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Gets back to the distinction between life as puzzle and life as game. Depressives may be better puzzle solvers, but optimists play the game better. Edit - or t
by samirillian 10y ago
Gets back to the distinction between life as puzzle and life as game. Depressives may be better puzzle solvers, but optimists play the game better.
Edit - or the distinction between the picture-theory of language and the tool-theory. Depressives draw a more accurate picture but optimists make better use of the "tools"
- mamon 10y agoWhich is why the optimal strategy is to be optimist most of the time, but fall into depressive mood when we encounter a lot of obstacles. Use that depressive time to assess your situation and then start changing it, fueled by your normal optimism. The issue is, if the obstacles we encounter are too many then we remain in low mood for too long, and that state becomes permament. Early in human evolution, when we were all living at savanah all the dangers and obstacles were short-term. This is entirely different in civilized society.
- dfischer 10y agoWow I really enjoyed reading your first paragraph. Thanks.
- thesimpsons1022 10y agodo you know that depression is a real disease and not some frame of mind you can choose to be in or excuse at will? i get the point of your post but the terminology is really wrong.
- striking 10y agoFrom Wikipedia: > A DSM diagnosis distinguishes an episode (or 'state') of depression from the habitual (or 'trait') depressive symptoms someone can experience as part of their personality. Depressive mood != depressive disorder. The terminology isn't wrong.
- thesimpsons1022 10y agoperhaps. but the original article was talking about actual depressed people.
- samirillian 10y agoFair point. The research was already mixing philosophy with psychology, so I just ran with it.
- dgreensp 10y agoI read "optimal strategy" as slightly tongue-in-cheek, considering we don't have direct control over our moods.
- istorical 10y agoWhat can I search to read more about picture theory of language vs tool theory? It sounds really interesting but when I google I only get results about picture theory of lang.
- lagrange123 10y agoRead Wittgenstein. Or, don't read Wittgenstein, but read about Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein pioneered the picture theory of language--i.e. the idea that language represents the world. He later gave up on this idea and began to think about language as a tool. He coined the term "language-game". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language-game_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language-game_(philosophy)
- Florin_Andrei 10y ago> Or, don't read Wittgenstein, but read about Wittgenstein. I laughed, but there's some truth in that.
- samstave 10y agoI don't mean this as a joke, I believe myself to be a deeply depressed optimist. I have really bad depression, but I look forward to being able to make it ok. My kids keep me going
- netten 10y agoits an everyday struggle, but noting down the things which i am thankful for, such as wife, kid, some particular incident which could have been much worse but ended being manageable etc. has helped me a lot. It's a slow process though.
- zznneezznnee 10y agoThis dichotomy of depressives vs. optimists seems flawed to me. My optimism is often what creates the unmet expectations which lead to depression.
- razakel 10y ago>This dichotomy of depressives vs. optimists seems flawed to me. My optimism is often what creates the unmet expectations which lead to depression. An optimist will be continually disappointed. A pessimist either has the satisfaction of being right, or will be pleasantly surprised.
- gragas 10y agoYeah, [citation definitely needed]