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

npr.org

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

#51

Post by 15__characters »

boyadjian wrote: post #14

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.

> accepting the world for what it is

That's impossible for anyone in the world.

A pessimist and an optimist will probably consider various interpretations as realistic, yet neither will see the world "as it is".

Even just the idea of the world as something that can be seen, thought of, considered, described etc. is squeezing it through a very human-shaped filter, and what you get out of the other end is always more about us than about the world.

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

#55

Post by has2k1 »

aytekin wrote: post #38

More likely: "People who live 85 or more have more of the good things like health and safe environment which also makes them optimistic."

It is possible to imagine a potential casual process that leads to earlier death. What if pessimism creates a constant presence of key stress hormones (Adrenaline, Cortisol and Norepinephrine) and these are already linked to higher likelihoods of heart disease, cancer, ...

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

#56

Post by thinkingemote »

boyadjian wrote: post #14

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.

Being realistic is not an alternative to optimism or pessimism though.

A pessimist cynic will say "that's just the way it is" for example.

Additionally pessimism and optimism are mainly about thinking about the future rather than objective state of now.

Perhaps it's stocism that's a more fitting alternative.

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

#57

Post by emayljames »

4ntonius8lock wrote: post #6

When I read the tile and skimmed through the article, I thought: define pessimism. I mean, I consider myself pessimistic, but what do THEY who designed the study consider pessimistic. I tend to find the fault in things, see how they are wrong, or in general anticipate some negativity that most people will overlook. It's literally what makes me good at my job. So I clicked through to the study. Which mentioned it used…

You are right. The pessimism definition has many many cracks to end up with a bias of results.

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

#58

Post by silveroriole »

300bps wrote: post #16

About three years ago I read someone on here recommend the book, “Learned Optimism”. They said it was life changing. I read it, did the work, and it is life changing. People with a pessimistic outlook are much less happy than people with an optimistic outlook. The book teaches you how each type thinks (for example, optimists think everything good that happens to them is personal and permanent and every bad thing that…

Weren’t you troubled by the fact that he admits optimists are factually wrong compared to pessimists, blame others, don’t admit fault, and just seem like generally unpleasant people (insurance salesmen and the type of person who talks on planes, for example)? Yeah, okay, they are happier, live longer, are more successful, get elected... but at what cost to the world? I came away thinking we should train the optimists to listen to pessimists more, not the opposite...

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

#59

Post by trevyn »

has2k1 wrote: post #55
aytekin wrote: post #38

More likely: "People who live 85 or more have more of the good things like health and safe environment which also makes them optimistic."

It is possible to imagine a potential casual process that leads to earlier death. What if pessimism creates a constant presence of key stress hormones (Adrenaline, Cortisol and Norepinephrine) and these are already linked to higher likelihoods of heart disease, cancer, ...

Or maybe it’s acausal — some fires burn brighter, but they know that they will die sooner.

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

#60

Post by mewpmewp2 »

kristiandupont wrote: post #50

Yesterday, my wife stumbled upon a "20 pieces of good news" article and read it to me. Things like initiatives being taken to save the bees etc. At first I thought it was a bit silly but I realized that hearing all those good things did something wonderful: it made me feel quite optimistic on behalf of the world, which I can't say I have in a while (in spite of my own life going quite well). Keeping informed is the d…

You should read "factfulness". It annoys me when people talk of the current world and time in negative tones when it is best we have ever had by many measurements. Not that we are having a terrible time, but it is cool to think negatively of the world it seems to me.
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