Hi,
So I know that you haven't been wondering why I chose to suffix pessimist on my blog. I'll be honest, I thought it would sound catchy. I thought I would take the silent and brooding loner path towards getting noticed.
This is not completely true though, my saying that I chose this name completely out of my desire for higher page views. It is only partially true. The complete truth is that I chose to highlight a facet of my psyche which stands out from my peer group and consequently has become an acronym for my character. I have long since been the Pessimist of my group, my family and for that fact any gathering that I choose to attend.
As a child it bothered me. I mean to say it couldn't have been easy for a 6 or 7 year old to constantly be reprimanded for what my dad likes to call "Negative thinking". I remember wondering what it was that was so unforgivably wrong with my mindset when all I strived to do was understand how things work. How they really work.
The world has always amazed me in its ways which are both complex and simple at the same time depending on one's perspective. I can only compare it with a watch. You may wish to open one up to see what's inside, it would then reveal to you a varied assortment of contraptions all working, it would seem, at their whims. However you may simply with to use the watch to check the time and you wouldn't be wrong to do so either for that is what a watch should be used for. How then would you judge a debate between two parties, each of whom sees a different facet of the watch? How would you say who is right? The simple answer would be that both opinions are right. That would be the best way to mitigate the situation. But it is hardly as simple as that in the "real world" as we like to refer to it. In this world people go through lifetimes following a single opinion with unwavering relentlessness. Others may call this determinism or optimism. I just see centuries of aimless and inconsequential destruction caused by people who weren't wiling to accept a different outlook of life.
To be technically accurate, I am neither a pessimist nor an optimist. I am not a realist too, for I do not really know what that term ought to represent. I merely believe that there is nothing called absolute truth, only differing opinions. For example let us consider Mt. Everest, Mr. Hillary's truth would be that it can be climbed. A mountaineer who hasn't been achieve the same feat would feel different. Another person may simply state that it is mountain and not a hurdle. Even though each of the them is correct in their own way we cannot know which of them is telling the truth, simply because there is none. The truth is but a matter of convenience. As is morality.
During the ancient and medieval periods, empires glorified themselves over conquests and battles. Genghis Khan and Alexander became living Gods during their lifetimes due to their military prowess. This mentality however wouldn't be accepted today. A man carrying the same murderous mentality as these legendary generals would be ostracized in today's world and treated as a psychopath. The needs of the world keep changing and thus do its boundaries of what is acceptable. And this is how it shall be for this is how it has been for as long as human society, no; as long as life has existed. I am not saying that it may never change. Just that as far as my knowledge permits me to comment, I have seen that tough there have been repeated upheavals and consequent settlements the collective state of the world has not changed much. Our lives still revolve around factors which were the same even when we were stone age Neanderthals.
So now if I am to quote Wikipedia which describes a pessimist as one having "a state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes". How is it wrong, or for that matter undesirable, to have a mindset in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes if one is even partially acquainted with the working of the world?
The journey of accomplishing a task depends not on one's optimism(or pessimism) for that matter but on one's determination. An optimist will merely fulfill the task whilst believing in the desired result while a pessimist will do the same whilst taking notes, as it were, and applying lessons learnt from past and perceived transgressions.
Thus if you are, or know, a pessimist kindly do not judge him too harshly for his outlook. He or she might just end up saving the day for all that you might know.
Yours Truly.
So I know that you haven't been wondering why I chose to suffix pessimist on my blog. I'll be honest, I thought it would sound catchy. I thought I would take the silent and brooding loner path towards getting noticed.
This is not completely true though, my saying that I chose this name completely out of my desire for higher page views. It is only partially true. The complete truth is that I chose to highlight a facet of my psyche which stands out from my peer group and consequently has become an acronym for my character. I have long since been the Pessimist of my group, my family and for that fact any gathering that I choose to attend.
As a child it bothered me. I mean to say it couldn't have been easy for a 6 or 7 year old to constantly be reprimanded for what my dad likes to call "Negative thinking". I remember wondering what it was that was so unforgivably wrong with my mindset when all I strived to do was understand how things work. How they really work.
The world has always amazed me in its ways which are both complex and simple at the same time depending on one's perspective. I can only compare it with a watch. You may wish to open one up to see what's inside, it would then reveal to you a varied assortment of contraptions all working, it would seem, at their whims. However you may simply with to use the watch to check the time and you wouldn't be wrong to do so either for that is what a watch should be used for. How then would you judge a debate between two parties, each of whom sees a different facet of the watch? How would you say who is right? The simple answer would be that both opinions are right. That would be the best way to mitigate the situation. But it is hardly as simple as that in the "real world" as we like to refer to it. In this world people go through lifetimes following a single opinion with unwavering relentlessness. Others may call this determinism or optimism. I just see centuries of aimless and inconsequential destruction caused by people who weren't wiling to accept a different outlook of life.
To be technically accurate, I am neither a pessimist nor an optimist. I am not a realist too, for I do not really know what that term ought to represent. I merely believe that there is nothing called absolute truth, only differing opinions. For example let us consider Mt. Everest, Mr. Hillary's truth would be that it can be climbed. A mountaineer who hasn't been achieve the same feat would feel different. Another person may simply state that it is mountain and not a hurdle. Even though each of the them is correct in their own way we cannot know which of them is telling the truth, simply because there is none. The truth is but a matter of convenience. As is morality.
During the ancient and medieval periods, empires glorified themselves over conquests and battles. Genghis Khan and Alexander became living Gods during their lifetimes due to their military prowess. This mentality however wouldn't be accepted today. A man carrying the same murderous mentality as these legendary generals would be ostracized in today's world and treated as a psychopath. The needs of the world keep changing and thus do its boundaries of what is acceptable. And this is how it shall be for this is how it has been for as long as human society, no; as long as life has existed. I am not saying that it may never change. Just that as far as my knowledge permits me to comment, I have seen that tough there have been repeated upheavals and consequent settlements the collective state of the world has not changed much. Our lives still revolve around factors which were the same even when we were stone age Neanderthals.
So now if I am to quote Wikipedia which describes a pessimist as one having "a state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes". How is it wrong, or for that matter undesirable, to have a mindset in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes if one is even partially acquainted with the working of the world?
The journey of accomplishing a task depends not on one's optimism(or pessimism) for that matter but on one's determination. An optimist will merely fulfill the task whilst believing in the desired result while a pessimist will do the same whilst taking notes, as it were, and applying lessons learnt from past and perceived transgressions.
Thus if you are, or know, a pessimist kindly do not judge him too harshly for his outlook. He or she might just end up saving the day for all that you might know.
Yours Truly.
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