I've always suspected optimists were delusional and dangerous. Now the evidence:
you are always seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, be warned -- it could be an oncoming train.
So says a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience, which concludes that our well-known penchant for donning rose-tinted glasses may be a failure to store risk awareness in a key part of the brain.
Tali Sharot, a professor at University College London, was intrigued as to why so many people, even when facing long odds or bleak prospects, remain stubbornly, even pathologically, optimistic.
Sharot said the work showed that unbridled optimism had unperceived risks.
"Seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty can be a positive thing -- it can lower stress and anxiety, and be good for our health and well being," she said.
"But it can also mean that we are less likely to take precautionary action, such as practicing safe sex or saving up for retirement."
I was a fan of Murphy's Law the minute I heard it: If anything can go wrong, it will. There are all kinds of corollaries and extensions, too. Left to themselves, things will go from bad to worse. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw. Everything goes wrong all at once. And my favorite: If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
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There's a saying, "If you're faced with a problem, ignore it. It'll either go away or become so bad you won't be able to do anything about it anyway." Is that optimistic, pessimistic or realistic -- or just lazy?
I've always suspected this. My father always taught me to expect the worst. That way you're never disappointed. Works for me. We're all doomed.