My theory is that some ideas are so risky that skepticism has become endemic. If optimism is overabundant then people may waste so much effort on impossible fan

My theory is that some ideas are so risky that skepticism has become endemic. If optimism is overabundant then people may waste so much effort on impossible fantasies everyone suffers. My guess is there is an optimal balance of both. Religion in particular feels like a phenomenon built on unchecked optimism. And it has no shortage of waste and grifters, at least IME.