Optimism Or Pessimism: Do You Have To Choose?
December 3rd, 2008
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Photo by vrogy
In a comment on my post Greatness Without Genies: The Law of Attraction for Realists, Ari Herzog described himself as a realist, but neither an optimist nor a pessimist, saying:
“The optimist-pessimist analogy is best described with the glass of water analogy: one says it’s half full and the other says it’s half empty. To me, the water is water and it doesn’t matter if it’s full or empty so why bother yourself over its measurement?”
I’ve never been thrilled with this classic litmus test for optimism, mainly because our language doesn’t easily allow a neutral possibility. You can’t say “The glass is half” because that’s an incomplete sentence. Half what? You need another word there. And while you could say “That’s half a glass,” it’s more natural to just say it’s half full because that’s how we talk. I don’t think it’s necessarily an indication of optimism though, just the default. But saying “The glass is half empty” does seem like an indication of pessimism.
Furthermore, it depends on the situation. If some idiot drilled holes in your glass as a prank, you might see it as half empty. But if you were left for dead in the Sahara desert and rescued by someone who gave you half a glass of water, you might see it as half full. Your outlook can also change with your mood, and I switch back and forth between half full and half empty all the time.
But anyway, if that’s the analogy we’re going with, is there an option for just plain realism instead of either optimism or pessimism? Does the glass really have to be either half full or half empty? Can’t it simply be half a glass?
When we look at the glass, we take in information with our eyes and process it with our visual cortex and such. We first see it like an android would, and objectively observe that the glass is at half capacity. But then, do you stick with the raw data, or do you subjectively interpret it?
Myers-Briggsically speaking, this is precisely the difference between the two perceiving functions: sensing and intuition. Despite what “sensing” may sound like, it refers to observing the raw data with our five senses. And despite what “intuition” may sound like, it refers to interpreting the raw data to see patterns, connections, and possibilities. Neither function is better than the other, and we all use both, but we all have a preference for one over the other.
So yes, you could have no feeling of optimism or pessimism regarding the glass. The glass is at half capacity. It is what it is, so just let it be. I guess that’s how I feel about Virginia’s annual rainfall of 45.22 inches per year. I have no particular interest in whether that’s high or low, but the figure’s there if I ever need to make a calculation.
On the other hand, you could say that the amount of water in the glass is just a detail, and what really matters is what it means. If you pay for a large slush and the clerk only fills it up halfway, you might see it as half empty, and then decide to, in a most cowardly fashion, shoot the clerk in the back, a la My Cousin Vinny. Or if someone sees that you’re thirsty, and generously decides to give you half their drink, you might see it as half full.
Maybe you don’t care so much about water, but if you got into a bad car accident, I doubt you’d be casually observing that you had half the usual number of arms. You’d probably see yourself as having fewer arms than you should, not more arms than you could.
Half full and half empty are both perfectly realistic assessments, but it’s a matter of perception. In one study, people on opposite sides of an issue were given the same newspaper article to read. The people were asked to read the article carefully and to offer their reaction. On average, people said they thought the article was biased against their own position. That is, people on BOTH sides of the issue thought the SAME article was biased against their side. They chose to see the glass as half empty.
Martin Seligman has talked about the importance of realistic optimism. It combines realistic assessments with an optimistic outlook, avoiding either extreme, and supposedly this gives you better results than either realism or optimism alone.
“According to Seligman, for bad events optimists make external (not their fault), unstable (temporary setback), and specific (a problem only in this context) attributions. Conversely, pessimists interpret bad events in terms of internal (their own fault), stable (will last a long time), and global (will undermine everything they do) attributions.” (source)
You can objectively observe a bad event for what it is, but when it comes to your subjective interpretation, it’s hard to be split right down the middle between optimism and pessimism. You’d have to think that bad events are kind of your fault, kind of stable, and kind of global. And it’s kind of hard to be so wishy washy. So if a particular glass is important to you, decide whether it’s half full or half empty. Hopefully you’ll see it as half full.
Then again, maybe the glass is just too big.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Absolutely excellent writing, Hunter.
I think you also managed to boil my brain.
I really feel like a half-full guy. I try to find the best in everything. I don’t just let things “be”.
Stumbled!
Jamie
Jamie Harrop´s last blog post..How to Get Your Guest Post Published on a Pro Blog
December 4th, 2008 at 7:42 am
SPOT ON!!! Perception is everything!
And I love how you’ve pointed out that the situation also applies. You’re so right – my perception of whether the glass is “full” or “empty” is radically changed if I see there have been holes drilled in the glass!!!
Kathy – Virtual Impax´s last blog post..Web Terms You Need to Know: Landing Pages
December 4th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I see the glass half-full, half-empty and existing as a glass of wine in other quantum reality. This is both a curse and a blessing – because I can see all sides of an issue (or am totally open to being told about the sides I don’t see), I find that I can say “you’re right” to completely opposing viewpoints because from within their frame of reference, they are both right.
