Monday, 14 July 2008

Is this an optimistic blog?

I was telling Ignacio the other day that I felt I was becoming a pessimist about society's fate because of the kind of stuff I'd been writing here and reading else where. And I'm naturally such an optimistic person... So he proposed the following illustration, imagine you're out for a walk on a beautiful day and then at one point you're standing in the middle of a road and you hear a noise coming from behind the corner which sounds like a truck coming your way at high speed, what do you do?
1 - You ignore it and hope it cannot possibly be a truck.
2 - You immediately assume it is a truck, panic and say that it's hopeless to do anything and stay where you are waiting for your doom.
3 - You assume it is a truck and decide to take it head on.
4 - You look for an alternative way and avoid the truck since it is such a beautiful day and you're looking forward to enjoying it

The first person is an optimist, but is also a fool. The second person is clearly a pessimist. The third person is a lunatic optimist, and we'd like to think we're more like the 4th person, trying to establish the case that there is a truck coming and discussing the alternative ways to avoid it, cause it is a beautiful day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

And indeed it is a beautiful day, so you´d better jump out of the way!!

I must admit that going over some of the posts here, particularly those on resource depletion, can be a bit depressing. At some point, one starts thinking one of the following: a) ´No way this can be true, forget it´ [equivalent to 1 on your post]; b) ´We´re sooo fucked´ [option 2]; c) ´I´ll keep eating my kiwi anyway´ [that´d be 3] and finally d) ´Let´s see what I can do about this [an optimistic 4].

Well, much to my surprise, I´ve discovered myself being an incurable optimist, although not a blind one. As such, I keep looking around for ways to understand better this problem and to do something about it.

Bruno, do I have good news for you?? I have glimpsed the future - the best of all possible futures! - and it´s called Samsø!! Check this out and tell me if you wouldn´t go for this sort of solution (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_kolbert/).

Interesting times indeed...

Cuca said...

Hello Bruno!
I’m very pessimistic but I’m working on that…
I agree that we must be optimistic when facing a problem…
But first we must realize that there is a problem (truck coming)….If we are deaf and blind we won’t even have the faintest idea of what hit us! (Sorry for the poor joke but it reminded me of Tom Dick and Harry from Rowan Atkinson :P )
Now seriously, there is a problem that worries me deeply and I think is well within the scope of this blog (I’m not sure if you agree).
I would like to know your opinion (and the opinion of other contributors) about how much of a problem is the consumption of meat and animal derived products, in terms of environmental, economical, social, ethical and philosophical issues (and other issues you might find)? This is such a complex theme that I believe would give a good set of interesting posts on the blog. Why do I still feel guiltier when I eat the cow, pig and chicken as compared to that kiwi?
Cux

H. Sousa said...

Happy Birthday, son.

bruno said...

Olá Cux Malux e Pai!

Obrigado pelas vossas entradas! Cá estou 1 ano mais velho e mais barbudo.

Cux hei de me debruçar sobre o tema carne a seu tempo...

Pai espero que estejas de boa saúde!

um abraço e beijos!

bruno