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People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

npr.org

21–30 of 193 posts

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#21
Aren't people that are richer, with the exception of those who achieve existential angst through lack of meaning, more optimistic? :P

If you can't get medical care, I imagine you're both more likely to die and pretty pessimistic about the state of the world.

It's easy to be optimistic when you have a feeling of control over your circumstances.

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#22
I really wish articles written about studies like this, where all they found was a association between stuff, and not a causal relationship, would explicitly say so. Perhaps through a little box near the end of the article stating, in simple terms, "the authors found that X and Y are associated. This does not necessarily mean that doing X will cause Y"

I know the people who read the actual study in journal, entitled "Optimism is associated with ...", will notice the word "associated" and know what to make of the results. But Im pretty sure a good number of people who read pop-science articles like this dont know that "correlation doesnt imply causation". They will come to the wrong conclusion, and we cant blame them! Ive found this to be true in friends and family.

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#23
post #17

Optimism is more compelling as an ethic than a philosophy. Even if pessimism more accurately represents reality, adopting optimism leads to statistically improved outcomes. So lie to yourself! Or do whatever it takes to fool yourself into adopting an optimistic mindset. Pessimism is for losers. [inb4 zealous optimists claiming that optimism is actually more realistic.]

If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying... Also that's a great way to keep yourself in a bad job or relationship when you could leave and get a better one.

> If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying.

You either haven't done it enough or are doing it too much

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying... Also that's a great way to keep yourself in a bad job or relationship when you could leave and get a better one.

> If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying. You either haven't done it enough or are doing it too much

Star Trek scene about a robot who cannot handle the Liar's Paradox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqCiw0wD44U

Humans are gifted, sophisticated liars. Don't think you can lie to yourself? I BELIEVE IN YOU! You can do it!

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#25
post #22

I really wish articles written about studies like this, where all they found was a association between stuff, and not a causal relationship, would explicitly say so. Perhaps through a little box near the end of the article stating, in simple terms, "the authors found that X and Y are associated. This does not necessarily mean that doing X will cause Y" I know the people who read the actual study in journal, entitled…

And in this case, you could easily imagine the arrow of causation pointing in the other way. If you have the good fortune of being generally healthy, and make enough income to have access to good healthcare, it's likely that you will live to 85. But these same factors also make you a likely optimist.

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#26

Maybe optimism is profitable on an individual basis. But at the collective level, I am not sure it is such a good idea. Anyway, not being optimistic does not mean you must be pessimistic : We just have to be realistic. That mean, accepting the world for what it is, and not what we want it to be.

I know a lot of optimists who aren't realistic. But they're happy and tend to be successful.

It's a principle among the Hasidim, too. The followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov believe that we should feel commanded to be happy at all times:

https://breslov.org/1366/

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#27
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you lie to yourself you'll know you're lying. You either haven't done it enough or are doing it too much

Star Trek scene about a robot who cannot handle the Liar's Paradox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqCiw0wD44U Humans are gifted, sophisticated liars. Don't think you can lie to yourself? I BELIEVE IN YOU! You can do it!

I think self lie is a defining characteristic of humans. We also use our big brains to rationalize the decisions we have already made, not using our capacity for rationalism to make the best decisions.

When we are truly rational, it is highly damaging to our egos.

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#28

Aren't people that are richer, with the exception of those who achieve existential angst through lack of meaning, more optimistic? :P If you can't get medical care, I imagine you're both more likely to die and pretty pessimistic about the state of the world. It's easy to be optimistic when you have a feeling of control over your circumstances.

That finding was independent of other factors thought to influence life's length — such as "socioeconomic status, health conditions, depression, social integration, and health behaviors"

Re: People who tend to be optimistic are likelier to live to 85 or more: study

#30

Aren't people that are richer, with the exception of those who achieve existential angst through lack of meaning, more optimistic? :P If you can't get medical care, I imagine you're both more likely to die and pretty pessimistic about the state of the world. It's easy to be optimistic when you have a feeling of control over your circumstances.

And it's easy to condemn unfortunate people for their pessimism, because haven't they caused their own circumstances by "choosing" pessimism?

Optimism: the conceit of the fortunate.

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