![]() ![]() Pessimism is warranted if nothing changes, but that is the core thesis of the book: things always change. Choosing my level of optimism (not yours) is a level of control that keeps me going.Ībout the author: Tom Reilly is the author of 16 books, including his newest, Hope in The Shadows of War. The Rational Optimist takes a look at the evidence facing most modern pessimismon climate, poverty, trade, innovationand finds that much of what we think we know is false. I want to confront the reality of my circumstances with rational expectations. Give me the unvarnished truth, and I will decide how much optimism I will infuse into the situation. It reminds me of the old saying, “Don’t piss on my boots and tell me it’s raining.” I’m a big boy. The availability of almost everything a person could want or need has been going erratically upwards for 10,000 years and has rapidly accelerated over the last 200 years: calories vitamins clean. The common thread that runs through both philosophies is a defiant human spirit that empowers us to confront harsh reality without positive illusions-aka, self-deception. It is similar to the notion of “tragic optimism” conceived of by Viktor Frankl based on his WWII experiences in concentration camps. This philosophy eventually became known as the Stockdale Paradox. In Stockdale’s words, “They died of a broken heart.” Those who embraced the pragmatic (rational) optimism that sustained Stockdale survived and eventually made it home. Steven PinkerIn a bold and provocative. The dates came and went, and they remained in captivity. A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up. Ironically, those who did not prevail suffered from an illusory positivity that they would be home by Christmas or Easter or some other arbitrary time line. He just knew that he would prevail while confronting the harsh reality of his circumstances. He didn’t know when or hold himself to an artificial time line. As the ranking naval officer, he was often a target of the harshest treatment, but stated that “I never lost faith in the story.” This meant he possessed a pragmatic form of optimism that he would eventually prevail. James Stockdale was shot down Septemand spent over seven years as a POW, mostly in the Hanoi Hilton. Ross Perot’s running mate in the 1992 Presidential election. ![]() Rational optimism holds that the world will pull out of the current crisis. One lesson that is especially relevant for these times is the story of Admiral James Stockdale. This book dares the human race to embrace change, to be rationally optimistic. ![]() ![]() A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer. History is pregnant with valuable lessons. The Rational Optimist audiobook, by Matt Ridley. When you’ve lived through several episodes of tough times and carry those lessons with you, it provides a solid historical foundation for confronting the present. It’s a powerful source of energy especially during tough times. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves - Matt Ridley - Google Books Books The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves Matt Ridley Fourth Estate, 2010 - Economic development - 438. Brooks argues that we must now seize the opportunity afforded by today’s changing economic geography to transform attitudes towards inequality and to develop radical new approaches to addressing global poverty, as the alternative is to accept that impoverishment is somehow part of the natural order of things.What fuels your engine? As someone who prefers to see the glass as half-full, I tend to run on high-octane optimism. The End of Development provides a compelling account of how human history unfolded differently in varied regions of the world. He tells us that humans arethe only animals to trade and also that trade drove our evolutiontoward what we think of as human. It is much less successful on the second.The science writer in Ridley takes over and forces an argumentthat ends up circular and unconvincing. Brooks puts the case that international inequality was moulded by capitalist development over the last 500 years. The Rational Optimistadmirably answers the first. In The Rational Optimist, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley. This accessible and illuminating volume shows how the wealth of ‘the West’ and poverty of ‘the rest’ stem not from environmental factors or some unique European cultural, social or technological qualities, but from the expansion of colonialism and the rise of America. All the books listed for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. Why did some countries grow rich while others remained poor? Tracing the long arc of human history from hunter gatherer societies to the early twenty first century, Andrew Brooks rejects popular explanations for the divergence of nations. ![]()
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