SpeedRacer 1 #1 April 12, 2005 Pessimists never call themselves pessimists, they call themselves "realists". They call people like me "foolish naive polly-annas" There seems to be this idea that the most negative, pessimistic view of the world & the future is the most wise & worldly. But isn't that kind of mindless, to just AUTOMATICALLY assume the worst? When I was growing up in the '70s & '80s I always heard some people who were just immersed in gloom & doom: "By the end of the '90s, the oil will be all gone." In 1987 I heard, "By 1990, one in five heterosexual Americans will have full-blown AIDS" While growing up during the Cold War I heard many people believe that a nuclear holocaust with the USSR was inevitable. I heard people saying that by the '90s we will have depleted most of the Earth's resources & we'll all be starving. When I was just 12 years old a teacher handed out a paper written just a few years earlier, which spelled out a timeline. Evidently by the '80s we would all have to wear gas masks when we went outside. And everyone will be dead by sometime in the '90s. Scared the shit out of me at the time (I was only 12). Anyway, I have a feeling that the doomsayers have always been around, & have nearly always been wrong. There has probably always been reasons to say everything's going to hell. The fact that the pessimists have had a pretty poor track record doesn't stop them from pointing at optimistic people like me & saying we're the stupid ones. Also I'm sure we've noticed on the personal level: People can create their own personal Hell. They believe life sucks, and guess what, it does! Successful people are usually indomitable optimists. But the pessimists seem to believe that they became successful first, and that success then made them optimistic & happy, not the other way around. What do you think about pessimists (or do you think they're actually the realists)?? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windcatcher 0 #2 April 12, 2005 I don't want to talk about pessimists They make me pessimistic see? Now ya got windcatcher all pessimistic you're evil Mother to the cutest little thing in the world... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IanHarrop 42 #3 April 12, 2005 The good things about being a pessimist. -When things go wrong a pessimist feels good because they were right to expect things to go wrong! -When things go right they are pleasantly surprised! "Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheenster303 0 #4 April 12, 2005 Wow.....good timing on your thread. I was having problems with my mother yesterday because she was acting so negatively and I just couldn't take it anymore. I told her that her negativity keeps me from spending very much time in the house. She said she was just "realistic".I'm so funny I crack my head open! P.M.S. #102 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skysprite 0 #5 April 12, 2005 Thanks. Now you're going to have me running around shouting: [Finian's Rainbow] DOOM AND GLOOM! [/Finian's Rainbow] I'm highly optimistic. ~skysprite Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justaflygirl 0 #6 April 12, 2005 optimisitcaly speaking..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobsled92 0 #7 April 12, 2005 QuoteThanks. Now you're going to have me running around shouting: [Finian's Rainbow] DOOM AND GLOOM! [/Finian's Rainbow] I'm highly optimistic. HA! now I have that picture in my mind_______________________________ If I could be a Super Hero, I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year. http://www.hangout.no/speednews/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #8 April 12, 2005 The sky is falling! The sky is falling! (Not really. ) Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #9 April 12, 2005 There's nothing more annoying than dirt diving and having some whiney ass pessimist saying something like "Oh, like THIS is gonna work....". Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #10 April 12, 2005 Hey, I'm always positive that I will funnel the dive in the best possible way... Yeah... If people knew that if you visuallize failure then you'll probably fail... they wouldn't do that... its necessary to visualize it succeeding...Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelel01 1 #11 April 12, 2005 Pessimists fucking suck. They're always whining and complaining about everything, and it really gets on my nerves. If I saw a pessimist right now, I'd tell them that they suck ass, and that they'll never amount to anything. Now, I hope it's clear that this was tongue-in-cheek, as I myself am a pessimist (or REALIST, as I prefer to call myself). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vallerina 2 #12 April 12, 2005 I'm a pessimist. I always expect the worst. If my expectations are surpassed, that makes me happy! There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #13 April 12, 2005 I'm not a pessimist so much as I am cynical. There are plenty of other things to call a "pessimist." I think "realist" is good. "Cynical" is another. An all-encompassing phrase is "risk averse." These just indicate different types of pessimists. Murphy was an optimist compared to some people I've known. There are many of those gloomy types that I just cannot stand. On the other hand, the persistent optimists among us are just as irritating... My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose491 0 #14 April 12, 2005 Brain Scrambler? Ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it.... I still do. Yet, I am not a Pessimist. I would call myself a realist... but then you might think these things combined make me a negative thinker... and besides, I would only call myself a realist because I wish that that which I thought was... real. I am happy: Each morning is the beginning of a day full of potential for good things. Am I an Optimist? I am ready: Each day may be my very last. Am I a Pessimist? QuotePeople can create their own personal Hell. They believe life sucks, and guess what, it does! Ahh, now we are getting somewhere. But the other road leads to this very same "somewhere". People can create their own personal Heaven too! Reality, that which "Is", it is not out there, independent of what you think of it. What "Is" is what you make it. Reality interacts directly with you. This is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". QuoteWhat do you think about pessimists (or do you think they're actually the realists)?? I am a Conscious being. I am the center. You are also the center however... of all that "is". What do I think about pessimists? I don't think about them. I hope that more and more with stop thinking about them. I hope that Optimist/Pessimist are labels we will all shed. Because ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it. And I could not, to this very day, tell you if that is a positive or negative thing. Nick My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverbc 0 #15 April 12, 2005 you gotta give some people credit though it can be either denial of being a pessimist when people say they are realist, or its them being the most optimistic as they can possibly ever attain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BillyVance 34 #16 April 12, 2005 Well, those pessimists you mention, they're almost always wrong, including the doomsday proselytizers you see on the downtown street corners. As far as I'm concerned, they all can choke on their half-empty glasses of pessimistic gruel... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites goalie35 0 #17 April 12, 2005 The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears that this is true! