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Pessimism is a barrier to progress

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Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#61

Post by bamboozled »

id wrote: post #57
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #46

This feels like a "terrorist/freedom-fighter" thing and so is effectively saying nothing. Like, Bill Gates accepts climate change is happening, that we should do something to avert the problems, and thinks that we can do that as a species. He thinks that renewables and EVs etc. will all help, but aren't enough and we should look for newer solutions. He has invested in multiple different solutions, presumably because…

https://twitter.com/GatesJets Hard to take Gates seriously on climate change. Imagine everyone was living like this.

This is amazing and really goes to show the dude, no matter how good his intentions may be, is a hypocrite. One rule for him, different rules for everyone else.

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#62

Post by ajsnigrutin »

id wrote: post #57
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #46

This feels like a "terrorist/freedom-fighter" thing and so is effectively saying nothing. Like, Bill Gates accepts climate change is happening, that we should do something to avert the problems, and thinks that we can do that as a species. He thinks that renewables and EVs etc. will all help, but aren't enough and we should look for newer solutions. He has invested in multiple different solutions, presumably because…

https://twitter.com/GatesJets Hard to take Gates seriously on climate change. Imagine everyone was living like this.

Yup...

Do as you preach, and others will follow. Flying your private jet to a conference, and tell Johnny Average that he shouldn't use his car to drive to his workplace is a shitty thing to do.

And he's far from being the only one doing that.

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#64

Post by kixxauth »

snickmy wrote: post #37
kixxauth wrote: post #8

I've considered myself an optimist for most of my life. But, starting in about 2014 I started to find myself being more of a pessimist more of the time. It got to the point in 2020 where I found myself pessimistic about pretty much everything. You know what I noticed? It takes a lot of energy to be pessimistic and pissed off all the time. So, instead, I'm trying to remain focused and motivated by the wrongs I would l…

Can I ask you how old you were when that happened. I think a lot of that happen organically for everyone, it just happened to you in 2014. I'd guess 25-30y old ?

Yeah, I was in the 30 -35 range in 2014. I think age had something to do with it.

But I think 2014 was when it started to become apparent that the idealist global mixing and digital revolution it was tied to, something I had pinned my optimism on, might be going in a more evil direction.

Paul Graham wrote about this, that we need to understand our current period in the context of a much longer historical timeline http://www.paulgraham.com/re.html

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#65

Post by masklinn »

orzig wrote: post #52
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #46

This feels like a "terrorist/freedom-fighter" thing and so is effectively saying nothing. Like, Bill Gates accepts climate change is happening, that we should do something to avert the problems, and thinks that we can do that as a species. He thinks that renewables and EVs etc. will all help, but aren't enough and we should look for newer solutions. He has invested in multiple different solutions, presumably because…

For someone whose user name is “zero gravitas”, you sure seem wise :-)

GP close to gods, and on the far side, confirmed.

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#67

Post by kixxauth »

lexapro wrote: post #12
kixxauth wrote: post #8

I've considered myself an optimist for most of my life. But, starting in about 2014 I started to find myself being more of a pessimist more of the time. It got to the point in 2020 where I found myself pessimistic about pretty much everything. You know what I noticed? It takes a lot of energy to be pessimistic and pissed off all the time. So, instead, I'm trying to remain focused and motivated by the wrongs I would l…

What has fundamentally changed since 2014? Or is it the lack of change? Or did you just get older?

Good question. That made me think about it. Why did it start to change for me in 2014?

Posted my initial thoughts above

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#68

Post by marcus_holmes »

mupuff1234 wrote: post #19

> There's an "optimism stigma" that's pervasive throughout society. Funny, I'd say it's quite the opposite, you aren't allowed to say anything negative or you'd be labeled as a "downer". Everything nowadays is "amazing" and "transformative".

My experience has definitely been the other way. Being optimistic about the future is definitely an Unpopular Opinion in my experience. To the point where I've been called a "denier" for expressing any hope at all that we can solve the problems we're facing.

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#69

Post by sitkack »

worldsayshi wrote: post #34
PeterStuer wrote: post #10

You might want to click through a few times on this. Basically this is WEF propaganda saying how billionaires are good for the world, and urge you not to get in their way with criticism or be labeled a doomsayer, negative Andy or 'pessimist'.

I'm definitely on the left side of the political spectrum. But I am very frustrated by how leftism seems so often be so centred on critique (a negative trait) rather than building ideas/stuff. "Speaking truth to power" is not really working because power doesn't care. Organizing seldom leads anywhere because it's just interpreted as more of "speaking truth to power" through protest. More critique. If a power structur…

> But I am very frustrated by how leftism seems so often be so centred on critique (a negative trait) rather than building ideas/stuff.

You realize that this is rhetorical scam to prevent the questioning of action and the suppression of dissent?

The left has plenty of good ideas on how to constructively corral the greed and stupidity of the right. And no unions are not out of fashion.

Re: Pessimism is a barrier to progress

#70

Post by v-erne »

blooalien wrote: post #56
mupuff1234 wrote: post #19

> There's an "optimism stigma" that's pervasive throughout society. Funny, I'd say it's quite the opposite, you aren't allowed to say anything negative or you'd be labeled as a "downer". Everything nowadays is "amazing" and "transformative".

My own personal experience is that every single time I try to be positive about changing anything for the better in any way, the vast majority of humans I voice any "optimism" to are hell-bent on beating that "naïvety" out of me. The problem I see is that humanity as a whole has much of what we need to build a Utopia for all, but almost nobody actually wants a better world for anyone let alone for everyone. All the t…

I am low energy person (at least for now - its a medical thing that perhaps will be fixed some day). When I hear "positive" people that force a change for the sake of change I know that this will probably mean that I will have to spend the last of my depleted energy resources on this naive persons dummy ideas that are not backed up by experience and insight. And this instantly changes me into pesimist that tries to test the other person if he thought it out, did due dilligence and spend his own energy first before he tries to use my. This is simply a defense mechanism that protects me from people that have aboundance of energy and do no understands that other are not like them. And most good ideas is shit - in real world only execution and timing matters.
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