)
Please share this with someone who doesn't know the story yet. Ingenuity alone can't save our species. We also need the will to do good. We are living through a moment of deep cynicism about our ability to solve existential problems. Let this be a reminder of what we are capable of.

>>atdt+ec
> We are living through a moment of deep cynicism about our ability to solve existential problems.

I have no doubt that we can create a really miraculous future. I am just increasingly pessimistic about our collective desire to do so.

>>carlos+Vc
Cultivating optimism is the first step. Optimism is irrational, you can just choose to have it (of course thinking about good things that have happened helps). Optimism is the precondition for doing good.

So what if there’s a low collective will at the moment. Do your part to be part to grow the collective will to good. Go volunteer for a good cause (food bank, community organizations, etc.), donate to good causes, just be friendly to other people you see.

>>jackyi+Jk
Wouldn't say optimism is irrational. There are good things happening in the world in spite of all the bad things in the world.

Pessimism that leads to a self fulfilling prophecy is irrational, but you still need a win. A win is fuel.

>>kiba+3y
Choosing a belief that is more desirable than the most likely case, is by definition irrational, and can be called optimistic.

Choosing a belief that is less desirable than the most likely, is equally irrational, clearly pessimistic, and often self-fulfilling.

So the ideal belief system is irrational (optimistic) but only to a chosen and realistic extent.

Somewhere between Pollyanna and Eeyore, but more P than E. And as irrational psychologies go, moderate-P is by far the more successful of the two.