I'd argue the optimum strategy requires you be at least a little optimistic.
Humans are biased to outweigh the importance of losses vs gains when considering expected value. At a minimum a some optimism is required to offset this bias.
Humans are biased to outweigh the importance of losses vs gains when considering expected value. At a minimum a some optimism is required to offset this bias.
All in all, cynicism sounds (to a cynic) like a pretty good adaptation strategy to the real world.