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Slappie 9 #18 April 12, 2005 QuoteBrain Scrambler? Ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it.... I still do. Yet, I am not a Pessimist. I would call myself a realist... but then you might think these things combined make me a negative thinker... and besides, I would only call myself a realist because I wish that that which I thought was... real. I am happy: Each morning is the beginning of a day full of potential for good things. Am I an Optimist? I am ready: Each day may be my very last. Am I a Pessimist? QuotePeople can create their own personal Hell. They believe life sucks, and guess what, it does! Ahh, now we are getting somewhere. But the other road leads to this very same "somewhere". People can create their own personal Heaven too! Reality, that which "Is", it is not out there, independent of what you think of it. What "Is" is what you make it. Reality interacts directly with you. This is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". QuoteWhat do you think about pessimists (or do you think they're actually the realists)?? I am a Conscious being. I am the center. You are also the center however... of all that "is". What do I think about pessimists? I don't think about them. I hope that more and more with stop thinking about them. I hope that Optimist/Pessimist are labels we will all shed. Because ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it. And I could not, to this very day, tell you if that is a positive or negative thing. Nick ouch my brain hurts now. "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites goose491 0 #19 April 12, 2005 Quoteouch my brain hurts now. Good, maybe it's due to a quick workout. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites dunesurfer 0 #20 April 12, 2005 Pessimists? F**k em. They expect to be let down anyway so nothing to lose there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites champu 1 #21 April 12, 2005 QuoteThis is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". You mean René Descartes? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kelpdiver 2 #22 April 12, 2005 Cynical realists RULE! You need doomsayers to balance out the pie in the skysters. HIV hasn't spread too deeply in the US (yet?), but it has in other countries. We do have a high prevalance of herpes and hepatitus. Oil scares can be useful because we can't wait until the end to find a solution. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites antifnsocial 0 #23 April 12, 2005 See screenname. Please feel free to reply to my posts and pm's, but only if you're smart enough to understand what they really mean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites goose491 0 #24 April 12, 2005 QuoteQuoteThis is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". You mean René Descartes? Very Very Close, he was. "If I know that I am, I must also know what I am; an understanding of my true nature must be contained implicitly in the content of my awareness. " -René Descartes The notion that if you are not thinking at all, you do not exist at all was his. He, afterall, proclaimed that we are no more than minds. "sum res cogitans" ("I am a thing that thinks"). It's brilliant!... but it is backwards. We do not think because things are. Things are because we think. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SpeedRacer 1 #25 April 12, 2005 "Cogito Eggo sum" ( I think, therefore, I am a waffle.) Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
BillyVance 34 #16 April 12, 2005 Well, those pessimists you mention, they're almost always wrong, including the doomsday proselytizers you see on the downtown street corners. As far as I'm concerned, they all can choke on their half-empty glasses of pessimistic gruel... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goalie35 0 #17 April 12, 2005 The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears that this is true! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slappie 9 #18 April 12, 2005 QuoteBrain Scrambler? Ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it.... I still do. Yet, I am not a Pessimist. I would call myself a realist... but then you might think these things combined make me a negative thinker... and besides, I would only call myself a realist because I wish that that which I thought was... real. I am happy: Each morning is the beginning of a day full of potential for good things. Am I an Optimist? I am ready: Each day may be my very last. Am I a Pessimist? QuotePeople can create their own personal Hell. They believe life sucks, and guess what, it does! Ahh, now we are getting somewhere. But the other road leads to this very same "somewhere". People can create their own personal Heaven too! Reality, that which "Is", it is not out there, independent of what you think of it. What "Is" is what you make it. Reality interacts directly with you. This is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". QuoteWhat do you think about pessimists (or do you think they're actually the realists)?? I am a Conscious being. I am the center. You are also the center however... of all that "is". What do I think about pessimists? I don't think about them. I hope that more and more with stop thinking about them. I hope that Optimist/Pessimist are labels we will all shed. Because ever since I remember being able to think recollectable thoughts. I have believed I would live to see the end of the world as we know it. And I could not, to this very day, tell you if that is a positive or negative thing. Nick ouch my brain hurts now. "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose491 0 #19 April 12, 2005 Quoteouch my brain hurts now. Good, maybe it's due to a quick workout. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dunesurfer 0 #20 April 12, 2005 Pessimists? F**k em. They expect to be let down anyway so nothing to lose there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #21 April 12, 2005 QuoteThis is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". You mean René Descartes? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #22 April 12, 2005 Cynical realists RULE! You need doomsayers to balance out the pie in the skysters. HIV hasn't spread too deeply in the US (yet?), but it has in other countries. We do have a high prevalance of herpes and hepatitus. Oil scares can be useful because we can't wait until the end to find a solution. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antifnsocial 0 #23 April 12, 2005 See screenname. Please feel free to reply to my posts and pm's, but only if you're smart enough to understand what they really mean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose491 0 #24 April 12, 2005 QuoteQuoteThis is the fundamental concept behind many spiritual theories, it is a widely accepted Quantum Mechanics Theory, It is the stuff of Shakespeare: "I think therefore I am". You mean René Descartes? Very Very Close, he was. "If I know that I am, I must also know what I am; an understanding of my true nature must be contained implicitly in the content of my awareness. " -René Descartes The notion that if you are not thinking at all, you do not exist at all was his. He, afterall, proclaimed that we are no more than minds. "sum res cogitans" ("I am a thing that thinks"). It's brilliant!... but it is backwards. We do not think because things are. Things are because we think. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #25 April 12, 2005 "Cogito Eggo sum" ( I think, therefore, I am a waffle.) Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
