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Pessimism vs optimism and ASD

Trainspotter

Hi all

This is a bit of a rant and it is not referring to Pessimism to the extent that it causes great anxiety, but to the pessimistic vs optimistic character.

I am constantly labelled a "Pessimist".  I prefer the term "Realist"  Constantly having people supposedly jolly all the time around me I can find annoying. 

I hate this 'glass half empty' thing.  I have told people when they say I'm the 'half empty' person that it depends whether the glass is being emptied or filled..  Example: Do you want a top up.  Answer: No, my glass is only half empty.  That to me is not being negative.  However, if the glass has just been poured and stopped before it is filled:  Why is my glass  only half full? That to me is a negative.

Imagine a news story: "Good news, there was a very bad train crash today but only five people were killed!"  People would be horrified at the insensitivity of that, yet it is the 'optimistic' point of view as many more could have met their demise.

I'm sure there are 'optimistic' people with ASD as well as pessimistic ones.  But why do people insist on putting labels on people and then using it as criticism.  We are what we are!  Some of us try to consider that there may be a downside to some things instead of 'everything will turn out ok'.  Considering that there may be a downside is surely better than being led down an alley with no thought as to what awaits you at the end. 

My 'pessimism' is me and no amount of negative criticism from optimistic people will stop it or 'cure' it!

Parents

  • In the Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, the question to the ultimate answer was "What is 7x8?"  And the ultimate answer was 42.

    My understanding of this was that we had got everything wrong from the start.  And of course, Earth had been settled by a bunch of telephone sanitisers and hairdressers at the beginning of civilisation who interbred with the early ape creatures and from whom we are all related.

    It explains a lot!

    Also, on a tangent, Lewis Carrol in Alice in Wonderland tells us that words mean exactly what we want them to mean.  And he was a master of the nonsense rhyme which made complete sense!

Reply

  • In the Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, the question to the ultimate answer was "What is 7x8?"  And the ultimate answer was 42.

    My understanding of this was that we had got everything wrong from the start.  And of course, Earth had been settled by a bunch of telephone sanitisers and hairdressers at the beginning of civilisation who interbred with the early ape creatures and from whom we are all related.

    It explains a lot!

    Also, on a tangent, Lewis Carrol in Alice in Wonderland tells us that words mean exactly what we want them to mean.  And he was a master of the nonsense rhyme which made complete sense!

Children
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