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Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXIII–Pessimists Are Optimists That Have All the Facts
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXIII October 31, 2022 (original posting date) Chitchen Itza, Mexico (1986). Photo by author. Pessimists Are Optimists That Have All the Facts This contemplation has been prompted by another great article by The Honest Sorcerer. If you’ve not read their work, I highly recommend it. A couple of thoughts in reading your splendid […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXVI–Is it Too Late For Pessimism?
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXVI Knossos, Greece (1993), Photo by author Is it Too Late For Pessimism? Today’s ‘contemplation’ has been prompted by a question posed to me by a fellow commenter, puppyg, via an article we were both commenting upon. Taking advantage of a rainy day, I have prepared a rather extensive answer. Question: Tonight […]
How to Enjoy the End of the World
How to Enjoy the End of the World
The Demise of Hopium
The Demise of Hopium Hopium (n) Irrational or unwarranted optimism. [YourDictionary.Com] That deranged condition in which a person is deluded into thinking humanity will survive omnicide. [DoomforDummies.blogspot.com] I am not here to re-litigate the inevitability of the near-term collapse of global industrial civilization and the obvious consequence that billions of humans will suffer terribly as a […]
Limitarians and Cornucopians: what Surprises from Technological Progress?
Limitarians and Cornucopians: what Surprises from Technological Progress? Resource depletion, ecosystem disruption, population growth, and technological change are interacting with each other in a tsunami of changes that always take us by surprise. The surprises that technological progress may be bringing are among the most unpredictable drivers of change. Yet, it is not impossible to […]
Is there a limit to optimism when it comes to climate change?
Is there a limit to optimism when it comes to climate change? Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA ‘We’re doomed’: a common refrain in casual conversation about climate change. It signals an awareness that we cannot, strictly speaking, avert climate change. It is already here. All we can hope for is to minimise climate change by keeping global average […]
Optimistic for the Future
Optimistic for the Future I had a professor who once said that two people were standing on top of the World Trade Center and a gust of wind blew them off the roof. The pessimist immediately starts praying to be forgiven for his sins. The optimism, as he is passing the 4th floor says, “So […]
An Optimist’s Guide to Climate Change
Tom Werner/Getty Images An Optimist’s Guide to Climate Change Grim environmental news is nothing new, but 2018 brought a deluge of it, and some now argue that the world has reached the point of no return for climate change. But new research shows that it is not too late to change course. WASHINGTON, DC – […]
Why we need new narratives and strategies to save the environment
Why we need new narratives and strategies to save the environment The fatalist-gloomy-future narrative around climate change hasn’t been compelling to mobilise enough individuals and communities for change. In response, new organisations are emerging with positive narratives and more complex strategies to tackle ‘the problem’ of our generation. We asked Cacau Araujo for the […]
Steven Pinker’s Ideas About Progress Are Fatally Flawed. These Eight Graphs Show Why.
Steven Pinker’s Ideas About Progress Are Fatally Flawed. These Eight Graphs Show Why. It’s time to reclaim the mantle of “Progress” for progressives. By falsely tethering the concept of progress to free market economics and centrist values, Steven Pinker has tried to appropriate a great idea for which he has no rightful claim. In Enlightenment Now: […]
It’s Not Doom and Gloom: Preparedness is the Ultimate Act of Optimism
It’s Not Doom and Gloom: Preparedness is the Ultimate Act of Optimism Does this sound familiar? You’re talking to a friend or family member who isn’t on board with preparedness. (And it’s even worse when they think they know what’s going on in the world but garner their so-called “information” from network news sources.) You […]
Constructing Hope: A Discussion of “Green Earth”
Constructing Hope: A Discussion of “Green Earth” Neither hope nor its cousin joy are to be confused with optimism. The latter tends to be more a quality of temperament than a realistic assessment of prospects. As for the former, well, you have to go looking for them, or even, laboriously, construct them for yourself, at […]
The world in 2018 – Part Two
The world in 2018 – Part Two ‘The World in 2018’ is a world full of concerns about the future, yet a world that seems to be getting slightly more optimistic about its economic prospects. Ten years after the onset of the financial crisis, there are hopes that the global economy may have turned the corner […]
The Antidote to Optimism
The Antidote to Optimism It is always brightest before they turn the lights out. You can quote us on that, Dear Reader. Just when you thought things couldn’t get better… guess what? They don’t. They go dark as a dungeon. Antidote to Optimism Our task today is to show that however wonderful things may appear […]
The Generational Wheels Are Turning
The Generational Wheels Are Turning “The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles.” — Oren Harari If you only read my stuff sporadically, you might be surprised to hear that I’m actually quite optimistic about the future. The main reason I compose articles highlighting all the frauds, corruption and absence of ethics […]
