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Of course you're free to listen to whomever you like; I wish you would take my comment more as an alternative viewpoint than as an insult. I do appreciate the

by snth 16y ago

Of course you're free to listen to whomever you like; I wish you would take my comment more as an alternative viewpoint than as an insult. I do appreciate the sentiment of your story, that people should help others, but personally I think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves.

jlcgull 16y ago
I think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves. I think that is cynicism speaking, more than anything else. Most importantly, how "end" is defined will determine if "it worked out" or not.
zzzeek 16y ago
"it'll all work out" is an effective tool to deal with irrational or counterproductive anxiety (irrational== fear of flying, fear of social settings, etc., counterproductive==survival situations, situations with no other reasonable extrication than through, i.e. you need to swim to safety, you're stuck in a cave, you have a huge presentation to do tomorrow). It's entirely a bad idea to use in lieu of rational decisionmaking (i.e. "Ill enter into this horrible business deal, itll all work out!"). If you have generally negligible amounts of anxiety in life, the attitude is probably useless. For those of us that have tons, the judicious usage of this attitude is definitely a lifesaver.
jlcgull 16y ago
Again, like most discussions on HN these days, the arguments seem to be turning towards mistaking general, rule-of-thumb kinda anecdotal advice as gospel truth and then trying to beat it into a provably correct or provably incorrect corner. Why not take it with a grain, or thimbleful (per taste), of salt and then giving it a shot in real life (IRL?)? If you really disagree so strongly then why not write the underlying reason(s) for your view(s)? Perhaps that would make for more interesting reading! Now before you take it as a rebuttal, let me start by saying the reason why I agree with edw519's response to the OP is borne of a basic human instinct that people a generally good. I like to believe that and would like to continue doing so. However, I have run into a fair share of douches and vampires who have made me want to reverse my viewpoint. Yet again, there have been many selfless acts from strangers, both big and small, to continue warrant giving humanity in general the benefit of doubt. In the end, I keep paraphrasing Lester Burnham's thoughts: You cannot stay mad at life for too long. Every something happens that makes you hate it, the next moment it will do something that makes you love with it all over again. Damn! I guess I am just another die-hard optimist. :-)

by snth 16y ago

jlcgull 16y ago

I think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves. I think that is cynicism speaking, more than anything else. Most importantly, how "end" is defined will determine if "it worked out" or not.

zzzeek 16y ago

"it'll all work out" is an effective tool to deal with irrational or counterproductive anxiety (irrational== fear of flying, fear of social settings, etc., counterproductive==survival situations, situations with no other reasonable extrication than through, i.e. you need to swim to safety, you're stuck in a cave, you have a huge presentation to do tomorrow). It's entirely a bad idea to use in lieu of rational decisionmaking (i.e. "Ill enter into this horrible business deal, itll all work out!"). If you have generally negligible amounts of anxiety in life, the attitude is probably useless. For those of us that have tons, the judicious usage of this attitude is definitely a lifesaver.

jlcgull 16y ago

Again, like most discussions on HN these days, the arguments seem to be turning towards mistaking general, rule-of-thumb kinda anecdotal advice as gospel truth and then trying to beat it into a provably correct or provably incorrect corner. Why not take it with a grain, or thimbleful (per taste), of salt and then giving it a shot in real life (IRL?)? If you really disagree so strongly then why not write the underlying reason(s) for your view(s)? Perhaps that would make for more interesting reading! Now before you take it as a rebuttal, let me start by saying the reason why I agree with edw519's response to the OP is borne of a basic human instinct that people a generally good. I like to believe that and would like to continue doing so. However, I have run into a fair share of douches and vampires who have made me want to reverse my viewpoint. Yet again, there have been many selfless acts from strangers, both big and small, to continue warrant giving humanity in general the benefit of doubt. In the end, I keep paraphrasing Lester Burnham's thoughts: You cannot stay mad at life for too long. Every something happens that makes you hate it, the next moment it will do something that makes you love with it all over again. Damn! I guess I am just another die-hard optimist. :-)