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>We are outspoken about our optimism. These days, though, optimism seems to be in short supply. The headlines are filled with awful news. Every day brings a dif

by gt_ 9y ago

>We are outspoken about our optimism. These days, though, optimism seems to be in short supply. The headlines are filled with awful news. Every day brings a different story of political division, violence, or natural disaster. Despite the headlines, we see a world that’s getting better. It should take a lot of nerve to open this way. Sympathy, or I guess we call it empathy, who knows, cannot be achieved through optimism alone. The unfettered optimism in this intro seems tone-deaf. I think it undermines the effort they make to the contrary.

jhbadger 9y ago
I'd argue the exact opposite. It is all too easy to just throw up your hands and say "The world is fucked; there isn't anything to do about it". Empathy is impossible without the belief that something can be done, which is optimism.
- gt_ 9y ago
  HN readers are quick to be enthusiastic in celebrating urgent acknowledgement and critical response in the case of server outages and security breaches. Why limit this regard to that? Sure, saying there isn’t anything we can do about it is irresponsible, and so is the lack of nuance of “the world is fucked”. Is this the only alternative you can imagine? >Empathy is impossible without the belief that something can be done, which is optimism. That is not what optimism is. If you can not identify problems, you are multitudes more unlikely to solve them. My critique is as basic as that.
kijin 9y ago
They're optimistic, but not brashly so. Bill and Melinda Gates have literally saved millions of children. If that doesn't give them a reason to be optimistic, I don't see what would. Just because Americans are shooting up schools doesn't mean that the lives of people in some other parts of this planet haven't improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years alone.
ianai 9y ago
That may be a contrast with a widespread negative view. Much of current media are dominated by negative stories. For instance, every time I’ve tuened on local news the top stories are murders or rapes. Everytime he can Trump says the people are worse off and etc. anything that doesn’t fit the “wallpaper” stands out.
- gt_ 9y ago
  What’s missed is nuance, which a two-sided narrative or imagination can do nothing for.

by gt_ 9y ago

jhbadger 9y ago

I'd argue the exact opposite. It is all too easy to just throw up your hands and say "The world is fucked; there isn't anything to do about it". Empathy is impossible without the belief that something can be done, which is optimism.

gt_ 9y ago
HN readers are quick to be enthusiastic in celebrating urgent acknowledgement and critical response in the case of server outages and security breaches. Why limit this regard to that? Sure, saying there isn’t anything we can do about it is irresponsible, and so is the lack of nuance of “the world is fucked”. Is this the only alternative you can imagine? >Empathy is impossible without the belief that something can be done, which is optimism. That is not what optimism is. If you can not identify problems, you are multitudes more unlikely to solve them. My critique is as basic as that.

kijin 9y ago

They're optimistic, but not brashly so. Bill and Melinda Gates have literally saved millions of children. If that doesn't give them a reason to be optimistic, I don't see what would. Just because Americans are shooting up schools doesn't mean that the lives of people in some other parts of this planet haven't improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years alone.

ianai 9y ago

That may be a contrast with a widespread negative view. Much of current media are dominated by negative stories. For instance, every time I’ve tuened on local news the top stories are murders or rapes. Everytime he can Trump says the people are worse off and etc. anything that doesn’t fit the “wallpaper” stands out.

gt_ 9y ago
What’s missed is nuance, which a two-sided narrative or imagination can do nothing for.