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I saw a piece of research saying that it is true, that depressed people see outcomes more realistically, while non-depressed people are in a state of constant s

I saw a piece of research saying that it is true, that depressed people see outcomes more realistically, while non-depressed people are in a state of constant self-delusion where they convince themselves things are better than they are

jiggawatts 5y ago
The corollary is that most people confuse realism and rational thinking for pessimism. People that don't know me will initially assume that I'm the negative one on the team. A year later I'm the one dragging the others across the finish line, telling them that it's not that bad, even though my predictions did come true, right on schedule. I was just being accurate, and a successful outcome despite predicted failures along the way is a pretty good result, even if it seemed negative to naively a optimistic person. We foresaw the traps, stumbled, and yet we overcame! What's not positive about that?
- orzig 5y ago
  As someone who fills a similar role on my team, I've learned to be careful about my tone and to pick my battles (and I'm still far from perfect). Of course, bottling up the frustration of knowing about the oncoming train wreck is its own challenge, which I'd certainly appreciate ideas on.
mrblampo 5y ago
I think I saw the same research, but that was more about seeing how bad things are going globally, right? Bet that trend breaks down when it comes to evaluating the quality of your own life.
qeternity 5y ago
"Pessimists, on average, are probably smarter than optimists. They're also poorer." Given the complexity of the universe, it pays to be self-deluded...you may experience more failure than the pessimist, but you will most likely benefit from a completely chance encounter that works out positively, when the pessimist will have written off the outcome and lost out on chance.
- wongarsu 5y ago
  The optimist that experiences more failure has the chance to learn from failure, and eventually succeed either because of that experience or because they have run out of ways to fail. Both optimism and pessimism can be healthy or self-destructive, but on average it's probably easier to have healthy optimism than to have healthy pessimism.
- xvilka 5y ago
  Not really. Self-delusion is so-called "soldier mindset" while realistic evaluation is the "scout mindset". You can be pessimistic or optimistic in both cases, they are orthogonal. I recommend a book by Julia Galef with the same name [1]. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42041926-the-scout-mindset https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42041926-the-scout-minds...
  - qeternity 5y ago
    Thanks, just bought. Will give it a read.
    - leetrout 5y ago
      It is a very good read or listen on audiobook. Very interesting examples and points being made.
- Shorel 5y ago
  Some study said we try to avoid losses 2.5 times more than we value gains. If these traits were balanced, then we could be better prepared for the modern world. At the same time, it can be argued this bias would provide some protection against having nothing to eat for far too long in the wilderness, which could prove fatal.
- podgaj 5y ago
  > "Pessimists, on average, are probably smarter than optimists. They're also poorer." This is only true, I feel, under capitalism. Pessimism saves lives when you are living close to nature. Only the positive idiot does not tread lightly over a frozen lake or a bear infested forest. And they usually end up dead.
goodpoint 5y ago
> non-depressed people are in a state of constant self-delusion Depression can often be masked by an overly cheerful go-happy and optimistic personality. This is especially true in societies that frown on "negativity" and require people to look happy and smile often. The character Mr Peanutbutter in Bojack Horseman is a good example.
civilized 5y ago
I have seen this too and my theory is that we humans are most motivated and positively engaged when we see an augmented reality of wonderful possibilities "overlaid" on top of the world. We aren't great at distinguishing the possibilities from what's real, so the overlay leads to a mild distortion of perception. But on balance, it's healthier for you to have the overlay.
- raws 5y ago
  It's like a placebo effect for your take on life, it works but only to a certain extent
alcover 5y ago
I think this may be true. If you're good at pattern recognition, you may end up better at realist predicting - but also depressed in the process..

jiggawatts 5y ago

The corollary is that most people confuse realism and rational thinking for pessimism. People that don't know me will initially assume that I'm the negative one on the team. A year later I'm the one dragging the others across the finish line, telling them that it's not that bad, even though my predictions did come true, right on schedule. I was just being accurate, and a successful outcome despite predicted failures along the way is a pretty good result, even if it seemed negative to naively a optimistic person. We foresaw the traps, stumbled, and yet we overcame! What's not positive about that?

orzig 5y ago
As someone who fills a similar role on my team, I've learned to be careful about my tone and to pick my battles (and I'm still far from perfect). Of course, bottling up the frustration of knowing about the oncoming train wreck is its own challenge, which I'd certainly appreciate ideas on.

mrblampo 5y ago

I think I saw the same research, but that was more about seeing how bad things are going globally, right? Bet that trend breaks down when it comes to evaluating the quality of your own life.

qeternity 5y ago

"Pessimists, on average, are probably smarter than optimists. They're also poorer." Given the complexity of the universe, it pays to be self-deluded...you may experience more failure than the pessimist, but you will most likely benefit from a completely chance encounter that works out positively, when the pessimist will have written off the outcome and lost out on chance.

wongarsu 5y ago
The optimist that experiences more failure has the chance to learn from failure, and eventually succeed either because of that experience or because they have run out of ways to fail. Both optimism and pessimism can be healthy or self-destructive, but on average it's probably easier to have healthy optimism than to have healthy pessimism.
xvilka 5y ago
Not really. Self-delusion is so-called "soldier mindset" while realistic evaluation is the "scout mindset". You can be pessimistic or optimistic in both cases, they are orthogonal. I recommend a book by Julia Galef with the same name [1]. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42041926-the-scout-mindset https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42041926-the-scout-minds...
- qeternity 5y ago
  Thanks, just bought. Will give it a read.
  - leetrout 5y ago
    It is a very good read or listen on audiobook. Very interesting examples and points being made.
Shorel 5y ago
Some study said we try to avoid losses 2.5 times more than we value gains. If these traits were balanced, then we could be better prepared for the modern world. At the same time, it can be argued this bias would provide some protection against having nothing to eat for far too long in the wilderness, which could prove fatal.
podgaj 5y ago
> "Pessimists, on average, are probably smarter than optimists. They're also poorer." This is only true, I feel, under capitalism. Pessimism saves lives when you are living close to nature. Only the positive idiot does not tread lightly over a frozen lake or a bear infested forest. And they usually end up dead.

goodpoint 5y ago

> non-depressed people are in a state of constant self-delusion Depression can often be masked by an overly cheerful go-happy and optimistic personality. This is especially true in societies that frown on "negativity" and require people to look happy and smile often. The character Mr Peanutbutter in Bojack Horseman is a good example.

civilized 5y ago

I have seen this too and my theory is that we humans are most motivated and positively engaged when we see an augmented reality of wonderful possibilities "overlaid" on top of the world. We aren't great at distinguishing the possibilities from what's real, so the overlay leads to a mild distortion of perception. But on balance, it's healthier for you to have the overlay.

raws 5y ago
It's like a placebo effect for your take on life, it works but only to a certain extent

alcover 5y ago

I think this may be true. If you're good at pattern recognition, you may end up better at realist predicting - but also depressed in the process..