Re:To my surprise and elation, the Webb Space Telescope is g...
by TheOtherHobbes on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @05:14PM
(#30092825)
Or it could could be more that solving bounded problems that involve moving atoms around - like building a space telescope - is relatively easy.
But solving unbounded problems that involve moving emotions and attitudes around - like building a planetary culture that isn't violent, irrational, and collectively suicidal - is hard.
Re:To my surprise and elation, the Webb Space Telescope is g...
by 300bps on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @05:33PM
(#30093061)
It’s called being a pessimist.
Martin Seligman teaches in the book Learned Optimism that:
Optimists think any good thing that happens is permanent, pervasive and personal.
Optimists think any bad thing that happens is impermanent, specific and impersonal.
Pessimists flip flop these explanatory styles. The people you’re commenting on seem to be pessimistic about humanity.
* Whenever a person or group do something bad, the response is always, "Look how much humanity sucks."
* Whenever a person or group does something good, the response is always, "Look how good those particular people are."
Now, there is a positive explanation for this: It's good to give credit. When someone does something particularly good, it diminishes their act to say that it's just another example of humanity.
But at the same time, the aggregate effect of this bias is that always appears that humanity sucks with the rare exception of a few blessed individuals. But the opposite is much more likely to be true.