However, I notice when things don’t fit. Say for example, you always say that you’re an optimist but then repeated tell me that every glass you see is half-empty, I’m going to call you on that.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post..Fear, Unique Pathways & Self-Awareness: Lessons from the Lab-Rats
December 4th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I, like you, have always been of the opinion that it depends on what you are doing. If you are filling something then it must be half full; emptying – half empty.
The biggest problem with the test is of familiarity though. Ask the question and there always an attempt at a non-answer, even though an answer may be more sensible.
I would tend towards, the glass contains 50% liquid and 50% air.
Andrew´s last blog post..More drugs please!
December 4th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Heh. Cute lead-in there, Hunter. And I don’t mean attributing me but that picture. What a HOOT! I can only guess how many pics you searched through to find it! LOL
Why do we live in a society where things must be black or white but not shades of grey?
Why must one be happy or sad but not content?
Why do many people consider life and death to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, when birth and death are at the ends and life is in between?
I’m not implying realism is neutrality, absence, or wholeness, but the body that embodies everything else. When I say the glass of water is just a glass of water, it’s because I don’t care if it’s half full or half empty; those terms are meaningless to me because they convey ideals that are irrelevant to the glass.
I’m not sure if I’m helping you with this comment. Questions?
Ari Herzog´s last blog post..If Seth Godin Could Change Your Life
December 4th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Hi Hunter,
I usually say, “It’s not only half-full, but there’s more where that (water) came from!”
But, if one wants to be clinical about it: The water is occupying exactly half the cup’s total volume.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful post.
Nez´s last blog post..Cardinal Synthesis
December 4th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Why does it have to be half-full or empty? Can’t it just be HALF?
But if you must decide, then I say that it’s half-full….of nothingness.
Matthew Dryden´s last blog post..My First Poetry Recording: The End Result
December 5th, 2008 at 1:29 am
It’s nice that your other readers are providing even more perspectives to the half-full half-empty glass analogy. The crowd on your blog is very creative, I must say!!
Evelyn Lim´s last blog post..How NOT Embracing The Truth Causes Knee Pains
December 5th, 2008 at 2:24 am
@ Jamie, yeah, you seem half full to me. Thanks for the stumble!
@ Kathy, if our metaphorical cups aren’t filling up, I guess we should check for holes!
@ Alex, you don’t believe in the kind of optimism when you’re always complaining about stuff? I guess some people know they want to be optimists, but it’s easier said than done.
@ Andrew, that’s right, we should consider momentum – is the glass in the process of being filled, or being emptied?
@ Ari, I was lucky with the picture. I didn’t know what I was looking for (how can a glass be interesting?), but fortunately this clever pic popped right up. I’m all for shades of gray…an infinite number of them.
@ Nez, good point, we should consider other water sources! Maybe the glass could be half empty but we have a lot more where it came from. Or maybe it could be half full, but we’re in water debt to someone.
@ Matthew, just because half is an adverb, and it needs another word there. But maybe in some languages, this isn’t an issue. Half full of nothingness? How about totally full of halfness?
@ Evelyn, yes, we’ve got some very creative comments here. I didn’t realize there were so many possible answers to this simple question!
December 5th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Ah, you stole my line (which originated with George Carlin, I believe) that the glass is too big.
I tend to look at things based on my past experience, which has been far more negative than positive. But past experience isn’t always a good predicter. I think optimism or pessimism are choices, but it’s not always easy to change them.
Dot´s last blog post..Weird Tip Tuesday – Eat Less Butter
December 6th, 2008 at 2:58 am
@ Dot, I agree, it’s not easy to change. Someone who is used to pessimism probably can’t just choose to be an optimist one day and never revert. I switch back and forth an awful lot.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:16 am
[...] But I am saying that if you take your world view from the evening news, you’re doomed to viewing the glass as half full. Look at the media reporting of Black Friday sales. Remember – good news doesn’t sell [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Ahaah!
So true!
And why cant they make up a word for people who are both?
Like Omnimisstic?
or
Poptissism?
Or something like that?
February 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
@ Vanessa, I like omnimistic!
September 27th, 2010 at 11:31 am
The question “Do you have to choose?” is a good one because it challenges the sense that we have to.
After thinking about this for a long time I came to realise that there is more to it than the one dimension of ‘optimism – pessimism’ with realism in the middle somewhere. The other dimension is our level of confidence in our predictions about the future. This opens up a way to understand a perspective that is more hopeful than ‘realism’ but without the weaknesses of optimism.
I wrote about it in an article called “Optimism, pessimism, and open-minded realism”, here http://www.managedluck.co.uk/objectivist/index.shtml